I have some silnylon on the way and plan to make a rain cover for my GG Mariposa Plus.

Have any of you made one? Is it basically just a rectangular piece with rounced corners and a drawstring all the way around? or maybe an elastic?

I just made a blaze orange copy of my MLD pack cover for hunting season. You are right it is just a rectangle with rounded corners and shock cord all the way around. I haven't done it yet, but you should also have a grommet or hole at the bottom for any water to drain out. I don't have any way to insert a grommet so I haven't figured out what I am going to do there yet. I also stole MLD'd idea of the mitten hooks at various places to secure it and keep it from blowing off. I plan on using it with my Mariposa Plus and Gorilla. If I remember correctly my finished dimensions were 34"x46".

A drain hole is a great idea, as well as hooks. Thanks for the info.

BTW: I used 3/32" shock cord for my pack cover, but it is quite a bit bigger than the stuff MLD uses, therefore my pack cover weighs 2.95oz while otherwise being identical to the 2.6oz MLD. The MLD stuff is probably the 1/16" stuff from Thru Hiker (3/32" was the smallest Quest offered).

"I don't have any way to insert a grommet so I haven't figured out what I am going to do there yet."

The tool, essentially a male and female die used with a hammer can be had at Wal Mart for a couple of bucks. You need one for every size grommet. If that gets too expensive, I think some re-enforcement stitching around the drain hole would suffice.

By the way, all the AT trail journals I've read that mention pack covers do so to say they're useless. I don't know why. Maybe the openings for the straps let water in. I've never used one. When it rains, I cover me and my pack with my Equinox sil-nylon poncho (8 oz.). If you go that route, it helps to have loops or grommet holes in the back corners of the poncho. Then you can use your hiking poles to lift the poncho over your pack when you're alone.

Edited by herman666 on 01/14/2010 09:05:59 MST.

I have a homemade pack cover, no drain hole. I originally used it with an Osprey but it works with my Granite Gear and Mariposa Plus packs.

In a sense, they are useless for rain covers. I used mine crossing a bridge in front of Wapama Falls in Yosemite - if you are not familiar with that falls, in spring it will drench you to the skin and nearly knock you off the bridge with the force and amount of water. It did keep my pack dry, mostly, but water gets in around the edges and wets out the straps. Subsequent trips I took a poncho, which works better.

BUT. It is good to keep the mesh of the Mariposa Plus from snagging on things. It carries gallons of water to douse a fire. It makes a good ground cloth to spread gear out on. I can wrap a pack in it and hang it from the suspension of my hammock. I've used it to put dirty shoes in a tent to keep them out of the dew. I've carried a ton of firewood in it. In theory, I could find a depression in the ground and use it as a bathtub. I've used it as a gear hammock alongside my hammock. Since it's a bright blue, I could probably use it to signal someone. There are a ton of uses. All for a couple ounces of silnylon that I can jam into the bottom of a pack side pocket.

http://www.tothewoods.net/HomemadeGearPackCoverGearHammock.html

Edited by lori999 on 01/14/2010 09:28:07 MST.