View Full Version : Pack Covers
TrialsKing007
11-29-2003, 09:45
I'm looking to buy a pack cover for my Osprey Aether 75. Is the Osprey brand cover good or are there better ones out there?
Cedar Tree
11-29-2003, 13:18
***COMERCIAL POST ALERT!!**
Check out the Packa.
www.thepacka.com
I am a hiker first and formost. My real job is as a 6th grade Math Teacher.
I am the inventor, the owner, and only employee. I am WAY in the hole with the Packa financially.
Sorry if my Commercial Post offends some of you.
You may reply to this post saying you would like me to stop, and I won't put any more Packa posts here.
Thanks
Cedar Tree
I'm looking to buy a pack cover for my Osprey Aether 75. Is the Osprey brand cover good or are there better ones out there?
I'm sure the Osprey brand pack cover is good. However, check out sil-nylon pack covers. Typically 1/2 the weight of regular pack covers.
TJ aka Teej
11-29-2003, 18:45
***COMERCIAL POST ALERT!!**
:D CedarTree, there's no way your posts could offend, you've always said who you were and why you're posting when talking about your Packa.
I saw your rig at the Gathering, and it sure looked interesting. Good luck with it! If I were going to upgrade my gear, I'd consider the Packa for sure.
Right now, I use a cheap Camp-mor packcover, only complaint being that after water pooled in the bottom I had to cut a slit for a drain. Nice thing is that it's very roomy/adjustable and fits over all my packs. No need to fund Osprey anymore than you need to! ;o)
In hunting season I use an orange JackOLantern lawn leaf bag all the time, rain or shine. After Halloween they're wicked cheap!
One thing about all rain/packcovers - stuff in your pack will still get wet, use garbage bags and ziplocks for your gear!
JimSproul
11-30-2003, 12:46
I had a kid on my crew at Philmont last year with as Osprey pack and their brand cover. I was sold to him as the correct one for that pack BUT it fit so poorly that it blew off several times. They were high quality items though. Also we were in unusally windy/stormy conditions.
I use an after market silnylon cover everynight, after opening the pockets to allow the small creatures entry without making a new opening. So far so good. The "name brand" covers never seemed better to me.
Nightwalker
11-30-2003, 16:00
One thing about all rain/packcovers - stuff in your pack will still get wet, use garbage bags and ziplocks for your gear!
From almost the very beginning, I've used three 2.5 gallons Zip-Locs for my three pack categories. Keeps packing/unpacking simple, keeps all my goodies dry, and they aren't too heavy. I'm to the point on two of three categories where I can now go down to gallon bags, and that tickles me pink. However the principle still stands. X categories, same X number of bags for dryness, quick pack/unpack and simpleness of trail life. Isn't that a little bit of what it's all about? :)
Frank
illininagel
11-30-2003, 17:29
From almost the very beginning, I've used three 2.5 gallons Zip-Locs for my three pack categories.
Frank, what are your three pack categories? I'm assuming that food would be one, and clothing another. Is the third one your sleeping bag?
Thanks, Glenn
Nightwalker
11-30-2003, 23:46
Frank, what are your three pack categories? I'm assuming that food would be one, and clothing another. Is the third one your sleeping bag?
Thanks, Glenn
Food, Clothes and Other. Tent and Sleeping bag go in the bottom compartment or attached to the outside, according to whatever size I'm using at the time. :)
Frank
Rain Man
12-01-2003, 00:46
***COMERCIAL POST ALERT!!**
....
Sorry if my Commercial Post offends some of you.
You may reply to this post saying you would like me to stop, and I won't put any more Packa posts here.
Cedar Tree.... it doesn't offend me. The ones that bother me are the commercial posts that don't say they are commercial.
Good Luck to you, Mr. Math Teacher!!!! :)
Rain Man
I made my own out of blaze orange sil nylon. Made it to fit my pack with a foam pad carried externally. Almost impossible to buy a pack cover that fits over an external foam pad. I sealed the seams, and it never leaked. I'm ready for hunting season too.
asmtroop3
12-01-2003, 09:58
I made my own out of blaze orange sil nylon. Made it to fit my pack with a foam pad carried externally. Almost impossible to buy a pack cover that fits over an external foam pad. I sealed the seams, and it never leaked. I'm ready for hunting season too.
Do you have any pics or directions for the rest of us to share? :D Please?
MadAussieInLondon
12-01-2003, 12:24
i was thinking of two small slits in my pack cover, so the straps can loop out round the foam roll and buckle on.. but i might be able to wrap my foam around my tent bundle, which lies vertically in my pack.. hopefully, i'll have nothing on the outside of my pack!
smokymtnsteve
12-01-2003, 12:46
Pack cover...what on earth for....why do you need a pack cover?????????
Do you have any pics or directions for the rest of us to share? :D Please?
I'll try to post some pictures in the next day or two. General directions are fairly simple. A pack cover is a box with one side
missing (the side near your back) and an elastic drawstring around the open edge. Just load up your pack including any external junk you want the pack cover to cover. You should be able to use only 2 or 3 pieces of fabric so as to minimuze seams, with one large piece covering the top, back, and maybe bottom, and separate side pieces. The side pieces should be shaped like a cross-section of the pack+foam pad. Leave the open edge extra long. When the sides are sewn, put it over your pack inside-out. Then add the drawstring and pin in the drawstring hem so that the drawstring comes as far around the pack as possible. Now you can cut off any excess fabric and sew in the drawstring tube. Put the grommet hole for the drawstring on the inside of the drawstring sleeve at the top to keep water out of it. Sewing with felled seams makes for better waterproofing and easier seam-sealing.
Pictures added to photo gallery "Other Galleries", "Gear Gallery". http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1934&password=&sort=1&cat=516&page=1
and
http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1935&password=&sort=1&cat=516&page=1
I have gotten the impression from reading backpacking books, talking to folks, etc. that most long-distance types give up on external pack covers entirely after a few weeks. However, many of you seem to prefer them. Has anybody ever done a poll on this inny/outy preference? I'm definately an inny. Externals have to fit the pack exactly and that doesn't leave versatility for extension collors or small loads. I've been using a trash bag inside my pack and a large ziploc in my external pocket, but I plan to make a silnylon pack liner eventually (holds up better than a trash bag). Unfortunately, if the trash bag does get a hole in it that's not at the bottom, you then have a water collection system. I did once soak my sleeping bag this way, so learn the limitations of whatever system you choose and how to best avoid them. Any system might need to have drainage at the bottom to protect against leaks. I've only been burnt once, but it would have been pretty bad if I'd need my down bag that night! This is also a good example of why that sleeping bag need it's own waterproof sack and not that factory stuff sack that seems waterproof until you realize that the opening has only spray protection at best. Real waterproof bags are not hard to make.
My things are in 4 sylnylon seamsealed bags:
1)largeblue /sleeping bag to keep it from being so compressed;
2)Large Green/clothes
3)Large green/food,Trangia stove, kettle
4)Smaller blue/miscellaneous items
But that is also for organization and ease of searching for items in the pack.
My pack cover is the poncho I use-it does double duty!
(Actually it does triple duty as I sometimes rig it over part of the hammock to give me more shelter)
Youngblood
12-02-2003, 10:34
I have gotten the impression from reading backpacking books, talking to folks, etc. that most long-distance types give up on external pack covers entirely after a few weeks. However, many of you seem to prefer them. Has anybody ever done a poll on this inny/outy preference? I'm definately an inny. Externals have to fit the pack exactly and that doesn't leave versatility for extension collors or small loads. I've been using a trash bag inside my pack and a large ziploc in my external pocket, but I plan to make a silnylon pack liner eventually (holds up better than a trash bag). Unfortunately, if the trash bag does get a hole in it that's not at the bottom, you then have a water collection system. I did once soak my sleeping bag this way, so learn the limitations of whatever system you choose and how to best avoid them. Any system might need to have drainage at the bottom to protect against leaks. I've only been burnt once, but it would have been pretty bad if I'd need my down bag that night! This is also a good example of why that sleeping bag need it's own waterproof sack and not that factory stuff sack that seems waterproof until you realize that the opening has only spray protection at best. Real waterproof bags are not hard to make.
Kank,
I don't know that most long-distance types give up on external pack covers. There are sometimes reasons for using either an inny or outer and if done correctly either system will kinda work. For those who carry stuff that is not contained inside the pack or who use their pack for insulation, then it is preferable to use an outer. Like you pointed out, if you use an outer you need drainage at the bottom to avoid water collecting-- and this is one flaw(?) I have noticed in some pack cover designs. Regardless of what kind of rain protection you use for your pack, it is advisable, if not mandatory, to line your sleeping bag stuff sack with a plastic garbage bag. This is also a good practice to use for your clothes bags. Another point is to remember that zip-lock bags fail... so it would be wise to consider the value of what you have and maybe use a small light-weight dry bag for expensive cameras, etc. Also remember to replace zip-lock bags occasionally.
Youngblood
smokymtnsteve
12-02-2003, 12:34
I have a variety of packs and pack covers ..I spend months on the trail..I lived in the smokies backcountry from most of the season of 2000...except for the time that year I walked to damacus and back...if you waterproof your inside stuff sacks (I double line with plastic trash liners and 2 gallon "baggies" not ziplocks)
then why do you need a pack cover???...another piece of gear that weighs something and get wet and keep up with...I see lots if not most people use them...and I see lots of wet packs and gear when they take them off,,,
now this packa jacket ..I've seen a few of them out and they look like a good deal..but then again unless it's like in the 30's and raining I don't use a rain jacket eithier...and then if it's frozen precip I don't wear a rainjacket either...
so it rains you get wet...so what...as long as you have your gear packed so that you have dry clothes and sleeping bag when you stop and set up camp for the night...
ever read michael's Fromms book Strangers in High Places...the first line is
"it was raining in the smokies" :D
RagingHampster
12-02-2003, 13:42
CampMor sells a 1.3oz RipStop Sil-Nylon pack cover for a little more than $20. Even though I have all the stuff to make one, I got lazy and ordered one for my external frame pack. It supposedly weighs just under 4oz. I'll let you know if it's gravy or just crap once I try it out.
MDSHiker
12-02-2003, 14:53
I stopped using packcovers after several wet backpacking trips. Water always seemed to find its way into my pack from various places. So, I started using ziplocks and trash bags for everything inside my pack. Problem solved. Once the rain stops, it doesn't take long for my pack to dry out. I still own two pack covers but rarely use them.
I always put my sleeping bag inside a trash bag inside a stuff bag. I do the same for my clothes. Works great for me. I use a pack cover to keep my pack from getting soaking wet and nasty in a heavy rain-but hey I'm a girl. I am also a weekend/section hiker not a thru hiker. Equinox makes a silicone impregnated nylon packcover that weighs only 5 oz. It even fits over my sleeping pad and my treking poles when they are attached to the pack. Equinox also makes very lightweight stuff bags. 2 trash bags, 2 equinox stuff bags, plus 1 equinox packcover still weighs less than my OR waterproof sack and I always seem to need a extra garbage bag for trash on the way out. I bought my equinox stuff from Gallyans in Atlanta and I have been very pleased with their stuff so far. their website is www.equinoxltd.com
Streamweaver
12-02-2003, 16:17
pack cover sketch (http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1936) <<Heres a sketch for a pack cover I made if anybody is interested. It is pretty much the same design as the one DebW made except its made using one peice of fabric so there are only 4 short seams not counting the tube for the drawstring. Streamweaver