Backpack rain covers are made from waterproof material that causes rain to bead up and run off the surface instead of soaking in. Creating a barrier between the outer material of your pack (which is likely only water-resistant) and the rain, the pack cover is an added layer of protection between your gear and the elements.
While essential gear items like tents or sleeping pads are unlikely to lose their effectiveness if they should become wet, they can wick moisture through the fabric of your backpack in the rain and become waterlogged (along with the pack itself). This adds unnecessary weight to your load and unpleasant work for you to attempt drying your gear before using it in camp.
Tip: Because rain covers stretch around your pack’s main pack bag and leave access to straps for carrying in the rain, you may want to add dry bags to your packing arsenal to assure that your most valuable gear definitely doesn’t get wet. In persistent rain over the course of hours, moisture may soak in between your body and the back of your pack under your straps where the rain cover does not reach. While this water infiltration is minor compared to that which can occur without a rain cover, it is still important to consider when packing.
Rain covers are lightweight & packable…and versatile!
Backpack rain covers come in a variety of sizes and shapes to accommodate the wide range of backpacks on the market, and the major backpack manufacturers produce rain covers that are somewhat tailored to fit their specific packs. That said, rain covers are generally sized to correspond to pack volume ranges (for example, the rain cover in our video fits packs between 3050 and 5500 cubic inches in volume), and you may be able to choose a rain cover for your pack that’s made by another backpack manufacturer (or even a third party brand), instead of having to choose the one that matches the brand of your pack.
Tip: Do remember to consider whether you plan to lash a lot of gear to the exterior of your pack, as that may affect the size of the cover you will need (or, if your pack features an integrated cover, it may change the coverage area that the rain cover can protect).
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