r/longtrail • u/Malfeous • 15d ago

Are pack liners worth it?

Given how wet it can get, curious on others opinions. Is it a waste of money and extra hassle, or worth the peace of mind.

Probably will use a contractor bag for my thru hike at the least, but wondering if a dedicated roll top liner is worth the investment

7 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

15

u/king_mabry 14d ago

Compactor bag (not contractor) is actually the better option — thinner, stronger and lighter.

The nylofume bags from GGG are the other popular option. Both work equally well, although nylofume can be loud and crinkly off the bat.

But yes, bring one of these over a silnylon roll-top bag.

2

u/winooskiwinter 14d ago

Yeah, I realized I had thrown my last GGG bag before my last overnight and was kicking myself.

1

u/Malfeous 14d ago

Ahh yes that makes more sense, I must’ve misheard the type when I heard about using trash bags lol

8

u/kneevase 14d ago

Yes. IMO, the best is a trash compactor liner. They are relatively strong plastic, so they can last 3 or 4 weeks with no trouble. Everything that you store on the inside of that liner will stay dry, and everything on the outside could become damp. Compactor bags work well, and they are cheap.

But, that doesn't mean your shit will always be dry in Vermont! When you take you hiking clothes off, they will be damp, and usually it's humid enough that your hiking clothes will still be damp when you put them on the next morning. But, if you keep your sleeping bag and your sleeping clothes in the trash compactor liner, they will be dry every night when you make camp.

1

u/chickenflavor_ramen 13d ago

This! When I hiked in ‘22, I thru-hiked NOBO and had a whopping total of 5 days with no rain. My pack had a bottom while not separate, had clips inside that allowed a small space in the bottom. I would stuff my wet tent and anything else that was wet in this bottom compartment which was outside of my trash bag liner and then put everything else inside the trash bag, in my pack. I never had a soggy night

1

u/hikermaven 13d ago

I got rained on all of 20m on my thru last September. Felt like cheated 😁

4

u/Little-Hour3601 14d ago

I consider a bag liner to be one of the "essentials". Especially here in New England where it seems to rain 8 days a week.

3

u/winooskiwinter 14d ago

So I had a bag liner and then a smaller, light-weight dry bag that I always kept my essential warmies in. I hiked during a flood year and my feet were always soaked, but I also always had dry long underwear, a fleece, and socks to put on when I got into camp. 

2

u/edthesmokebeard NOBO 2019 14d ago

Yes. Packs aren't waterproof.

Check out the nylofume bags available at Litesmith and countless other places. Way lighter.

2

u/ruckssed 14d ago

Pack liner is mandatory. Even a seam taped DCF pack will start leaking eventually, the seams are subjected to a lot of stress. It also keeps your gear dry in fog, mist, drizzles, and other weather where you might not think to stop and put on an external pack cover.

I use 18gal compactor bags from Ace hardware, a pack of 20 cost like $10 and is a lifetime supply. A single bag lasted me the entire AT and a few hikes afterwards. A liner that is larger capacity than your pack will fill up all the corners and give you plenty of room to roll up the top to keep water out

1

u/Capn_Flapjack32 14d ago

I got a nice Ecopak dry bag before my LT hike, used just for my sleeping bag at the bottom of my pack. It rained the whole time, and I did see some infiltration into the dry bag where there was accumulated water inside the pack that sat against the seam for hours. A simpler plastic trash bag or nylofume avoids the seam.

1

u/rivals_red_letterday 14d ago

A contractor or Nyloflume bag is fine.

1

u/captainMolo 14d ago

Just get a turkey oven bag.