Pack Covers

[calberry]

My First Post!!

I am starting my AT thru hike next spring and have a gear question. I have never carried a pack cover before. In the past I have always stored all my gear in silnylon waterproof bags inside my pack which keeps everything pretty dry. However, on a long thru hike, perhaps it would be good to use a pack cover as well as a waterproof bags on the inside of the pack. My pack is not waterproof (Osprey Atmos 65). Should I use a pack cover?? Any comments/thoughts/advice to help me learn would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Turk6177]

Everything I have read indicates that using a trash compactor bag inside your pack will keep the things dry that you need to keep dry. Most people who do this save the added weight of a pack cover.

[yellowsirocco]

just get a packa, it is the only raincoat that actually works and when you look at the price of a pack cover it is not expensive.

[10-K]

I use a pack cover so I can set my pack down when it's raining without it getting muddy.

[DavidNH]

You should do both. Line your pact with a trash compactor bag AND use a pack cover. There's no such thing as overkill when it comes to keeping your gear dry!!!

[Astro]

You should do both. Line your pact with a trash compactor bag AND use a pack cover. There's no such thing as overkill when it comes to keeping your gear dry!!!

+1 ............

[leaftye]

I dig into my pack frequently to get food. Usually that food is stored in the back pocket. A pack cover would be too troublesome. A poncho is working well though. When I can get out of the wind, I can remove my pack, get and eat my food and put my pack back on without getting me or my pack wet.

[treesloth]

+1 on the Packa. It's the weight of a regular rainshell, with the integrated pack cover and huge pit zips. Good customer service too. It was a no-brainer choice for me.

[House of Payne]

some good ideas here. Since you already own the bag I would vote for the dry sack inside the bag containing everything in it. I think the only way I would bring a pack cover would be if you don't mind the water weight the pack will add when it gets wet. My thru will be a cuben bag, killing two birds (maybe even three birds) with one stone. Weight, waterproof bag and eliminate the cover.

[rather go up]

I use a cuben pack cover from zpacks. It works great and weighs about nothing.

[rhjanes]

I use a cuben pack cover from zpacks. It works great and weighs about nothing.

+1, plus the trash compactor bag and the sleep gear in a dry-stuff-sack. Tripple coverage

[theinfamousj]

Hi fellow Atomos 65 owner!

I bought a pack cover from REI and used it all of once, preferring to do what you do with waterproof stuff sacks. The Atomos, despite being made of normal fabric, dries amazingly quickly once the ran stops.

However, then I saw this and realized that I can kill two birds (food bag and pack cover) with one stone, if I made myself one, so I think I'm going to do that. It seems an extremely cheap and multi-use item.

[attroll]

Moved this thread to the "General Gear Talk" forums.

[10-K]

Cuben pack liner and pack cover here.

[lemon b]

I use a Sea to Summit on my 65. Not really noticeable as far as weight and I like my stuff dry.

[rusty bumper]

Sleeping bag in stuff sack, clothes in stuff sack, then both in trash compactor bag. All other items that need to be kept dry are inside Sea-to-Summit bags. All items that can get wet in outside mesh pockets...tent, rain gear, water bottle, Aqua-Mira, fuel bottle, DEET, etc. No pack cover.

[BrianLe]

I don't use a pack cover so much other places but I liked having one on the AT where I several times encountered rain in conditions too warm to wear a rain jacket. Both the packa and cuben pack cover are good options; the packa is great and flexible coverage/protection. When I'm more focused on weight and a bit less on the perfect gear item I'll take a lighter jacket and the cuben cover (or where I live often just the lighter jacket).

[Maddog]

You should do both. Line your pact with a trash compactor bag AND use a pack cover. There's no such thing as overkill when it comes to keeping your gear dry!!!

+1 I do this as well! Maddog

[Whack-a-mole]

I also use a sea to summit cover. Weighs about 2oz or something. I just keep it in my top pocket where it's easy to get to quickly. As for a pack cover causing delays in getting to food?... Come on, set your pack down and pull the cover off. Get your stuff and when you are ready put it back on. Whole thing takes about 3 seconds. If you don't have 3 seconds to pull off a stretchy cord the two or three times a day you need in your pack, things are bad. I do agree with others, do whatever it takes to keep the stuff inside dry. Waterproof bags, trash compactor bags. What ever it takes. If your stuff gets wet through contact and seepage, and you run into a week of 35 degree temps, you could end up in trouble, or you may have to come off for an unscheduled stop to hit a laundry mat to dry all your stuff.

[max patch]

just get a packa, it is the only raincoat that actually works and when you look at the price of a pack cover it is not expensive.

There are times -- like now -- that when it rains you want a pack cover but certainly don't want to wear a jacket.