Rucksacks are generally not very waterproof, you will need a way to keep your kit dry while on expedition and dry bags or a rucksack liner is the way to do this.

Many rucksacks come with a cover that packs away in fine weather and is stretched over the bag if it rains, while this will help reduce the amount of water getting in your bag it will not stop it and if you have no other way of keeping your kit dry then you will be sleeping in a wet sleeping bag in wet clothes eating wet food, you need an additional method.

A single rucksack liner works quite well and you can buy huge dry bags with roll tops that will be almost completely waterproof, an alternative to this is a very sturdy plastic bag, a builders rubble bag will generally work quite well. Another option is an old survival bag cut down to the right size and roll the top to stop any water getting in, bear in mind that these options are so water proof that if any water does get in there’s no way it’s getting back out again so your gear will get wet!

My preferred option is smaller dry bags, I personally use around 5 or 6 dry bags and seperate my gear accordingly, my sleeping bag gets it’s own dry bag and food in another, clothes in another one, you get the picture. There are some things that don’t need to be kept in a dry bag as it won’t matter if they get wet, gas canisters work fine wet or dry and so on, waterproofs don’t have to go in  a dry  bag but I do with mine, I like them to be dry at least when I put them on. There’s a whole range of sizes available from very small (phone size) through to big enough to get your rucksack in, look at what you need to keep dry and buy accordingly

Another good idea for keeping your kit dry when in camp, especially if you are short of room in your tent is to put your rucksack in a survival bag, it could then live outside all night and be completely dry in the morning (providing it was dry to start with, they’re not magic)!