View Full Version : What to Waterproof
What in your pack gets waterproofed or seam sealed? Tents obviously get seam sealed. What else?
Sarcasm the elf
10-09-2014, 09:35
I don't manually waterproof/seal much of what I carry besides my tent.
I line my pack with a large contractor grade garbage bag, inside that I keep my sleeping bag in a sea to summit dry sack. My phone is always in a lifeproof case, I also use a waterproof bag for my foodbag so that i don't wind up eating soggy bread and crackers.
Wise Old Owl
10-09-2014, 09:58
I use a waterproof sil nylon sack for compressing my down bags and jackets
Feral Bill
10-09-2014, 10:44
Nothing at all.
Just Bill
10-09-2014, 11:32
Shelter- whatever you use, assuming the seam is not already taped/sealed.
Pack- don't bother. Besides making a mess of your pack gobbing on the sealer, you'll add an ounce or more of weight better spent on a liner or cover. If you go the cover route, that may need sealer, but most often not.
rain gear- Most gear has taped seams now, but check. Might be a good time to renew a DWR coating if needed.
As mentioned- better off double bagging something critical (down) than trying to bombproof the whole pack.
Kerosene
10-09-2014, 12:01
I spray DWR coating on much of my gear as well as camp clothes. I can't tell you how many times I spilled something on my camp pants and the DWR treatment worked like a charm. I even sprayed my fleece so that it sheds any light rain or tree-drip around camp.
Now that I think about it, I probably need to refresh the DWR treatment on my 10+ year old WM UltraLite sleeping bag.
Old Hiker
10-09-2014, 14:45
Same as Kerosene: not DWR exactly, but Camp-Dri: http://www.amazon.com/Kiwi-Camp-Heavy-Water-Repellent/dp/B000HJ7CLY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412880260&sr=8-1&keywords=camp+dri
Won't buy it from Amazon, but you get the idea. Wally sells it for a bit cheaper, hardware stores as well.
End of my sleeping bag (foot), down vest (outside), synthetic BDU liner (outside), boots.
squeezebox
10-09-2014, 14:51
Sorry for being stupid but what does DWR mean?
Sarcasm the elf
10-09-2014, 15:41
Durable Water Repellant:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durable_water_repellent
horsefarm
10-09-2014, 20:59
i seal my tent and thats about it. keep a liner inside my pack. clothes go in a dry sack and food goes in a dry sack. everything else loose in the liner except toiletries and stuff which i stuff into ziplocks. if it HAS to stay dry itll go in a sack. i barely ever deal with water inside the liner, but when i do the sacks stay dry and the kitchen and misc items get tiny amts of water on them even in heavy downpours. i dont use a pack cover but really should for the nights i want to sleep with my pack inside. also i could probably get rid of the dry sacks if im using a liner and cover.
saltysack
10-09-2014, 21:14
Only use a white compactor bag inside my ULA..sl bag and dry cloths inside...twist fold top then use a woman's hair tie to keep folded over and twisted...never had any thing get wet inside even after solid rain all day...food goes in zpacks food dry sack
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freightliner
10-09-2014, 21:28
I go crazy with the DWR on the bottom of my tent I don't think you can have too much sealer on that and I also like to have DWR on my gators it helps with the car wash in the morning
Apply DWR or WP to dyneema backpacks and quilt/sleeping bag stuff sacks. Seam seal some(silny, spinnaker) tarps and shelters. Reapply DWR/WP to rain gear.