keeping gear/pack dry

[cupcake]

hi --- what's the prefered method for keeping the pack dry and its contents? i read that some line their packs with a garbage bag (well, trash compactor bag) --- do you also use a pack cover, and waterproof stuff sacks?
is there a pack cover out there that will keep water out? (and not let water seep to the bottom of the pack?) how many lines of defense to keep the sleeping bag dry?
i was thinking of making different colored silnylon stuff sacks just to stay organized.
so, who uses what? what works best for you?
thank you,
d

[Jumpstart]

Here's what I did, and I did not have a single day with wet stuff:
1. I lined the inside of my pack with a trash compactor bag. 2. I put everything in silnylon (Equinox) stuff sacks, and then 3. I covered my pack with a sil-nylon (Equinox) rain cover. I covered my pack mainly to save the weight of carrying a soaking wet pack. Other than a few tiny holes in the pack cover (from repeatedly tossing the pack to the ground to sit on it) everything survived intact and DRY all the way to Maine. I still use the very first trash-compactor bag I put in when I was in TN. Worked for me. Good luck!

[Footslogger]

Ditto, what Jumpstart said. Took the same approach in 2003. Even used the same brand of stuff sacks, not that it matters ...but it's a interesting coincidence.

Wouldn't change a thing. Never had a single item of gear or clothing get wet inside my pack. All pack covers leak sooner or later during a driving rain. But the plastic trash compactor bag I used a liner never let the water in, despite the outside of my backpack having gotten soaked several times.

[JimSproul]

Gallon and 2 gallon "zip lock" bags work pretty well in stead of stuff sacks if budget is an issue. Also, you can squeeze out the air like those hightech space bags. You might have to replace a few but they are cheap and plentiful. Freezer bags seem to last longest.

I use a packcover and compression stuffsacks to help keep things under control. I keep bad weather gear in one, sleeping and standard "night stuff" in another, that sort of thing. They weigh a bit more than sil-nylon stuff sacks but are worth the weight to me. My pack, with 5 days of food and plenty of water is still well under 40 pounds.

[Skyline]

•Those white Glad brand compactor bags rule!

•If you haven't purchased yet, and are thinking of going the stuff sack route, may I suggest you get different colors? Helps keep you better organized.

•A real pack cover will help keep your pack from getting wet. If it's a quality pack, probably not too much danger of its leaking but most pack material when it gets really soaked gets noticeably heavier (ultralight packs may be an exception due to the materials used, but are they as durable?). A pack cover eliminates this issue.

[Kozmic Zian]

Yea....Wet Pack. I found that a good Pac Cover is all you need. Light weight, compresses to nothing. There are quite a few out there. The plastic bags make more mess than they're worth. Just get a good one, like Outdoor Research, or the one Reccommended by your pack manufacterer. KZ@ What is with all this plastic bag stuff. Guys, come out of the dark and into the lite. All those bags are a terrible mess in a backpack. I say just start out right, with good, waterproof, seam sealed stuff sacks for food, clothing and sleeping bag. That way, things stay dry with a minimum of confusion in the pack.KZ@

[Youngblood]

I made it okay with lining the sleeping bag stuff sack with a plastic trash bag and using a pack cover. Sometimes my pack got wet against my back and slightly dampened my contents but it wasn't much of a problem since you can line your clothes bag, food bag and sleeping bag with plastic trash bags.

I did see what I think is a problem with some pack covers-- they collect water in there bottom portion. I prefer 'bottom less' pack covers so they don't collect water.

It is important to use a plastic trash bag to line your sleeping bag stuff sack for two reasons. One is that your sleeping bag is probably the most important piece of gear to keep dry. The other reason is that since it usually goes into the bottom of your pack, it is sitting in the area where any water will drain to... water that leaks into your backpack or from wet stuff that you put into your pack-- don't forget that sometimes accidents happen, like water bottles, olive oil bottles, etc. leak.

Youngblood

[DeoreDX]

I sewed together a HUGE silnylon liner bag that I seam sealed. I keep everything in a combination of silnylon stuff sacks, glad freezer bags, and inside my large silnylon liner bag. Once I stop I can put my whole bag inside my large silnylon liner bag to keep stuff dry if my pack has to sit outside for any odd reason (hammocking, using poncho shelter instead of tarptent, etc). When the rain comes down hard I use a poncho which covers both myself and my pack. Great thing about a poncho over a pack cover is that it keeps water from running down between your back and the pack. My Equinox Kathadin is made from mostly silnylon so it doesn't really absorb much water.

[Skyline]

One way to deal with the problem Youngblood mentioned, water collecting in the under part of a pack cover, is to punch a couple of small drainage holes at the very bottom of where it's collecting. Best to wait until it actually happens, so you'll know exactly where to punch the holes.

I used one of those single-punch tools like you find in office supply stores, but anything that makes a small, clean, round hole would do. Good to do before a long hike, like on a shakedown weekend when it's raining fiercely.

[tlbj6142]

When you use a trash compactor bag as a pack liner, how do you close it off, and where do you put the closed opening? If

I use a trash compactor bag inside of my pack. I put it into my pack first with the open side up and the stuff in my sleeping bag and clothing bag. I crumple/roll the top the compactor bag closed (squeeze out any unwanted air) and place my food bag, first aid, hammock, flipflops, misc stuff sacks, on top.

I supose if you were really anal you could twist it shut.

Just make sure your sharp items (pot, stove, spoon, windscreen, etc.) are not smashed into the bag.

I don't use a rain cover. Not worth the trouble. My pack (Equinox Katahdin) is mostly made of silnylon so I only need to "stop" water entering from through the seams and the small opening at the top.

[beancounter]

I used the same method described by tlbj6142 except I used another compactor bag for the top and put all of my other supplies including my food bag in it to make everything waterproof. Never had a problem

[hungryhowie]

a note about trash compactor bags. I used them to line my pack on during my thru-hike and they worked very well at keeping the inside of my pack dry. I even tested it without a packcover during a week of solid rain with great results. While I was on the AT, however, I realized an excellent reason NOT to use them.

noise.

You know, the kind that wakes you up out of your peaceful sleep when someone else is packing their pack and you hear crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle crinkle...?

I felt guilty any time I woke up early and tried to get my stuff (those things are so loud that you can wake people up with them from 25 feet away. So after I got home, I sewed a large sil-nylon stuffsac for my pack, and it is virtually silent. I try not to sleep in shelters anymore anyway, but the same still applies to my hiking partner, or when we don't want to disturb the peacefulness, or the wildlife, etc.

It only takes about 30 minutes and <$5 to make (or 30 minutes and $20 to buy in a store...), so do your sheltermates a service and go this route.

Anyway, to elaborate on what I use, I use a packcover, pack liner, and waterproof stuff sacs -- everything is made from silnylon. The only stuff sacs that I use are for my sleeping bag (which has a second stuff sac for extra extra extra extra protection), and shelter. Anything else is floating around free in my pack (except for food which is in my Ursack).

Paranoia Parinoia everybody's coming to get me
Just say you never met me
I'm running underground with the moles
Diggin' holes
Hear the voices in my head
I swear to God it sounds like they're snoring
But if you're bored then you're boring
The agony and the irony, they're killing me, whoa

-Howie

[LBJ]

I use four Outdoor Research Advanced Stuff Sacks lashed to a pack frame. These are roll top sacks like river bags. I have never had one drop of water leak into my gear, and I have hiked in downpours.

[Rift Zone]

Way to go LBJ.
The OR Advanced Sacks rule

I like DeoreDX 's approach: to consider raingear for body and pack as one unit. A poncho is a good way to go. Looking for a more streamlined approach I have been testing thin rain shells that are way too big for me alone but a XXL-XXXL will easily cover a average build with a light pack. I'm very happy with the results (I should note that my pack does not extend above my shoulders). Anyway here is another strategy to consider: Buy a rain jacket big enough for you... pack and all

[stranger]

Pack liners work well but I'd rather have a dry pack and dry gear as opposed to a wet pack and dry gear...so I use a raincover. The OR stuff sacks are great, you don't need the roll down "advanced" models considering they will be inside your pack with a rain cover, but there's no harm in going overkill.

Of course the ultra-lights will get upset by the extra ounce or two the OR bags weigh, but wet gear is alot heavier than those extra 2 ounces of waterproof insurance ya know? You can also use the roll down advanced models as a cooler...something to think about!

[tlbj6142]

Pack liners work well but I'd rather have a dry pack and dry gear as opposed to a wet pack and dry gear

If your pack is made of water absorbing materials pack covers are the way to go. But many packs these days are not. Your shoulder straps and hipbelt will absorb water regardless of which method you choose. Unless you use a packa (www.thepacka.com).

[DeoreDX]

Unless you use a packa (www.thepacka.com).

Or unless you use a Poncho...