Pro tip: A cheap plastic shower cap saved my sleeping bag last week in the Smokies

Got caught in a steady drizzle while packing up camp near Clingmans Dome. My sleeping bag was dry but my pack's outside pocket isn't waterproof. Grabbed a hotel shower cap from my toiletries bag and stretched it over the stuff sack. It kept the bag bone dry for the whole 2-mile hike back to the car. Anyone else have a weird little item that's become essential gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

gonzalez.anna24d ago

My version of that is a pack of cheap ponchos from the dollar store. They take up no space and I've used them to cover my pack, sit on damp logs, even as an extra ground cloth. I once used one as a makeshift rain skirt when my pants got soaked crossing a creek.

mila_mitchell24d ago

Honestly, that's the best kind of gear hack. It feels like we're all just finding more uses for simple stuff instead of buying some fancy single-purpose thing.