DowtyCamino
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- May-Jn2014
May-Jn 2017
VF Jl-O 2021
Mar-My 2023
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Nothing wrong with triple or even quadruple redundancy when it comes to keeping your stuff dry. I've had a whole kit get soaking wet before (not on the Camino) and it really sucks.
Jeez! Anything more and you would be in a taxi.I just use a sturdy rubbish bag as a liner. And a rain cover over the bag. And a poncho to cover me and the back pack. And zip lock bags to keep things like passport and credencial dry.
Jeez! Anything more and you would bag be in a taxi.
Ditto! You just wrote the post I could have written! I really love the white trash COMPACTOR bags, too. They are so very durable, big and roomy enough for most backpacks, yet not obnoxiously huge.I use garbage compactor bag liners. None of the packing issues you are concerned with (Just open pack, unroll top of liner, cram in layers, take out lighter layers, reroll liner bag, close pack--takes almost no time). I do not put food in the bag liner--just clothes; food is usually in a plastic grocery store bag and stays dry enough as is. Same with alternative footwear (I carry walking shoes and sandals). The compactor bags are lighter than pack covers, durable enough to last entire trip, and can be put around pack at end of the trip to protect it if the pack needs to go as checked luggage. And they kept the pack contents dry during day-long rains in Galicia (and a tropical storm on the JMT, but that's a different forum). My pack is made of Dyneema, so it does not really soak through. Wet pack in Alburgues was never issue.
Buen Camino,
Jo Jo
One learns. I've rarely used my down sleeping bag after it getting a soaking on night 1 of a five day hike.I explain. Winter 1999 (my first ever Camino) I walked up O Cebreiro. I had my sleeping bag wrapped up in a sturdy rubbish bag, inside another sturdy rubbish bag that lined all my back pack which was covered by a rain cover and my poncho. As I arrived at the albergue in O Cebreiro my sleeping bag was soaked by the rain/sleet/snow of the day. Since then I do have a thing about protecting my gear against the wet... I wonder why ...
Buen Camino, SY
I just use a sturdy rubbish bag as a liner. And a rain cover over the bag. And a poncho to cover me and the back pack. And zip lock bags to keep things like passport and credencial dry. I had a very bad experience with strong rain on my very first Camino - that might explain why I am now obsessed with keeping my stuff dry ...
Jeez! Anything more and you would be in a taxi.
...but there are places I have walked where you could literally die if that happened.
You can't carry knives where I live. You get arrested.And that, dear lady, is why I always carry a knife and a means to strike fire, even in the midst of the city. Also note that I'm in Los(t) Angeles, an area subject to devastating earthquakes at any moment...
You can't carry knives where I live. You get arrested.
And don't get me started on ponchos. Awful flappy things.
Knife law in UK www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knivesI see you are in London. Not even a teeny-tiny multi-tool, with an edge just big enough to shave thin bits from any available wood?.
I am surprised I am often the only person in an albergue with proper dry bags though. It's not like they are very expensive.
And don't get me started on ponchos. Awful flappy things.
Knife law in UK www.gov.uk/buying-carrying-knives
My colleague has been stopped twice carrying an axe for work, and the police rang in to check it was the truth.
Hi @DowtyCamino I am gonna cut n paste from an answer I gave earlier today about daybags, sorry for boring anyone that just read it:
"In very hot weather I have used bag transport services by taking the waterproof liner out of my backpack and using it as a sack for the transport, and carrying the almost empty backpack.
In changeable, cold or wet weather I don't use transport and carry my full backpack (36 litres 8-9 kg - so not massive) using the liner as a liner, as I need the flexibility to add or take off clothing, and I need the waterproofing of the liner.
By my method, I am never committed to either using, or not using, bag transport - I can just look at the weather forecast the night before. Nor do I rely on those useless elasticated rain covers or need a separate day bag.
My choice of liner is a Sea to Summit Ultra-sil dry bag which weighs nearly nothing. They are best bought several litres larger than your backpack (they do bags up to 35l and a 50l pack liner). You could write your cellphone number and email on it with a marker if you were worried it might get lost by the transport. I also have a small separate one for my cellphone and passport."
And specifically in answer to your questions:
Reason for buying one a fair bit bigger than your backpack is so it crumples nicely to really fill out the inside of the backpack and can be pushed back to hang over the top edge a good amount when you are packing and unpacking - and it needs to roll over twice to be effective at keeping out water. If it's not likely to be wet you don't need to do the full faff of rolling and Velcro-ing either - just scrumple up the excess.
Bin bags are antisocial as they are noisy in the albergue in the mornings. I used to use a survival bag as a pack liner in NZ and this suffered from the same problem, but people don't get up so early to start walking there.
I have never had a problem bringing a soaking wet pack into accommodation. No one has ever said anything. If the weather is that bad they will be eyeing the mud on your boots more likely.
I use a lightweight day pack to wrap my sleeping bag in. Everything else is not critical. However, you need a dry sleeping bag to get into if you're wet and chilled. You could also use plastic shopping bags to store gear obviating the need to buy a new plastic bag when shopping at the supermarket.Camino 2014 we were blessed with only one day of rain the entire 5 weeks. Crazy.
My wife and I both had pack covers. That we put on an off when the weather threatened.
Her's was a simple bag with an elasticized draw string that made it simple to put on and off.
Mine was a more complicated one with some velcro straps that was a pain.
I've seen many people prefer pack liners (purchased, or compactor bag). My multi-layered question to those of you who've used or recommend liners is this:
I can't image using one on a regular basis. I mean, it seems like they'd sag, or bunch up at the bottom of the pack as you shed layers during the day, or buy groceries and add them to your pack, or unload and load your pack each day. I know this is a nit in the scope of Camino, but I was wondering if you had tricks that made their use more friendly. Or perhaps this isn't actually an issue. I just imagine that they'd be a nuisance.
Secondly, if you use a liner only, was having a soaked pack itself a problem within the albergues?
Any Finally. For those of your that have had the opposite fortune of hiking multiple days in steady rain, how did you best manage/cope with wet gear over multiple days?
Thoughts/comments?
Hi @DowtyCamino I am gonna cut n paste from an answer I gave earlier today about daybags, sorry for boring anyone that just read it:
"In very hot weather I have used bag transport services by taking the waterproof liner out of my backpack and using it as a sack for the transport, and carrying the almost empty backpack.
In changeable, cold or wet weather I don't use transport and carry my full backpack (36 litres 8-9 kg - so not massive) using the liner as a liner, as I need the flexibility to add or take off clothing, and I need the waterproofing of the liner.
By my method, I am never committed to either using, or not using, bag transport - I can just look at the weather forecast the night before. Nor do I rely on those useless elasticated rain covers or need a separate day bag.
My choice of liner is a Sea to Summit Ultra-sil dry bag which weighs nearly nothing. They are best bought several litres larger than your backpack (they do bags up to 35l and a 50l pack liner). You could write your cellphone number and email on it with a marker if you were worried it might get lost by the transport. I also have a small separate one for my cellphone and passport."
And specifically in answer to your questions:
Reason for buying one a fair bit bigger than your backpack is so it crumples nicely to really fill out the inside of the backpack and can be pushed back to hang over the top edge a good amount when you are packing and unpacking - and it needs to roll over twice to be effective at keeping out water. If it's not likely to be wet you don't need to do the full faff of rolling and Velcro-ing either - just scrumple up the excess.
Bin bags are antisocial as they are noisy in the albergue in the mornings. I used to use a survival bag as a pack liner in NZ and this suffered from the same problem, but people don't get up so early to start walking there.
I have never had a problem bringing a soaking wet pack into accommodation. No one has ever said anything. If the weather is that bad they will be eyeing the mud on your boots more likely.
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