Are pack covers useless?

[Sassafras Lass]

Been hearing many different takes on this subject - what are your thoughts?

DH and I are getting a Packa for our AT thru next spring, and will be lining our Atmos 65 and Aura 50 packs with liners/garbage bags/whatever is durable and lightweight to help offset accidents - but have been wondering if it would be sensible to get a good pack cover in the instance that it's pouring rain, we stop for lunch, and I want to stay covered in the Packa.

Thoughts?

[HiKen2011]

Are pack covers useless????????????? No!

[MattBuck30]

Pack covers help some. They do not keep everything completely dry, but they do keep everything from getting completely soaked.

[couscous]

Pack covers are like stoves .. some consider them mandatory .. some never carry them. I never carry one and just put a trash bag over my pack when I take it off.

[John B]

I don't know when you hike, but I often go in the fall -- hunting season. I have a flame orange pack cover that I wouldn't leave home without. I also use a trash compactor bag and water repellant stuff sacks, but maybe I'm water phobic. Still, my flame orange pack cover is one of my most valuable hiking items.

[Llama Legs]

I use a BRIGHT orange sil-nylon pack cover when I'm around hunters. Otherwise, no.

[garlic08]

I don't use one anymore, just a trash compactor bag liner. Some hikers use a cover to keep the pack dry(er) so the pack itself doesn't get waterlogged and heavy. My pack is made of silnylon and doesn't absorb any water to speak of, so I don't notice that effect.

[kayak karl]

i had to read it 5 times. if you keep thinking like this you will be carrying extra hiking poles. the packa is great. if it looks like a bad rain day put your lunch in your packa pocket. if you must take off your pack put it on a rock a stand over it.
when it rained that bad i just kept moving. it funny how rain days give you more energy.

packa or pack cover, not both.

[Manwich]

I think the weight is negligible when you consider just how much more heavier your pack will become after it's rained for about an hour.

[TheChop]

I bought one. Used it. Realized it was damn near useless. It'll keep the pack dry just as long as the rain isn't really bad enough to worry about using it and won't be terribly effective in a heavy all day downpour. The last time I was out in a heavy rain I had it with me and didn't even bother putting it on.

The caveat to this is I keep things that absolutely have to stay dry in dry sacks within the pack so it's not a big deal for the pack to be soaked.

[Lyle]

No, they add one more layer to your protection and keep your pack from absorbing water and becoming heavier.

[Danielsen]

I'd recommend seeing how your pack's material responds to heavy rain, simulated with a garden hose. My Granite Gear pack is made of a tough cordura that doesn't absorb any moisture, even under heavy rain. It just beads off. You have to put it in a puddle for a minute or two for any water to get in. I never needed or wanted a pack cover during a month of lugging it around the andes during the rainy season.

My minimalist stripped-down walmart pack that I'd use for an AT thru, on the other hand, is made of some sort of gridstop nylon that will let water pass and be absorbed. I've always just used a trash bag on the outside of the pack, though.

[STICK]

I would suggest that if you are going to use one, make sure it fits your pack properly and also make sure it has a drain hole in the bottom of it. In heavy rains the water will get in (unless wearing the packa or a poncho to keep water completely out) and then it will pool in the bottom of the rain cover.

[10-K]

Like others have said, a pack cover won't keep your pack completely dry but it works pretty well in a drizzle or when a rain cloud blows over.

The thing I like about a pack cover is that after it rains and the ground is all wet and muddy I can take my pack off and lay it on its back without the pack itself (and all the stuff I have stuffed on the outside of the pack) getting muddy and dirty.

[flemdawg1]

I just keep a track bag in my pack to protect whatever I dont want wet + water resistant/proof stuffsacks.

[kayak karl]

I think the weight is negligible when you consider just how much more heavier your pack will become after it's rained for about an hour.

they already have a packa. should they ditch that and take a pack cover instead?

[Mountain Wildman]

The Packa is a good choice since it completely covers you and the pack, If you want to keep your pack dry while resting or having lunch, A trash bag would be lighter than a pack cover and will cover the whole pack and suspension so it is dry when you put it back on, Pack covers just protect the pack body and not the waistbelt etc...

[Wise Old Owl]

Never used one, some swear by it... A small gallon trashbag inside was nice and a sill nylon wet bag for the sleep bag for dry compression. I think its a few ounces short of a full pack cover.

[Doctari]

The ONE time I used one, IT got all of my gear at the bottom of the pack (read MY SLEEPING BAG) Soaked due to a build up / puddle in the bottom of the cover. Similar T-storm the day before when I didn't use it & stuff was dry. SO, everything is now in plastic bags, or as I call them "Internal pack covers". Everything stays dry now, & the "used ONE time" pack cover is forever retired.

By one time, I do mean ONE time on ONE trip, it was on for about 2 hrs. S base of Blood to the Yi.

[Tinker]

As others have said, a pack cover will keep the back (which most folks call the "front", even though it faces the direction you came from) dry (if it's in perfect condition - watch campfire sparks - I know from experience). Rain will still run down your back and soak the suspension and the pack fabric facing your back. I once carried a pack cover as well as a poncho and was glad I did because I was too warm in the poncho, so I just got wet and changed when I got into camp. My silnylon pack absorbs water and doesn't have a top lid, so I use both a pack cover (because there's a big hole in the top of my pack) and a couple of kitchen garbage bags ( I carry a spare, just in case - it is still be lighter than a stuffsack).