Rain cover for Metcalf??

[VikingsGuy]

Just bought a new sub-alpine Mystery Ranch Metcalf. At first I plan on using for day pack hunting, do I need a rain cover for this? It seems from the touch like it would be reasonably water resistant for passing showers, and I hate throwing money at accessories that rarely see the light of day (probably poor choice of words for a rain cover). Any experiences with an uncovered Metcalf in the rain?

 

[375H&H]

I would always have a rain cover handy. They are small, lightweight, and put my mind at ease. REI makes generic rain covers that are cheap, lightweight, and work great.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I think any pack using cordura will be relatively water resistant and if you are using it as a day pack/ meat hauler and mainly hunting in the Rockies during Sept-Nov then you are probably fine without a rain cover. I have a rain cover for my pack because I almost always backpack hunt and have been on a number of different hunts where it rained/snowed the entire-time and my gear would have been soaked if I didn't have the cover. Plus they are about the same weight as a energy bar and $25-30 on backcountry, you don't have to go with the MR, SG, Kifaru hunting brand ones, MT Smith, Osprey, Gregory, etc all make good covers for 1/2 the price.

 

[Ledanek]

I'm 100% NOT sure if they share the same material with Pintler, but, this is from Snow, Sleet then rain...not down pour heavy

nothing wet inside

 

[Ben Lamb]

I would always have a rain cover handy. They are small, lightweight, and put my mind at ease. REI makes generic rain covers that are cheap, lightweight, and work great.

Agree. Also agree with Ledanek. My Bighorn doesn't get wet on the inside from snow, light rain, etc. When it pours though, I have an inexpensive Mountain Hardware generic rain cover.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Makes sense, I’ll just grab the one from my hiking pack when needed.

 

[DirtyDan]

I've been in some nasty two day down pours with a competitors pack made from the same 500d material and was dry inside. For what covers weigh, I still carry one. It serves double duty as my sleep system ground cloth. A lot of ultralight backpackers use a trash bag on the inside like a stuff sack.

 

[Ledanek]

Regular plastic cover I get from a friend at local hospital. Haven't tried on a heavy downpour.

 

[Stingray]

I use a pack cover in bright orange I got off Amazon inexpensively. Works great in heavy, pounding rain, weighs next to nothing and helps with blaze orange requirements. If interested, I can find the brand name. I just don’t recall at the moment.

 

[ScottP]

Bearpaw wilderness out of CO makes a pretty functional rain cover. Weighs like an ounce. I always carry it... also, the DWR or equivalent finish wears off on the pack (or it seemed to on mine) after a lot of use and washing blood out. You could always re-treat it with a DWR product if you didn't want to go rain cover route.

 

[Stingray]

Here is the one I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CV4FTWG/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The company also makes it in a choice of black or camo without the reflective stripe. Works extremely well. I’ve used it a heavy, pounding, rain driven downpour that lasted 45 minutes and it was great. No wet through and pack was totally dry.