By: Blonde One
Rucksack cover or no rucksack cover? This is a question that we get asked quite a lot. Does using a rucksack cover keep the rucksack dry and is it worth using?
Generally speaking we do not use one for our own rucksacks. Dartmoor, and other places, are often very windy and will catch the edge of a rucksack cover making them useless. Rain will sometimes be horizontal and easily get in between the rucksack and cover. Personally I think it’s a faff too far to use one!
I did a bit of a test recently to see if I had been right or wrong all these years. The cover stayed on for about 10 minutes before it lifted off the rucksack and served as a very effective sail to help the wind try to propel me sideways.
Having said that … there is one occasion that I insist on them. When out with a group of teenagers I ensure they are fully kitted out with their purple rucksack covers so that I can easily identify the team when they are being remotely supervised. A group of purple rucksacks is usually unique on the moors and does away with the need for the (usually forgotten) binoculars.
Tried a bright red rucksack cover once – at the first sign of rain, the bottom of the cover filled with water and I ended up carryng my own goldfish pool (without the goldfish.) If you keep your gear properly packed inside the rucksack, you really don’t need a cover – it is just extra weight! Love the purple people, though.
We love our purple people too. It is the school colour but our extensive ‘looking for teams’ research suggests that orange shows up the very best on open moorland!
I agree with a lot of what you say. On a day walk I don’t bother because I know I will be home and dry that night anyway. I do use the cover on a long backpack. It is not a hundred percent effective, but it does help, and on such a walk it is much more important to keep your kit dry, especially if you are tenting when you will have not much opportunity to dry clothing in the evening. A rucksack cover weighs very little so I reckon it is worthwhile. I thank you for this post because I am setting off again on 24th April backpacking and you have reminded me to devise a better way of attaching the thing and so prevent my transformation from walker to paraglider. I do sympathise with your D of Eers who have to carry certain items that I would not bother with to conform to the rules, and also wont always have the opportunity to be using expensive ultra-lightweight gear, and they end up carrying very heavy packs. I come across them often, nearly always cheerful and sort of happy – it is all a very worthwhile concept.
I like ‘sort of happy’ there Conrad. Our DofE youngsters are indeed usually ‘sort of happy’!