Pack Cover query
Original post
Guys, anyone have a Zpacks pack cover and had it out in really bad NZ conditions?
I'm keen to know how they go.
26 comments
pack still gets wet when its windy... invented for overseas conditions and arguably as something extra to peddle to trampers in the shops which specialise in paraphenalia which some trampers feel they can't do without..
The question is why? Put a rubbish bag or two in your pack. Bingo. Chuck the gear into pack n save bags(now a rare commodity), or zip lock bags. Bango. Dry gear.
@madpom, I've gone out with people who sometimes use them. Most people I know would also have a proper internal pack liner, so the cover tends to be more about preventing the pack itself from absorbing lots of water and making it heavy, and it's not treated as a critical thing if it blows off or needs to be removed for some bush-bashing. For that purpose there's not much advantage if you're already using a pack that doesn't absorb lots of water, but to a point it saves carrying around a massive amount of useless water if, for example, you're using something like one of the older Macpac canvas packs.
1
@madpom, I have an Osprey AG 65, and you do not want to carry that when soaking wet. Covers work pretty well for them. Even in windy and rainy conditions. It's not to keep your down sleeping bag dry, it's to avoid having to carry 2 litres of water extra.
And the cover has multiple uses: you can sit on it to avoid getting a wet bum for example.
1
If I have time on the weekend I might empty and weigh my macpac torlese then take to it with a hose it needs a wash then weigh it again. Its a nylon canvas they call Aztec.
Yeah, but what's typical NZ tramping these days? I'm not asking the question for scrub type tramping, this is for your regulation tramps.
regular tramping? a lot of people here dont do what the masses do, they go off track, scrub bash, bush bash, rock scramble, do rough tracks, go off track, thats why they mention scrub, scrub is a norm...
but you probably wont find them posting what they do all over social media like the masses either, but there are still people out there doing those trips...
roysta1, typical NZ tramping is walking defined tracks. Usually you have 2 groups: one which almost exclusively does great walks, and others who find that too busy and do less well-known tramps, but over existing tracks and routes, where route finding means spotting the next marker (hard enough at times!).
Many folks here, and what you read in the off the beaten track in the Wilderness Magazine for example, are the third group, who incorporate country where there is no clearly defined path. Getting lost may have some serious repercussions.
Berend, I happen to do all three, all of which, as you mentioned, have their unique challenges.
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| Forum | Gear talk |
|---|---|
| Started by | roysta1 |
| On | 18 February 2019 |
| Replies | 25 |
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