Drain holes in pack bottoms?

[rsmout]

I've been reading SOBO trail journals lately, and 2009 seems like a rainfall record in Maine. Smokin' Loon and Mountain Yogi called it the 100-Mile Mud Puddle.

Trash compactor bags, dry bags, etc. can keep your gear dry, but what if your pack gets waterlogged? And what about all that water weight? Pack covers and long ponchos work up to a point, and there's a long wait list for a Packa (a pack cover-poncho combination).

Has anyone put drain holes in the bottom of packs, like the drain holes and mesh in pockets? Granted, the minute you set your pack down, water and/or mud gets in, but you can take care of that with an interior baffle - maybe some of that miracle fabric called Goretex?

I wonder if you could use some dabs of Shoe Goop on the bottom and burn a few holes with a soldering iron.

Maybe it's not one of the best ideas lately, but it was worth thinking about.

[canoehead]

Don't put holes in your pack..
The priority is to keep the pack dry as long as possible. I use sea to summit bags to keep my gear dry inside of my pack so everything is safe..
In South America we had stream and river crossings and I was able to use my pack as a float and everything stays dry. Pack covers do an OK job but you can also spray water repellent on your pack as needed if that is an issue.

[ChinMusic]

I would suggest a drain hole in the bottom of your pack cover, if you use one. With some pack covers you can end up carrying a lake of water trapped in the bottom of the pack cover that just soaks your pack. Kinda defeats the purpose.

[Pedaling Fool]

I'm not sure if drain holes would make much of a difference, at least for my pack, because the water absorbs into the pack's outer shell and then drips out (if soaked enough, but usually just evaporates. It's not like there's a steady stream of water pouring in the pack.

[Rick500]

My pack's rain cover has a couple of holes in the bottom, but I think I want to keep my pack itself hole-less. I put my down sleeping bag in an eVent dry sack, inside a trash compactor bag (along with almost everything else in the pack), and use the rain cover on the outside of the pack. That's worked out great so far. Given, I haven't submerged the pack or floated it across a river or anything.

[rip waverly]

My pack's rain cover has a couple of holes in the bottom, but I think I want to keep my pack itself hole-less. I put my down sleeping bag in an eVent dry sack, inside a trash compactor bag (along with almost everything else in the pack), and use the rain cover on the outside of the pack. That's worked out great so far. Given, I haven't submerged the pack or floated it across a river or anything.


i do the same. has worked for me too.