View Full Version : Do pack covers work?
I got a Sea to Summit siliconized codura pack cover for Xmas.
Looks pretty cool... how well will it work?
Should work. Just remember, waterproofing is never 100%, you have to use several layers of waterproofing to ensure stuff stays dry.
A good pack cover just adds another layer of defense to your waterproofing system.
I use a heavy duty garbage bag as a pack liner, generously use ziplocs and silnylon bags and double bag the things that are near and dear to me (dry clothes, sleeping system, etc.)
Footslogger
12-27-2007, 11:10
I got a Sea to Summit siliconized codura pack cover for Xmas.
Looks pretty cool... how well will it work?
==================================
It'll work as designed ...but NO traditional pack cover will hold back constant downpours. In addition to using the pack cover I would suggest you line your pack with a plastic trash compactor bag. That way if the rain gets through (and trust me, it WILL) the contents of your pack will stay dry.
'Slogger
These guys know what their talking about!! I use a XL Ziploc bag as a liner plus the Sea to Summit cover. The XL Ziploc seems to be holding up very well and I like how it is thicker than a contractor bag but doesn't add weight. I have used the one I am using now for about 4 trips. They hold up well. :)
Pack covers work, but redundancy is the key to keepin stuff dry. The more critical an item is, the more layers. Down sleeping bag needs its own protective layer (a lightweight kitchen garbage bag will do.)
I never had good luck with pack covers. I prefer a garbage bag and use it as a pack LINER.
Esp with lighter packs that do not soak up water as much, this method has worked very well for me.
Cheap, light, effective.
BitBucket
12-27-2007, 11:50
Only if you put it on!
seriously...I walked in a blowing downpour for about 6 miles and the only thing that really got damp (other than me) was the lower left outside hip belt of my pack where I didn't have the cover pulled tight....everything inside was pretty dry..
Mine was a generic REI Ducks Back brand and although it didn't have a good custom fit with my Gregory Baltoro pack, it did keep the water out....
However, like others, things I really want to keep dry go into multiple layers of zip-lock bags (socks, cell phone, mp3 player, medical kit).
You can also vacuum seal your extra socks and they will stay dry until you are ready to use them. Vacuum sealing is a great way to go and it will stay clean and dry until you are ready to use the item.
I have never used pack covers. I do put my things in a silnylon bag, though, and have never had a problem with them getting wet, even with a Gearskin pack where almost 1/2 of two of the bags are directly in the rain. I use the same setup when I use my closed bag, a Mchale ultralight, without a liner even. personally, I have found the silnylon bags to be about foolproof but you should seam the seal and then you can use them for an emergency reservoir for water. They do not leak-unless punctured. i only double bag the sleeping bag but I am not sure even that is necessary. Of course, one could wear a poncho and do none of the above, but I couldnt imagine why not. The few ags also serve to keep one's gear well organized for quickly finding something.
I've never had good luck with pack covers. I had three. Each one, when it rains, the straps get wet and water wicks down to the pack and wets the pack anyway.
What I have had good luck with is a Packa, a one-piece long rainjacket and pack cover:
http://thepacka.com/
When rain is in the forecast, it goes on the pack like a regular pack cover. If it rains, you can put it over you without removing it from the pack. Hard to explain but it works slick.
Bought mine at Traildays, and Cedar Tree made the sleeves 8 inches longer than normal for my gorilla arms. I love it.
(Even with the Packa, I put a trash compactor bag inside my pack for sleeping bag and clothing. It only takes one episode when you are in the woods and your sleeping bag and all your clothing get wet for you become a believer in caution where rain is concerned.)
Just a Hiker
12-27-2007, 13:50
The Sea to Summit pack cover is a good cover, but as others have stated, using a trash bag inside your pack is key to keeping things dry.
Just Jim
take-a-knee
12-27-2007, 14:32
The Sea to Summit pack cover is a good cover, but as others have stated, using a trash bag inside your pack is key to keeping things dry.
Just Jim
Trash compactor bags last longer than garbage bags, and have a shape that fits most packs better. Not all supermarkets carry them, I found the Hefty brand at an ACE hardware. I put my sleeping bag and hammock in stuff sacks inside the compactor bag with my clothing bag on top. Then tuck the top of the bag down between the liner and the pack. Food bag and cookset goes above the liner.
I do it a little differently, instead of lining my pack with a garbage bag, I line my stuffsacks with turkey roasting bags. I don't like fighting with a garbage bag while looking for something I need. It tended to get in my way. YMMV
just a different approach that works for me.
mweinstone
12-27-2007, 15:49
anything works including nothing. nothing in my pack ever gets wet unless i say so. thats a spiffy cover you got . obviously your well loved.
It will be somewhat effective, but all pack covers are prone to shifting, sagging, billowing, blowing off in the wind, etc. Water will get down the back, get in if you move the cover to grab a water bottle from a side pocket, etc. Plus, you can't ford deep water with a pack cover and expect to keep your stuff dry.
Garbage bag used as liner is TOTALLY effective in about 99% of wet situations, including fords over waist high, brief submersion if you need to swim, drop it in a lake, whatever. Like Mags mentioned, these work best with simple packs that have few or no external pockets, and with little pack material to get soaked and heavy. I'll never use anything different.
My custom fit Gregory pack cover, I do believe, would keep out deluge after deluge. I've been in some pretty hard rains and my pack has not had even a hint of getting wet. The cover has a rubberized coating on the inside.
That said, I do agree with others that redundancy never hurts, so I always pack my clothes and a few other things that I don't want to get wet in additional plastic and silnylon bags.
The downside of not using a pack cover, assuming you've done due diligence in packing the essentials in waterproof packaging inside your pack, is the weight that a water-logged pack will take on, the water that it will introduce in your tent (if you bring it inside or would like to), and how long it will take to dry? It is for these considerations that I choose to use one. ;)
turtle fast
12-27-2007, 17:38
A pack cover too is good for storing your pack outside if you don't have tent or vestuble space when it rains. Lay it down strap side down and put on your backpack cover, its your tent for your pack. :)
They also make good gear hammocks too.
turtle fast
12-27-2007, 18:08
Actually I almost forgot, I had taken a backpacking college course....an easy credit...and we paired into groups to backpack the Porcupine Mountains in the Upper Penninsula of Michigan and in our group we had a guy fall off a 60 foot cliff by Shining Cloud Falls and badly injure himself...long story about the rescue, my deputization, the Coast Guard helo lift rescue...the ensueing FOREST FIRE we had to fight from a signal fire and rotor wash from the helo.....and the firefighting we had to do in an old growth forest area none the less....AND the orders to go to the hospital as I was deputized to get checked out....even though nothing was wrong with me.......point....yes the point....we sliced holes in my pack cover along the seam and cord to affix 2 cut poles for an emergency stretcher with 2 t -shirts.
A pack cover too is good for storing your pack outside if you don't have tent or vestuble space when it rains. Lay it down strap side down and put on your backpack cover, its your tent for your pack. :)
Or hang the pack on a tree trunk using the waist belt and the chest strap. I did this routinely when I had a small tent and a rather large Camp Trails frame pack.
shelterbuilder
12-27-2007, 19:35
I think that the key word here is redundancy! The pack cover is a good start, but if it's vital that the equipment stays dry, bag it up inside your pack anyway! My sleeping bag, for instance, is always in it's own liner bag, no matter what.
superman
12-27-2007, 19:47
I think that the key word here is redundancy!
I used a garbage bag as a pack cover. I used a garbage bag as a liner inside my pack. I kept my down sleeping bag in a garbage bag. I kept my wet tent in a garbage bag. I used a heavy ply garbage bag as a rain coat for Winter if it was a hard or cold rain. She liked it when I positioned the bag forward and protected her eyes from the rain. Her pack held the bag in place.
I lost a pack cover on Sugarloaf mountain in Maine while doing the section there in a wickedly windy rain storm. I didn't realize it for a long time. By the time I noticed, everything in my pack was soaking wet. I use both a pack cover (to keep the pack fabric from soaking up rain, making the pack weigh more), and trash can liners (one for sleeping bag and nighttime clothing, one for daytime clothing, and one for food and cookware - probably not really necessary). I've been thinking of buying a silnylon vapor barrier (the one I have now is made of Stephenson's "Fuzzy Stuff" and is heavy), and using that as my pack liner. Double duty.
Oh, before I forget, lash your pack cover down tightly when venturing above treeline or walking in open meadows in the wind.
Programbo
12-27-2007, 20:24
I agree with several above posters..I never used a "pack cover"..I would simply line my pack with a heavy duty trash bag first and then pack my gear and then just fold the bag over..The new ones that are puncture resistant seem a good choice
wrongway_08
12-28-2007, 19:13
Sew that thing onto your jacket to make a Packa sytle jacket. Here is the link to the one I made with a REI pack cover.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=29964
Pack covers will help..but if you are hiking in a down pour that lasts for hours or longer it is not enough. Line pack with a waterproff garbage bag, put sleeping bag in water proof stuff sack and that in water proof bag Plus use a pack cover.
The pack cover on its own will slow the process of wetting down.. but on its own it is far from adequate and won't keep stuff dry. Also..when it rains it often gets windy and thus if the pack cover is not fully secured rain can get in underneath.
David