![valmod pack getting bigger backpack to work valmod pack getting bigger backpack to work](https://imperium.news/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/ValmodSplash.jpg)
The problem is they don't keep your stuff dry when you are accessing the pack, don't work if you have odd, or sharp objects on the outside of the pack, like skis, Ice ax, helmet, fly rod, etc., limit access to side pockets or lid pockets, and don't stop water from soaking through the back panel. Packs take too much abuse from being stuffed and abraded. I also know two people who have had Arc'T waterproof packs that began leaking after reasonable use, but long before the end of its life. I've messed around with waterproofing packs as Big Steve suggests, it's a loosing battle. The belts and suspenders method is to use both a pack cover and a plastic garbage bag inside, which is what I do on a really wet trip. A silnylon pack cover weights 3 or 4 oz., although they will develop holes from brush and rock. A good pack cover will keep a pack quite dry. (After a few seasons of moderate use, it won't be.) Waterproofness is not a reason to chose such heavy fabrics.ĭWRing backpacks is a waste of money and time because the DWR would wear off in a few uses and it won't stop the water from penetrating seams, which is how most of the water passes on a pack, assuming the urethane coating is in good shape. Cordura and Ballistic cloth are indicated only if you plan to expose the pack to abrasive conditions, e.g., hauling a pack up a big wall. Water will pass through uncoated Cordura or Ballistics or similarly coarsely woven synthetic fabric like a screen door. It's the urethane coating, not the weave or weight, that is waterproof (for awhile). Kayak dry bags (rubber coated nylon) are waterproof.Ĭordura and Ballistic cloth are sorta waterproof for awhile only if they are urethane coated, but no more so than coated 400D pack cloth, etc., and packs made of either aren't waterproof because water will penetrate the seams. (There are a few sealed seam packs out there, but they are rare and not worth the added cost.) Most backpacks are made with urethane coated nylon, but water gets through the seams and urethane coating peels, cracks and abrades, so backpacks are generally not waterproof nor water resistant. Nylon pack cloth and other nylon fabric (e.g., nylon with Spectra grid, Cordura) used for packs are waterproof only if the fabric is coated with urethane or rubber, or laminated to some waterproof membrane. Nylon thread is water resistant but water penetrates the spaces in between the threads. After some research i found that nylon can be pretty water resistant with the right weave and weight.No, not quite.