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Rant: That guy at REI who told me to skip the rain cover for my pack
Some dude in the gear section said a trash compactor bag inside is all you need, so I tried it on the John Muir Trail last month... after 3 days of steady drizzle my sleeping bag was damp and my clothes smelled like wet dog. Has anyone else had a liner fail them like that on a long trip?
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faith_thomas24d ago
Had a similar thing happen on the Wonderland Trail a few years back... packed everything in a compactor bag like the internet says and after a week of off and on rain my stuff was definitely damp. The problem is those bags can get tiny holes from rubbing against stuff in your pack, and once water gets in it just sits there. A real pack cover lets the water run off instead of pooling around your gear, plus it keeps the pack itself from soaking up a ton of weight.
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parker_bailey24d ago
Exactly this. Faith is spot on about the pack itself soaking up water, that's the part people forget. A wet pack adds pounds of water weight and then your back gets soaked through the frame sheet. I've done the compactor bag only method and sure it works for a weekend but anything over 4-5 days and the bag develops those pinprick holes from shifting gear. The real trick I've found is using both - a thin pack cover on the outside to keep the pack dry and a lightweight dry bag inside for the sleeping bag only. That way your clothes can get damp without ruining your night's sleep.
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