Bushwalk Australia

What do you use as a pack liner?

Is it actually worth buying the 40 odd dollar sea to summit liners? Does anyone have a good plastic bag recommendation?

Edit: Where did you pick your bag up from? What did it cost?

Large biohazard bag. Bright yellow, tough, cheap, 75 grams from memory.

If your local vet will sell you one of the bags they use for large deceased pets, they're apparently one of the best things to use for a pack liner. A vet I know said he would sell me one for $4, but I haven't got around to getting it yet.

Dead dog bags for sure. Ahh the wonders of having a mother who is a vet.

Dead dog bag = bad memories. Just couldn't bring myself to do it.

I use big orange garbage bags, but I'd love to get my hands on some biohazard bags. Tasadam, where do you source yours from?

Those S2S bags are convenient with their roll tops. A bit dear (you can get them cheaper than $40 im sure), the U/L model split on me, the heavier ones hold up well.
Dead easy thing to make as a home project (even with tape/glue (ie no sew))
'Posthumous Pooch'... bags sound like a good cheap option, sound similar to the ones parks sells? The big orange ones with info on the side, they would do as an emergency shelter!
I now use a bivy bag as a pack liner (most times).

JohnM wrote:Tasadam, where do you source yours from?

My wife brings them home from work. Very limited supply, just the odd one now and then.

Nuts wrote:I now use a bivy bag as a pack liner

I cant believe I've never thought of that. absolutely brilliant!

If your after the big thick plastic bags/dead dog bags Kathmandu actually sell them (one of the few things I still buy from there). Mind you I currently use a S2S one so haven't bought them in a while. Theyre bright yellow and have all sorts of stuff printed on them (including a chess board from memory).

i used to use a pack liner but found them fiddly. Now I use a StS pack cover, keeps the pack clean and dry as some packs absorb water when wet increasing your carrying weight. Plus I use the pack cover in my vestibule like a large basin to place items that I want to keep clean off the dirt.

Works well with a w/proof bivy np. Unfortunately not always ideal taking such a bivy, nice for group camping with a large shelter or tarp.
The thing about the cover is a good point, my canvas pack draws heaps into the fabric, don't really like covers much though (and i don't think i'd trust one without a liner of sorts.
Those tough bags work but they are very fragile.

Here's the bag I use, and a couple of images of the pack going together.

Edit: Removed.

To replace my S2S UL bag - which is getting a bit thin in places I have bought a cuben bag from Zpacks. Haven't used it in anger yet but wanted to try the material out. It has a roll/velcro top on it.

I tried the dead dog bag, but mine got slightly ripped by the titanium billy. I suppose those not so dead dogs have to be able to get out?

Biohazard would be worth a try - I am going to have to investigate what I can get at work.

I few years back a mate who did a lot of motor bike cruising had a human body bag as an emergency bivvy. He had rigged the zip so he could undo it from the inside. A bit sweaty I thought, but it worked for him.

P

PS the sleeping bag has its own eVent stuff sack so it goes outside the pack liner now.

I have a bunch (8/10 i'd guess) of those mega size orange Tasparks pack liners. Was part of a plan that didn't eventuate. Happy to sell them at cost if that helps anyone (anyone with a 90L pack that is..)?

I have a dead dog bag from the vet. It must be about 100L. I've been using the same one since 2006, so it has lasted me well. I paid about $5 for it. It has a couple of small holes by now, I've only bothered to repair/tape one of the holes. They are very tough bags if cared for well. I use mine lots, I am out in the field pretty regularly.

Mine is black in colour. Here at my work place we use dead dog bags that are clear/see-through to the students for pack liners.

Recently i found "puncture-resistant" garbage bags, they have sort of bumps of expandable plastic..... well hard to describe - they are kind of extra flexible and stretch rather than rip. So far i've used one only for one trip (not lining my day pack) it was very wet actually, it worked fine and is still unpunctured.

keep an eye out for 'contaminated waste' bags, exactly the same thing ('borrow' mine from work).

For trips where I expect to get wet I use what are sold as "Contractor's" bags. They're simply large heavy-duty polyethelene trash bags. The ones I buy are 42 gallon (158 liters) and 3 mil (76 microns) thick, although you can get bigger ones. One will fold down to fist size but it is not an ultralightweight item. Although they are tough and will stretch they do puncture with enough abuse. But they are inexpensive enough to replace without worry. The next size up (50 gallon) I've used as an emergency bivy sack on more than one occasion.

I must confess that I don't see any benefit in using one. Is there any real purpose?

Yep. Nothing worse than water egress into your pack contents. Wet sleeping bag, clothes etc etc.

I have had the misfortune of falling into a creek and not being able to extricate myself immediately. I was using a packliner so while the pack went under and parts stayed under for several minutes nothing in the pack was wet. The pack certainly was, water made it inside the pack but the liner kept everything else perfectly dry. It was a 2 - 3 night trip and this was on day 1 so very glad i had dry stuff for the rest of the trip.

Kinsayder wrote:I must confess that I don't see any benefit in using one. Is there any real purpose?

I never want to sleep in a wet sleeping bag again. So I need a dry sleeping bag and one set of dry cloths. You can either put everything in is own bag or just use a liner. Also the liner is a great bladder inside the pack if you are swimming with the pack.

P

Some people use several smaller dry bags, rather than one big pack liner. (I prefer one large one).

Ah, it all makes sense now. I must have been lucky in my time in hiking/climb for never having needed one.

Kinsayder wrote:Ah, it all makes sense now. I must have been lucky in my time in hiking/climb for never having needed one.

Indeed, very lucky.
As well as a pack liner, I have a few tough thin garbage bags folded carefully to minimise space, they weigh 25 grams, and a lot of stuff can fit into a garbage bag, so if I need extra water protection layers I have them. Particularly important for all the camera gear I carry.

Nuts wrote:I now use a bivy bag as a pack liner (most times).

Yeah, thats a really simple system that gives you an emergency shelter. A second use for it is that you can take the bivi bag out, repack your pack, inflate your air mattess, put it all in your bivi bag and truss it up to a flotation aid for deep water crossings.

I have been using these pack liners:
http://www.adventureshop.co.nz/mountain-safety-council-orange-survival-bag.html

Cheap, very tough and double as a bivvy if you really need it.

As some of the other guys have suggested I also use a selection of smaller dry bags inside, after learning the hard way during a very wet 5 days on the south coast track.


Stonie.

Currently I am using a BW McKinley pack which is not the lightest thing but has a zip front access panel that is very convenient for access to individual items. So I don’t use a liner at all as that would negate the quick access. Instead I rely on the pack cover plus anything that really needs to stay dry goes in either a WP compression sack or in a simple zip lock bag. I get the zip locks from an office supply in various sizes including A4 and larger. Bulky clothing like fleece packs separately while sleep ware is together etc. The bags are a bit flimsy but only get damaged if not careful with packing and unpacking so I carry a few spares. I can squeeze all the air out before sealing so everything packs down if I’m quick. If something did get wet , its only one item so not a complete disaster. Pros and con to this obviously.

Regards,
Ken

I use several S2S dry bags in different colours for clothing, food and gear.

I've been wondering (and sometimes in the bush cursing!) why they dont make conventional packs waterproof/better water resistant (ie not dunk proof but certainly rain proof). Is it too hard to seal the seams? i guess zips would be another thing but with most rucksacks there tends to be just a small access one at the bottom. Any thoughts?

Back on topic an ambo mate uses biohazard bags and i use individual S2S bags- have collected quite a few over the years mostly through presents/$30 vouchers etc.

Robert