Nylofume Pack Liner Review

Overview

The Nylofume Pack Liner began life as a bag for protecting food and medicine during home fumigations. Ultralight hikers repurposed it as a pack liner, and it has stayed there. At 26 g, this clear nylon polymer film bag is aimed at weight-conscious backpackers who want reliable rain protection without the bulk of a pack cover or the weight of a set of dry bags. The trade-off is noise: it crinkles like a bag of chips every time the pack moves.

Key Specs

Spec	Detail
Weight	26 g (0.91 oz)
Material	Nylon polymer film
Dimensions (flat)	20” x 37” (50.8 x 94 cm)
Volume (top rolled)	45 L
Volume (fully open)	52 L
Construction	Straight seam, no gusset
Finish	Clear
Closure	None included

Performance

Waterproofing

Keeping water out is the whole job, and the film does it. Even well-built packs eventually lose to sustained rain or a stream crossing gone wrong unless they are true dry-bag designs. A liner closes that gap for a few grams. One Appalachian Trail hiker reported that a single bag kept gear dry through ten days and nights of daily rain.

Closing it is low-tech. Twist the top, fold it over and secure it with a rubber band, or simply fold it down several times for a looser seal. In a roll-top pack, the liner can share the pack’s own closure.

Durability

First impressions mislead here. The film looks like it should puncture the moment it meets a trekking pole tip. It mostly doesn’t. One reviewer logged more than 30 nights on a single bag and eventually stopped babying it, cramming and yanking gear in and out the way hikers do at 6 a.m. Another user goes through about two per year at roughly 100 nights outside. Thru-hikers describe the film as tougher than trash compactor bags, which tend to develop pinholes over time.

Damage does happen, usually when the bag is empty and loose. One reviewer’s only tears came at home, when the bag was pinched between two pieces of gear and picked up three small rips. A zipper pull is another known hazard: an AT hiker put a hole in a bag with a pack zipper, covered it with duct tape and carried on for another six days. Clear packing tape makes a durable, nearly invisible patch.

Fit and Sizing

The 20” x 37” flat dimensions suit the long, cylindrical shape of most ultralight packs, where a square trash bag tends to bunch and fold awkwardly. Packs up to roughly 50 L take the liner with room to spare for sealing. In a fully stuffed 60 L pack, the bag gets close to tying off but falls just short. Owners with smaller packs can trim the length with scissors.

With no gusset, the bag fills like a tube rather than a box, so the corners of a rectangular load can be fiddly. The clear film partly makes up for it: gear is visible, which helps when digging for a layer in a dim tent.

Odor Barrier

The nylon film also works as an odor barrier. Cut down to size and sealed with a twist tie, a section of Nylofume can hold a food bag inside the pack. It is lighter than zip-style odor-proof bags and works about as well, which matters in bear country.

Noise

This is the one real flaw. One user compared the sound to crushing a bag of corn chips, which is accurate. Pack-up at dawn in a shared campsite becomes a minor courtesy violation. The crinkle softens with use but never goes away. Stealth campers and light sleepers sharing a shelter will notice it most.

Other Uses

Owners have pressed the bag into service as a pump sack for inflatable sleeping pads. It also works as a ground cover under a vestibule on wet soil, or as a stuff sack for a down jacket and spare clothes when heavy condensation is expected overnight.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Waterproof film that keeps a pack’s contents dry through multi-day rain
• 26 g, which adds almost nothing to base weight
• Tougher than trash compactor bags, with reports of 30 to 100 nights per bag
• Clear film makes gear easy to find
• Doubles as an odor barrier for food
• Can be trimmed to fit smaller packs
• Repairs easily with packing tape
• Inexpensive, and sold in multipacks

Cons

• Loud, crinkly material
• No gusset, so rectangular loads fill awkwardly
• Tight fit in fully loaded packs of 60 L and up
• Vulnerable to zipper pulls and pinches when empty
• No closure included; hikers supply their own rubber band or tie

Who Should Buy This

Anyone carrying a pack that isn’t a dedicated dry-bag design should have one. It suits thru-hikers and long-distance section hikers most, especially those still using trash compactor bags and looking for something purpose-built that is no heavier. Packs under about 50 L are the ideal match. Hikers with large 60 L-plus loads should expect a snug fit, and those who prize silence in camp or on the move should look at a quieter fabric liner, accepting the extra weight and cost.

Verdict

The Nylofume Pack Liner does one thing and does it well, for roughly the weight of a few sheets of paper. The noise is real, and bigger packs will find the fit tight, but neither outweighs a waterproof liner that survives months on trail. For most backpackers it is the first piece of rain protection to buy.