The Most POINTLESS Piece Of Gear People STILL BUY

hey all Dixie here today I want to talk to you about the most pointless piece of gear that people are still using and that is a pet cover you'll need a rain cover too of course a rain cover why to keep out the rain now before anybody gets all defensive and takes it personally I used a pack cover on my through hike of the Appalachian Trail because I bought into the snake wool just like everybody else the pack cover I used was an osprey pack cover it came with my pack it was nylon but you can get something very similar to it on Rei's website usually it runs about forty dollars the idea behind these pack covers is they're supposed to keep your pack dry while you're hiking in the rain but if they're made out of nylon nylon absorbs water so on dry days you're going to have extra weight of the pack cover itself and that one that I mentioned from REI weighs three ounces and then on rainy days you're gonna have that nylon pack cover absorbing water so you're going to have extra water weight held in the pack cover and not only does nylon absorb water but I've seen a nylon pack cover hold water in the bottom of it and start sagging down like a dirty diaper so you've got a bunch of water weight in that instance and I've seen hackers kind of have to continually dump it as they're hiking in the rain now if your pack is nylon then you could make the argument that the pack itself would hold more water weight than the nylon pack cover but if it's raining hard enough you're going to have water streaming down your shoulder straps down your back and the Pack's going to end up soaked anyway so now not only do you have a waterlogged pack but a waterlogged pack cover over the waterlogged pack and then like I said on the dry days you have extra weight than you would if you just didn't carry one if you have a Pack made from dyneema or X-Pac or some other waterproof material then a nylon pack cover really just doesn't make any sense at all but I have seen pack covers fail so many times when people are using them to prevent the contents of their pack from getting wet even as recently as my Mount Kilimanjaro trip I saw somebody fall victim to a pack cover that failed they had a puffy coat in there gloves and other things that they didn't want to get wet in their day pack and they thought that the pack cover would be enough to keep the water out of their pack but they were wrong the only time I could see a nylon pack cover being of any use would be if it was lightly sprinkling and then it just doesn't seem like it would make sense to carry it in the long run anyway now they do make dyneema pack covers which are waterproof more lightweight and of course more expensive but keep in mind that dyneema is not the most abrasion resistant material so chances are it's going to wear down pretty quickly with a lot of use and you're going to end up with pinholes that you got to patch anyway the only instance I see where a dyneema pack cover or some other waterproof material pack cover really is logical is if you have some something like tripods or other camera equipment that is more or less water resistant but you don't necessarily want it soaked all the time but even then in a serious downpour like I mentioned water is going to travel it's going to Splash up the air is going to be humid and things are going to end up pretty wet anyway truth be told though if you can afford a dyneema pack cover then you can probably afford the little bit extra to upgrade to a pack that's made from waterproof materials if you're on a tight budget though and you have a nylon pack and you're absolutely set on having some sort of outer pack cover to try to keep your pack dry you know we pack our fears then it might make more sense to do something like a compactor bag or a Nylo fume pack liner and then you just take it slide it down over your pack and cut the holes out for your shoulder straps this is going to be cheaper I won't say the trash compactor bag will necessarily be more lightweight but the Nylo fume pack liner if your pack is small enough to fit in that would be more lightweight than a pack cover but this is gonna give for sure better coverage of the back panel of your pack and really everything but the shoulder straps but just know that with cutting a hole in that bag for the shoulder stretch you're still going to have some leakage that flows onto the outside of your pack another option for outer coverage would be to use a waterproof Poncho and make sure it's big enough to go over your body and over your pack especially if you're on a tight budget it doesn't make sense to Shell out 40 bucks on a pack cover that just doesn't work that well anyway but the best waterproofing protection that I've found for the contents of a pack is getting something like a Nylo fume pack liner or the pack liners offered on gossamer gears website you just slide it down into your pack pack the stuff you don't want getting wet inside that liner and roll it down I've been doing this for years and it has not failed me yet the nylofune pack liners on garage grown gears website are 240 a piece and they weigh 0.9 ounces so save your money and save some weight and go with the more useful product if you're still fearful about your stuff on the inside of your pack getting wet then you can have some redundancies with Ziploc bags inside of that pack liner or even waterproof stuff sex anyway I am casting no judgment on folks who want to continue using pack covers for whatever reason like you want to keep your pack more pristine and the pet cover helps protect it but I just wish people knew there are better options out there that are cheaper lighter and more effective at actually waterproofing your gear inside of your pack all right well that is all I have for you all today thanks for coming to my TED talk about why I think pack covers are pretty much useless if y'all found this video useful don't forget to tell your hacking buddies about about it and we will see you all next time

Channel: Homemade Wanderlust

Views: 396,566

Keywords: travel, hiking, backpacking, hike, gear, adventure, fun, story, Appalachian, Trail, PCT, CDT, thru-hike, Auburn, Alabama, epic, climbing, canyon, national, nature, mountains, update, park, lake, trail, tents, camping, summer, University, Aubie, River, stream, Mountains, National, Scenic, Dixie, Camino, Florida Trail, Pinhoti Trail, Foothills Trail, Tetons, Grandma Gatewood

Id: E8EXmagDpXc

Length: 6min 5sec (365 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 29 2023