Do I really need a pack cover?

no "trashbags for waterproof and ziplocs for organization" as mentioned by someone else in this thread.

To Doug Ide and others:

Just ordered the yellow MLD cover. At 2.5 oz and 35 bucks, you can't go wrong. It will provide some protection for my rather fragile Alpine Trail BP, and the bright yellow can't be beat during hunting season here in Ohio.

Stargazer

No.

Do you really want a pack cover? That's a question only you can answer, depending on where you stow your pack at night.

I use a pack cover to keep the outside of my pack clean and dry enough to bring it into my tent to use as a pillow. It's a ZPacks cuben cover so the weight is minimal.

A pack cover, however, has limitations. It will NOT protect your pack's contents from getting wet either from immersion (even highly experienced backpackers have been known to slip and fall during a difficult stream ford) or from heavy rain running down between your back and the back of the pack. Only a pack liner or dry bags will keep your critical insulating gear dry under those circumstances. So if you don't mind the outside of your pack getting wet, skip the pack cover.

Good comments Mary.

Another thing to consider is that most covers do not protect the back side of the pack, and in a deluge water finds it way to run down the back of the pack.

imo drybags and stuff sacks are not more effective than trash bags. What most people are reffering to are not ordinary trash bags, but contractor bags, which are extremely tough. IMO they are fullproof, barring something tearing through your pack like a bear. drybags have seams.

i do have a tough pack, which is probably why im more concerned about water buildup than most. Most backpackers have tougher packs, not ul packs so for most this is an issue. I can see how a ula catalyst is not going to absorb that much water, but packs packs with thick shoulder pad, hip belts, etc, its a different story.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/dry_sacks_comparison_testing.html

they all leaked or absorbed water.

@Ben re: “Hmmm, how valid is it really to assume that people only hike within their own locale? I have hiked through hard rain, done tricky stream crossings, and canoed. :)”

It’s not fair at all, but it’s kind of fun! Although, how fair is it to assume that people assume that people only hike within their own locale? :)

On the topic – I don’t really have a dramatic opinion. Sometimes I find a pack cover useful, often I don’t. The one I use currently is less than an ounce: by Joe and doesn’t offer much in abrasion resistance, but it can also be used as a vestibule ground cloth, among other things.

For those of you who used closed cell sleeping pads as your pack frame, do you put it inside or outside of the liner?

I've been using a liner for a while, but I've been using it with an inflatable ether thermo 6. Now that I'm switching to a short Ridgerest, I need to figure out the best way to pack the thing.