How to Keep Your Gear Dry Backpacking in the Rain

Rain is where backpacking trips are won or lost. Wet gear is heavy, cold, and — in the case of a soaked sleeping bag or down jacket — potentially dangerous. The secret is that you don’t keep water off your pack so much as keep it out of the things that matter. Here’s how to stay dry when the sky doesn’t cooperate.

The #1 Rule: Line Your Pack

Backpacks are not waterproof, and neither are most rain covers (water runs down your back and pools at the bottom, covers blow off in wind). The most reliable method is a waterproof liner inside your pack:

• A trash compactor bag is the cheapest, most bombproof option — far tougher than a regular trash bag, costs pennies, weighs almost nothing. Line your pack, load your gear inside, and roll the top closed.
• A purpose-made pack liner does the same with a roll-top closure.

This single trick keeps your gear drier than any rain cover. Use a cover in addition if you like, but the liner is what actually works.

Protect the Critical Items Separately

Inside the liner, give your most important gear a second layer of defense with dry bags:

• Sleeping bag — its own dry bag, always. A wet down bag loses nearly all its warmth, so this is non-negotiable. (See how to choose a sleeping bag.)
• Insulating layers — your puffy and dry sleep clothes in a separate dry bag.
• Electronics, maps, fire kit — in a zip-lock or small dry bag. A phone or battery that dies in the wet can be a safety issue.

The principle: keep your “stay-dry” system (sleep gear + insulation) bone dry no matter what, even if everything else gets damp.

Wear the Right Rain Gear

Keeping you dry matters too:

• A rain jacket with pit zips lets you dump heat so you don’t soak yourself in sweat from the inside.
• Rain pants or a rain kilt for sustained rain or wet brush.
• Gaiters keep water and trail grit out of your shoes.
• Accept that in warm rain you may hike damp — the goal is to stay warm, not bone-dry, and to have dry layers waiting at camp.

Manage Rain in Camp

• Pitch smart: avoid low spots where water collects; a slight rise sheds runoff. Pitch the fly taut so it doesn’t sag and pool.
• Set up fast and get your dry layers on before you cool down.
• A small pack towel to wipe down the tent interior and your gear is worth the ounce.
• Keep a dedicated dry set of sleep clothes that never gets worn while hiking — climbing into dry layers is the best feeling on a wet trip.

Dry Out Whenever You Can

Seize any break in the weather: drape damp socks and layers over your pack or a bush, turn your tent inside out in the sun, and dry your feet at breaks to prevent blisters and trench foot. A few minutes of sun does wonders.

The Minimalist Rain Kit

You don’t need much:

• Trash compactor bag (pack liner)
• Dry bag for sleep system + one for insulation
• Zip-locks for electronics
• Rain jacket (+ pants if cold)
• Pack towel

A few ounces and a couple of dollars keep your trip-critical gear dry through days of rain. For the small repair-and-protect items that round out a kit, see our backcountry essentials guide.

Related Guides

• Best Ultralight Rain Jackets
• The Complete Backcountry Layering System
• 15 Bare-Bones Backcountry Essentials
• The Complete Backpacking Gear Checklist

Stay dry. Stay happy.