Pack liner and/or pack cover ?

[PR Man]

Do you line your pack with a plastic bag - - Yes or No ?

Do you use a pack cover - - Yes or No ?

Do you use both - - Yes or No ?

Wonder whether or not there is a consensus ?

[FarmerChef]

Do you line your pack with a plastic bag - - Yes or No ?

Do you use a pack cover - - Yes or No ?

Do you use both - - Yes or No ?

Wonder whether or not there is a consensus ?

I doubt there will be true consensus. However, I've read many a thread with folks saying water inevitably finds its way around their pack cover and that a trash bag inside the pack is more reliable. I use the trashbag in mine and a poncho over me and my pack.

[moldy]

No liner, I do however, bag my sleeping bag. Yes I use a pack cover.

[Xristos]

Pack cover. I'll be switching from stuff sacks to trash compactor bags for my sleeping bag and underquilt (hammock camper) on my trip this weekend. Less compression on the down and all. Maybe lining the inside of the pack is my next evolutionary step???? Pack covers are heavy :(

[Meriadoc]

Pack covers are heavy :(

I use both.

Xristos, what pack cover are you using? Silnylon pack covers tend to run about 3 ounces.

[BuckeyeBill]

I use Both.

[Xristos]

Yeah I have a beast for my Gregory Baltoro 75 - weighs in at 5.9oz (not that the pack is any better :) ). BUT I have a new ULA Curcuit showing up Friday with a cover that's 3.4oz. Working on going lighter, figured the Circuit & cover is a great step down in weight. But I'm in a gram count mode - I need to go lighter since I like to take photography and fly fishing gear on the trail. Maybe I'm being tooooo.....?

[MuddyWaters]

If you are carrying a huge pack, and a heavy load already, you might be concerned with how much it weighs wet. The more fabric you have, the more it will weigh.

I use only a pack liner , doesnt matter if my pack gets wet, it will weigh a little more wet, not a big deal.

My gear stays totally dry.

[Meriadoc]

That's indeed a beast! I used a Baltoro for a bit - it carried wonderfully. The Circuit will serve you well. Friday will be a good day for you. [Every day should be a good day! :)]

[bobtomaskovic]

Trash bags for what needs to stay dry.

[nu2hike]

I use both! Trash bag for pack liner mainly to keep my down quilts dry. I also try to keep my pack as dry as possible not only to keep what's inside dry but to reduce the extra weight of a wet pack!
I use a 1.5 oz ( which includes a stuff sack) cuben fiber pack cover from Zpacks!

[fredmugs]

I use a sil-nylon (I think) liner (2.8 oz) and I have a GoLite tarp/poncho (7.8 oz) that also covers my pack. Pack covers alone aren't very efficient.

[Xristos]

I use a 1.5 oz ( which includes a stuff sack) cuben fiber pack cover from Zpacks!

Now we're talking! It's funny, I researched packs to no end and at the last minute added a cover to the order without much though. Actually, it's the way the cover fastens around the bottom back of the pack that got me. Fits nice and snug against the back of the pack instead of leaving that rain catching pocket in the belt area. When hanging packs from cables in the Smokies I find this especially bad.

[Xristos]

That's indeed a beast! I used a Baltoro for a bit - it carried wonderfully. The Circuit will serve you well. Friday will be a good day for you. [Every day should be a good day! :)]

I'm so freakin' excited! Wooooooooo

[The Ace]

I use a Zpacks cuben fiber backpack cover (26 grams). No need for its little cuben fiber stuff sack. Clothes go in a roll top cuben fiber dry bag (18 grams) and sleeping bag goes in a Granite Gear eVent Sil Compression DrySak (2.9 ounces). I put these in a garbage disposal bag although I don't really need to. The primary purpose of the disposal bag is to put it down on the ground in the vestibule area of my tent. This allows me to get in and out without tracking in dirt and junk, a place to set my water for the next morning's use, and if it's raining hard at night, I can stick my hiking shoes inside of the bag. If it gets muddy, its easy to wash off.

[Xristos]

I put these in a garbage disposal bag although I don't really need to.

I would think that might prove problematic ;)

[Hill Ape]

pack cover, hi viz orange. and i'm OCD about how i pack, everything is in air bags, sorted by group. clothes bag, food bag, kitchen bag, hygiene/first aid, plus the sleeping bag and tent bag. all color coded. people laugh, but it works for me and keeps me organized.

[BirdBrain]

I use both. I use a pack liner to keep things in the pack dry. I use a pack cover to keep the pack dry. A wet pack weighs more than a dry pack and a pack cover. My pack cover is also my rain protection. It is a packa. The packa is better at keeping a pack dry than a pack cover and separate rain jacket. However, it is not perfect. That is why I use a pack liner. It is more reliable than any pack cover. My pack liner is a heavy duty garbage bag.

[hobbs]

I use Both but my packcover is cuben..

[NLaeger]

I use both... I use a trash compactor bag inside, it's a little thicker so lasts longer and keeps the important stuff dry (sleeping bag, cloths, etc.) I also use a pack cover, yes my pack still gets wet but the pack cover keeps my pack drier longer then if I didn't have one.

[QuabbinHiker]

I cover my pack so it does not get wet in the rain. If you do it right nothing gets wet even in a constant downpour.

[rsjrny]

I use a trash bag liner and if the weather is exceptionally bad I will throw on the pack cover. The trash bag also projects the pack contents in case of a bladder malfunction.

[daddytwosticks]

Three lines of defense: stuff sack most times, pack liner, and cover. Warm-month short hikes: pack liner and poncho. :)

[rusty bumper]

Trash compactor bag with sleeping bag and clothes bag inside. Three small Sea-to-Summit stuff sacks for all other items inside pack....cooking gear, first aid, tp, hygiene, etc. Food in larger S-t-S stuff sack. All other items. that I don't mind getting wet. in mesh pockets on outside of pack...tent, DEET, Aqua Mira, rain gear, water bottle, etc. No pack cover.

[Nooga]

Both..........

[Turk6177]

I use a cut down lawn and leaf bag inside my pack and do not use a pack cover. I keep my electronics in an Alok sack (available at REI-like a ziplock on steroids) and my clothes and sleeping bag each in a sea to summit waterproof stuff sack (compression stuff sack for my down bag). If I pack a wet tent, I put it in the bottom of my back pack and then put everything else in the lawn and leaf bag sitting on top of it. If you choose to do this, make sure you leave enough "top" of the bag to fold over inside your pack to keep it extra dry. I have hiked through torrential rains and my important items (sleeping bag, clothes, and electronics) have never gotten wet.

[jbwood5]

I also use a compactor bag. Since you load and unload stuff at least once a day, a garbage bag will be torn or get holes in it quickly. Then if water gets in, the bag will just hold the water and make things heavy. I also use stuff sacks like rusty bumper does.

I'll often use a pack cover as an extra measure, but on this years long section hike, I used a Packa Poncho which I ended up tearing in a few places in the Whites (butt scooting and pack dragging). The Packa (a BP cover and ponch combo) has some nice features, but too expensive for rugged trips where it is exposed to sharp rocks that will tear the material (it is actually pretty tough). Since I had a rainy year, I appreciated having the Packa poncho.

[Blissful]

I use everything I can to protect my core gear. Liner, cover, etc Reynolds oven bags are great as a double bag

[Kerosene]

I use Cuben fiber stuff sacks (sleeping bag, camp clothes, first aid kit, foot/repair kit, toiletries, foodbag, tarp) weighing 5 ounces, plus a pack cover weighing less than an ounce. It's amazing how much heavier a wet pack is than a dry one, even if I apply DWR ahead of my section hike.