Backpack liner

Hi pmcke - do you have any of the last lot of 7 for sale??

No, I haven't done it for a while, but I see the NZ$ is rising again so i might get some more. My last one is getting a bit tatty.

I used new plain rubbish sacks each trip for years until I managed to rip one and ended up with a wet sleeping bag. I've since had the same pack liner which cost me about $5 for the last 4 years and fingers crossed have managed to keep every thing dry since including all the camera gear I insist on lugging round. Personally I think they are worth the investment, I havn't had to biv down in it yet but also makes me feel better knowing I could if I had to.

Another use for the MSC pack liners. I've torn strips off mine to mark tracks! I've got a smallish pack (GoLite Pinnacle) and bought a 60L packliner which wasn't cheap but it's increased the capacity of my pack. I did make a hole in one of the orange packliners in a matter of days on my big Fiordland traverse. Having a sealable packliner does give you buoyancy for pack floating. And of course the orange ones have instructions on them for survival e.g. how to light a fire and make a bivvy out of material in the bush.

FWIW: Frank experimented with the pack liner as an emergency rain coat. It was an absolute shocker. The wind funnelled in and escaped from his throat - not nice. Bit of a bellows effect happening.

I have used an orange pack liner for years. Only problem is that when you really need it you can bet there is a hole in it somewhere. The plastic perpherates easily. I gaurantee that if you took yours now and put it in the bath and filled it with water you would find it leaks everywhere. Last time water got into my pack the liner leaked somewhere, and pooled up in the bottom of it where my sleeping bag was. I have just bought an Aarn pack, which I am yet to use. It has a proper liner built into it. Seems a good idea. Hopefully it is a better solution. Guess I will find out sometime in the comming months.

Aarn Pack? Way to go! I bought my pack liner after borrowing an Aarn Pack. Much better idea and so far it hasn't let me down - maybe a year's use so far?

Aarn back pack now i am intrigued we need a blow by blow comentary on this one. I look forward to your comentary?

I got the biggest one, the Load Limo. a) because I didn't want anything smaller and b) it is one big bag and no separate sleeping bag pocket. I had one on trial the other weekend and bought it after that experience. The thing that impressed me most was the ability to get 100% of the load onto the hip belt. This is, of course facilitated by the balance pockets and also, I think, by a better shaped hip belt. Rather than having lots of padding the belt it is shaped so if you get the hip belt in the right position it stays there, even when you have no hips like middle aged males like me. My concern is that, after having a Mountain Mule and then a MacPac, it seems quite light, however it is well made so I take it on trust that the more modern materials will perform. We will see how it goes.

The liner on my original 8 year old Featherlite Freedom served well on a number of very wet trips until about six ago. But unpacking after a exceedingly wet evening paddling into Mitre Flats I noticed a small amount of water lurking in the bottom of the inner... and given that these things never get better by themselves I emailed Aarn directly to see if the liner could be replaced. Sure enough a replacement faithfully arrived a week later. The current production is a different colour and sized inconsequentially larger... and works perfectly. My only thought was that it might pay to ensure from time to time that no grit or small stones are allowed to accumulate in the space between the pack and the liner itself, as this would likely abrade the waterproof layer under the weight and movement of a loaded pack.