As the weather gets wetter and snowier, this Dry Bag Rucksack Organisation top tip offers a simple way to keep your pack organised and your equipment weatherproofed. We hope you find it useful.
Maybe there are some rucksacks on the market offered as waterproof packs, but they are few and far between. That said, even if the fabrics will keep out water, the seams are rarely seam sealed. We know of a few and one of our favourites is the Arcteryx FL series which features as one of our Top Gear choices here. However, even if they are waterproof, the contents are still prone to getting rained or snowed onto when you open them up. It is hard to keep pack contents dry in a product with a big entrance hole at the top.
Some manufacturers provide pack covers and these can help. Good luck with these in very windy weather though. We often find them either hard to manage or prone to blowing off. In our opinion it is much easier to ensure the contents of your pack are waterproofed inside instead. One way to do this is to use a rucksack liner and they can work quite well. There are plenty of commercially produced ones available or you could improvise with a large bin liner. However, these methods still mean when you open the pack all the contents are exposed. When the wind is whipping snow across an exposed plateau you’ll struggle to keep it out as you rummage in the depths of your rucksack.
So, this top tip is all about our favoured option. Simply put, dry bag rucksack organisation works a treat. Having a series of small and variously coloured and sized dry bags makes short work of keeping your kit both dry and organised. Dry bags are relatively cheap and light and come in lots of colours and sizes. You can be ready for you next weather proofed adventure in no time.
If you keep the same colours for the same type of equipment you’ll soon learn which to reach for. Alternatively, you can be even more organised and select colours with a starting letter to match the type of equipment. For example, choose a green coloured dry bag for gloves. This won’t work for everything and you may have to get a bit more creative. We use, for example an orange bag for spare clothes although the letters don’t match. Simple enough, though. We remember orange as being the colour of clementines!
There are other methods. Some people write in Sharpie on the side of the bag or you can get some types of dry bag with a see through panel on the outside. You’ll find a system that works for you, but in reality you’ll soon learn the colours anyway. Whatever bags you choose, we would advise choosing bright colours. They are easier to see inside your pack and easier to spot if you’ve dropped one onto the snow. Give it a try and we think you’ll agree that dry bag rucksack organisation is the way to go.
If this is of interest, please also have a look at our Trekking Pole Storage top tip here and Hooded Jacket Storage here.