Depends on your use cases :) For me, a rain cover is a hindrance when I need to retrieve things from my pack, I have to remove it entirely, whereas a pack line

Depends on your use cases :) For me, a rain cover is a hindrance when I need to retrieve things from my pack, I have to remove it entirely, whereas a pack liner, I just need to unfurl the top of it. Secondly, as there are very few bridges in the New Zealand back country, we frequently have to cross the channels of braided rivers. A rain cover keeps out water from above, not so much from below. And as I mentioned in a previous comment, pack liners can, in an emergency, function as a flotation device or emergency shelter.