Gossamer Gear Kumo in rainy weather

Unless one is using a dry bag style pack, I would recommend protecting your valuable items in a bag liner or dry bag. cuben bags are usually seam sealed and waterproof to start but trail use and abrasion could change that after walking by one tree or shrub. I doubt the materials on the Kumo are absorbent but more so then cuben.

Use a liner and get what you want :)

Put a large plastic rubbish (trash compactor) bag inside the pack, put everything else inside the plastic bag.

No pack will be waterproof unless it is designed that way. Portage bags for canoes, for instance are water proof.

That said, the Kumo is slightly smaller and has smaller hip-belt pockets. One thing that many do not initially realize is that it is easy to stash a sweater, rain jacket, and/or a insulating jacket under the over-the-top panel.

The Windrider is larger, and has a little better hip-belt pockets. It is also heavier by about 6oz. It also has a more open mesh front pouch for putting wet gear.

In either case you will need a dry bag as a bear bag or a waterproof bear canister. (I always have trouble making a liner do double duty as a bear bag and prefer to keep food totally separate from my dry cloths & sleeping gear.) You will also need a dry bag/compression bag for your sleeping bag/quilt and dry cloths with either pack. Both are small and you need every cubic inch at the beginning of a trip.

Some people prefer the lighter liners, but they fail in functionality for me. They can neither compress nor separate.

I’ve used my Kumos (2015 and 2016) with nylofume and Cuben liners for waterproofing in the rain and falling wet snow. The bag itself does not seem to absorb much water but it’s not waterproof.

One of the features I enjoy about the Kumo is the closure system which issimpler than a rolltop dry bag. I don’t access the main compartment of my pack often while hiking but if you do I suspect you will like the Kumo.

The stretch pocket on the Kumo is great.

as a note a single dry bag in heavy sustained rained is probably not sufficient

the reason is that you will be taking things in and out of yr pack during the day especially insulation clothes …

if its all in the same dry bag as yr sleeping bag/quilt, every time you put yr fleece or other such inside moisture will get into there and migrate to yr bag/quilt

if you store that fleece/poofay outside the dry bag itll simply soak through

youll likely need at least 2-3 dry bags in sustained wet conditions

and for the same reason that a “waterproof” pack still requires at least 1-2 dry bags in heavy sustained all day cold rain

;)

Use a bag liner.