Mountainsmith 07-90013-01 Rain Cover Large (Black)

The cover itself appears to be well made; however, I did notice that the Amazon.com sizing chart is incorrect. I believe this is the main reason for some of the less-than-perfect reviews. Below are the true measurements as according to the product packaging:

XS: Fit range: 1000 - 1800 cu in/ 15 - 30 L
20" X 14" x 7.5"

S: Fit Range: 1800 - 2500 cu in/ 30 - 40 L
27" X 16" X 8.5"

M: Fit range: 2500 - 3600 cu in/ 40 - 60 L
28" X 19" X 10"

L: Fit Range 3600 - 6000 cu in/ 60 - 100 L
31.5" X 20" X 11"

This seemed like a great little item for a specific purpose - a cheap way to "waterproof" my camera backpack.

I saw similar items (for 3-times the price) at a local sports accessory store but chose the Mountainsmith for a few reasons.. color (Black opposed to Olive, Orange, Red or light Grey that the other brand offered), and price (1/3rd!)

After actually trying it out, I realize it's not the same - it has a few critical issues that keep me from truly "trusting" it.

First, some information about it -

The sizes are VERY large. The "Small" size seemed big enough for a decent sized hiking backpack. The Extra Small size would probably be good for a regular school backpack or small camera backpack. The Extra Small size seems to be hard to come by and often comes at twice the price of the Small size - maybe a demand issue?

It does have a pull-string to tighten it, so even the Small can be made to accommodate smaller sizes if needed (though not the ideal solution).

The entire cover folds up into itself - it has a protective pouch/carrying case which is connected to the cover.

There is a big ugly logo right in the center of the cover (of the company logo and name) printed onto the material. I really didn't care for that design choice and ended up "Sharpie'ing" over it (as any stickers/tape would come off when folded up. The same logo is on the pouch - this is just a personal design choice, you may feel differently.

On to the problems -

The pouch wraps around the backpack, leaving the back (starting where the straps come off the backpack) open - this is a problem for me as this leaves a "V" shape open between your back and the back of the backpack that water will travel down - with the back of the backpack exposed, the water will get in there (this area of the backpack is usually where stuff is placed - in a camera backpack, it's where the lenses, cameras and accessories sit), essentially just protecting the front pockets of the backpack (which are often less important). The other problem being that the cover wraps around the bottom of the backpack (and slightly up the back) which creates an area for water to get into and sit (at the bottom of your backpack) - the "other" brand seen in stores had little eyelets to release water, this one doesn't. If water gets in, it will sit there.

So I find this useful for LIGHT protection - maybe a sprinkling or short period in the rain (running to the car), but I wouldn't trust walking around for lengthy periods with this protecting expensive equipment. For LIGHT protection (sprinkling and in areas where rain is infrequent (like California) it's better than nothing and the price is right. For anything more, I'd pass.

As suggested by Mountainsmith, for example if you get a pack around 70 liters you would want a rain cover that is a large.

I've got the Mountainsmith Cross Country 3.0 and it fits just fine, keeps everything dry and has a great storage system and is light weight.

What more do you need?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 31 reviews  4.3 out of 5 stars