Pack cover - which one to buy?

[Lophophaps]

Like me my pack cover is wearing out. I'm after a pack cover that has:
1 attachment points or a strap to hold it in place (negotiable - I can make this);
2 a drain hole;
3 reasonably robust; and
4 perhaps in contradiction to the last point, light.
A few brands have the manufacturer's name or logo in big letters or graphics, and this does not appeal much. I'm looking closely at the Sea to Summit offering. The only negative I can see is that it's very light, and may not sustain scrub or being dropped onto the ground. Ideas would be valued.

[north-north-west]

MYO from Tyvek.

[Tortoise]

I recently tried another S2S Ultrasil pack cover - a waste of money imo. First use - was (reasonably carefully) loaded into a boat with a few others, and (likewise with reasonable care) passed out of the boat the other end. 3 holes in it. Didn't bother putting it on my pack again that trip. MAYBE if I was walking on a very wide, unvegetated track, and nobody but me would ever lay a finger on it, and I only put it down on soft grass, etc, etc... I have used one in the past, which lasted longer, so I do wonder if quality has gone down.

[Tortoise]

MYO from Tyvek.

Interesting idea. Have you used one in scrub?

[north-north-west]

Only briefly, but it's a lot stronger than it looks. Works fine and heaps cheaper than a commerical product.

[roysta]

S2S once had heavier duty pack covers of which I have several. It would appear they don't make them any longer so don't know what to suggest


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[Tortoise]

Only briefly, but it's a lot stronger than it looks. Works fine and heaps cheaper than a commerical product.

I had one trip where my Tyvek groundsheet came off second best, despite being as careful as I could with it, so I just wondered. But I'll still have a shot at it! Guess it shouldn't be too hard to put a grommet in it for a drain hole.

[Lophophaps]

Tortoise, it's not hard to make a cloth eyelet. It's best to have a trial run on scrap fabric. Make a mark where you want the hole. Fold the fabric twice, EW for one fold and NS for the other, such that you now have a 90 degree angle where you want the hole. Carefully snip this at 45 degrees and unfold. There will now be a small square hole. With small scissors make four cuts at 90 degrees deep enough to get the size of the hole you want and a bit more..Sew the flaps back.

Then make two patches with holes in them. There’s several ways to do this, all a bit fiddly at small scales, but they work. The key part is that the patch holes are smaller than the hole in the pack cover or base fabric. The reason is that the patches will act as a hem for the pack cover.

The drawing below shows a section through a hole and patch. The red is the pack cover, and the patches are black. The thin black lines are stitches. I recommend making the patches such that they are complete and only need to be sewn on. I also recommend that the patches be sewn on one side and then the other. I have done it this way and its still hard to line up the patches.

Odd, the PDF will not load.

[Mark F]

All in all a good set of arguments for using a pack liner.

[nq111]

The best pack cover you can get is... a couple of dry bags.

Pack covers are cumbersome, prone to failure and a disaster in scrub.

[Strider]

The best pack cover you can get is... a couple of dry bags.

Pack covers are cumbersome, prone to failure and a disaster in scrub.

+1

I've never understood their purpose?

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[Singe]

I wonder if it would be feasible to macguiver a groundsheet into a pack cover? I'm always in favour of multi-use wherever possible, and a tyvek groundsheet is pretty bulky and often wet and dirty - makes sense to use as a pack cover rather than putting it inside the pack I reckon. If it wrapped the pack completely could also make it possible to get away with a lighter weight pack that's less robust and potentially not waterproof. Thoughts?

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[Lophophaps]

I rather like the verb "McGyver". I had not seen this context before.

From memory, the pack covers I was looking at are about 160 grams. A groundsheet would be more than this. While agreeing on multiple purpose items, I'm not persuaded that a groundsheet can be a viable pack cover. It would certainly be possible to add a few bits of velcro, tags and the like, and maybe elastic cord to hold it in place in strong winds. There would probably be too many folds that could trap water, and this is extra weight I'd rather not carry. Also, I attempt to preserve the integrity of the groundsheet, which in turn protects the tent floor. I'm not even sure if my groundsheet is waterproof. In strong winds and other bad weather it could be a little hard to wrap up a pack in a groundsheet. Also, I have no tent bag, and if the tent is wet it goes into the groundsheet. Finally, I attempt to keep my groundsheet dry so that the floor of the tent keeps dry. Having the groundsheet in the weather during the day is not good for this.

I may buy a brolly, good for the Main Range and the Western Arthurs. First umbrella ascent of PB, blown a bit off course from the Arthurs.

[north-north-west]

First umbrella ascent of PB, blown a bit off course from the Arthurs.

I think Mary Poppins beat you to it.

[Singe]

All good points; I feel some may be surmountable. I guess after that it'll come down to whether the hassle and cons are outweighed (literally) by the pros. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'll have an experiment.

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[Lophophaps]

NNW, Mary Poppins was in London, not SW Tassie. Do pay attention.

Singe, I have not seen any pros on the OLT.

[Singe]

I'm not sure what OLT means in this context, but the pros I anticipate are lower total weight (due to avoiding a dedicated pack cover and potentially using a lighter pack), keeping pack and contents dry, and avoiding packing a wet and muddy groundsheet inside the pack.

Of course, whether these apply depends on your packing technique and approach (e.g. the second mightn't if you pack everything in draybags as a matter of course.

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[Moondog55]

I've only had 2 pack covers
One shop bought the other a homer
Neither lasted a full day, pack liners on the other hand seem to last almost forever, even rubbish bags last for ages

[Lophophaps]

Mea culpa, OLT stands for Overland Track, in Tasmania. Some people use OT, which is correct but not as distinct as OLT. The weight saving does not matter to me unduly. i'll save weight where I can but not compromise on some things. it's very rare that my groundsheet is too wet, muddy or both to put in the pack, and if it is, then it goes under the lid and not in the main compartment. A combination of a pack cover and good stuff sacks keeps gear dry.

[andrewa]

All in all a good set of arguments for using a pack liner.

Orange garden garbage bag....INSIDE.

[Orion]

I've only had 2 pack covers...
...Neither lasted a full day, pack liners on the other hand seem to last almost forever, even rubbish bags last for ages

I've had exactly the opposite experience. A silnylon pack cover I made about ten years ago is still in good shape, albeit with a few patches. Meanwhile I've gone through a couple dozen heavy duty contractor bags. It seems they always develop holes, probably from packing certain items.

My most recent pack was twenty years old when I retired it. It wasn't a waterproof pack to begin with and the DWR only lasted for so long. The fabric had a defective polyurethane coating and sloughed off like a snake skin within a few years. So for the last 15 years or so I've had a pack made from what was essentially uncoated nylon. So, yeah, a pack cover seemed like a good thing to use, in conjunction with a liner and sometimes a dry bag or two.

Now I have brand new pack. It's not waterproof as the seams aren't sealed but it's made of quality PU coated fabric. Should I shelve the pack cover?

[Peaksnik]

Should I shelve the pack cover?

I justify the use of a pack cover this way: 1) it keeps my pack from getting wetter than otherwise and thus saves a few grams to offset the weight of the cover (clutching at straws perhaps?); 2) stuff kept in the side and front pockets is more protected and less likely to catch on scrub etc.; 3) I use the cover at lengthy stops and in setting up and breaking camp to keep stuff in one place and easy to find; 4) as a "table" cloth.

I wouldn't use one without drybags or a liner.

[Orion]

Should I shelve the pack cover?

I justify the use of a pack cover this way: 1) it keeps my pack from getting wetter than otherwise and thus saves a few grams to offset the weight of the cover (clutching at straws perhaps?);...

I've never thought of them as weight saving devices!

My oversized silnylon cover weighs 85g, which I imagine would easily be the weight absorbed by a wet pack. But the cover itself also gets wet, although perhaps not quite as much. Hard to say. And when it rains and rains and rains everything kind of gets wet anyway. The pack cover seems most useful when it's not raining continuously for days. But in that instance the pack would (hopefully) have a chance to dry out on its own. Now I'm confused.

Looking at photos of a very wet Western Arthurs trip I notice that while my partner and I both have pack covers the two Tasmanians who were walking/scrambling in tandem with us had none. We all looked happy.

[Peaksnik]

My oversized silnylon cover weighs 85g, which I imagine would easily be the weight absorbed by a wet pack. But the cover itself also gets wet, although perhaps not quite as much. Hard to say. And when it rains and rains and rains everything kind of gets wet anyway.

That's my thinking too. But I have convinced myself that without the pack cover in torrential rain the water is captured and held more easily by the pack rather than, for the most part, instantly shed by the cover. So, while the water saturates the pack it also actually momentarily holds it too -- a dynamic super saturation?

It would be interesting to test this out in the backyard with a hose. I suppose that the test would have to involve suspending the pack from hanging scales first hosing down with cover on and then without. I might wait for warmer weather though as the forecast is for a coolish weekend -- only getting up to 26C

[JCB81]

Pack covers work fine on nice open wide fire trails but I stopped taking them into the bush after getting caught on branches and shredding too many! Now I go with a pack liner like this http://www.kathmandu.com.au/pack-liner-kathmandu.html and slightly more heavy duty dry bags to go inside that. Again I gave up on the ultra sil and lightweight options in favour of these, works for me. http://www.seatosummit.com.au/products/storage-bags/big-river-dry-bags/?ref=watersports

[Walk_fat boy_walk]

Yeh each to their own but I think pack covers have limited utility, but I do carry one if I'm using my heavier canvas pack on longer/heavier/scrubbier trips, because it gets #^(&!ng heavy when it wets out... so it's more about protecting the pack itself than the contents within (I have dry bags for those). It's a zpacks cuben pack cover which is fantastic but not cheap... ticks boxes for not being branded or having lairy colours tho

When I'm using my UL pack (Robic) I don't bother with one and just rely on the dry bags on the inside.

[MrFaulty]

Buy an Australian made OP pack, then you don't need a cover as they are pretty well waterproof! And no, I'm not on commission but I do own 3!

[Strider]

Buy an Australian made OP pack, then you don't need a cover as they are pretty well waterproof! And no, I'm not on commission but I do own 3!

Pack covers aren't for waterproofing your contents, they are to stop canvas packs wetting out and becoming even heavier.

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[wildwanderer]

Be nice if there was a robust "scrub basher" pack cover on the market. I have a lightweight but fairly delicate pack (osprey exos). Id be interested in buying a heavy duty pack cover for pack protection when a hike featured offtrack scrub walking.

As others have said, for rain protection I find a pack liner is the way to go.

[photohiker]

Pack covers aren't for waterproofing your contents, they are to stop canvas packs wetting out and becoming even heavier.

Or just get a pack made from water resistant material. Mariposa for example, does not absorb water. No need for a pack cover.

Have walked with others using pack covers with canvas packs, and not a fan. In any heavy rain, the pack is absorbing the water even with a cover, and often the cover has a pool at the bottom of the cover. Waste of money, time, effort, and ideas. Just get a pack made from water resistant material!