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Posted: 2/13/2011 7:29:59 AM EDT
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I've been looking for some info on a pack I have, and have come up empty so far.
Maybe (probably) someone else has asked the same questions, and found some answers. What I have is a Camelbak BFM. I would like to make it waterproof. In my searching I have found nothing to say if it is, or if it can be made so. (By waterproof I mean wearing on your back in the rain kind of waterproof, not submerged kind of waterproof) The only restriction is expense. I don't want to have the process of waterproofing to be outrageously expensive, time-consuming or ridiculously short in effectiveness. Any info would be greatly appreciated. |
| You can seal the seams and give the pack several coats of spray-on waterproofing, but all that will quickly wear off and require re-doing. If you want stuff inside to stay dry, you'd better pack it inside waterproof bags...there's a reason the military used "willy peter" bags with the ALICE packs. |
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Good quality waterproof bags are your answer, they are going to be much less hassle, well none.
Plus they let you organize your gear if you get the smaller ones and use multiples rather then one large one. They can also be used with any other pack you have. Hell you can even just use plastic trash bags if you want super-cheap. To me your looking for a hard way around an easy solution. |
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Quoted:
I tried spray on stuff on my ruck and it made it more water resistant, but by no means water proof. I pack everything in Granite Gear dry sacks. This combined with placing smaller items is purpose designed water PROOF bags Water will find a way to get into packs, thats a natural law 
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I've made some water buckets before by using a product that is rubber based.called Plastic Dip Here. It's used for applying rubber coating on screwdriver, pliers to the handles/grips. I made a bunch of bucket type pouches that would collapse and store easily for use of bathing and washing the face, etc.......
What I did was mix the the Plastic Dip with acetone. If I remember correctly, it was 1 part of coating to 2 parts acetone or vice-versus. It was many years ago and memory fails me at the moment, so it could be the other way around. So test it first on some scrap cordura first! Turn the pack inside out, After the solution was mixed up, simply use a paint brush to apply. It could take several coating to achieve the desired amount of coating you wish, plus to fill any voids or shallow spots that may occur. This will give you a rubberized coating to help water-proof you gear if this was the answer you were looking for. This "Plastic Dip " can be found at you local hardware store.It comes in several colors as well. I haven't tried the spray version, so it's up to someone else to try out. Gene @ HSGI |
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There are some specialized bags––not really packs–– that are advertised as waterproof. Almost always for rafting/kayaking and such. Wouldn't want to carry them far at all.
Almost all modern nylon packs are made of material that is coated, internally, with a water-proof coating. It's subject to wear and tear, and degenerates over time, as well. Probably the best thing for you to do, given your stated parameters, is to spray/brush the outside of your pack with Durable Water Repellant (DWR) made for nylon fabrics. Google "Nikwax", and see what they have to offer. Vendors such as REI, EMS, and CampMor also offer such compounds. that will help your pacj to shed water, but better still, will help prevent ice build-up, which is a worse problem than most liquid water issues. Most every real backpack is water-resistant, but questionable at that. Almost none will survive submersion without water intake. As noted above, figger out a way to baggie-up and compartamentelize the contents. Your pack should be a "bag of bags" in any event, so why not make at least some of the bags, as required, are wateproof? Given that most packs will ingest water if submerged for any length of time, most users would be better-served in making sure their pack and other equipment has adequate drain grommets to release water that made its' way into the pack/equipment. The Mil insists on such, and for a good reason. |
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