Arc haul or arc haul zip?

[Puddle sleeper]

So I'm planning a thru hike of the pct, I'm going to be leaving early to mid may and wanted a waterproof pack for the wicked river crossings that I'm anticipating, which one would keep the water out better? The arc haul or arc haul zip? Or are they the same pretty much for waterproofness? Also for the record I'll keep my sleeping bag in either a dry bag or trash bag, either one

[Maineiac64]

The haul has a mesh pocket while the zip has an enclosed pocket. The zip also has a zipper that opens the pack in addition to the top loader. I would ask zpacks but my guess is that the haul would be more water resistant since it doesn't have the zipper. I opted for the zip because I wanted the enclosed pocket. Good luck on your hike.

[Hikingjim]

your only difference is a mesh pocket vs a zip pocket. If the stuff in your mesh is in a dry sac or you don't care if it gets wet, then it's fine. Otherwise, the zip is an option

[meat803]

Having owned an older version without the platypus hose pass through, see if you can get it made without the pass through. I used a 2015 cuben arc blast on my AT thru that did not have the pass through and it was waterproof until about 1000 miles in after the cuban began to wear out in the "roll" section of pack closure. The leakage was very very minor but I did notice some wetness in the pack once this occurred. I replaced that pack with a dyneema version that came with drink tube pass though. On my LT through hike last year I notice the inside of the pack was wet after rain which I can only surmise came from that pass through because the pack was basically brand new. It was a noticeable amount. My stuff is in drysacks so no biggie but thought this experience would be helpful to you.

If I buy another arc blast 3 things I would request-
Shoulder and belt straps to be cuban/dyneema like old style. The reason is that the new style creates friction and wears out wool shirts. On my AT thru, I wore the same wool shirt all 2200 miles and barely had holes at the end. The new style has piled up my new wool shirt in a few hundred miles. The new material doesnt cause any skin irritation just minor abrasion that results in wear of shirt.

Get old style frame. The old style pack had frame bars that were rectangle and flat which would only bent one way. The new pack I have has round bars that can bend in an "S" instead of like a bow. I have learned that a Z seat from thermarest fits perfectly between the frame and back mesh. I now stow my z seat there and done put tension on the frame and it feels great to have the z seat as the back pad as the mesh wasn't all that great. I learned this early on my AT thru and it is what I do now so I guess the frame issue isnt that big of a deal. I guess I could have them leave off frame tensioners and save weight.

Leave off drink tube pass through. It is a spot for water to get into pack. I don't use a platypus due to it's weight and this extra material and possible leakage spot to a waterproof pack is not needed.

Dont order trekking pole storage thing. I could never get this to work with my dual belt pouches. I had this on my Osprey exos before and is was awesome but sadly it never panned out on my z packs due to ergonomics. I just took it off. With this said I highly recommend getting 2 belt pouches and a shoulder pouch for phone/ camera and chapstick/earphones. The belt pouches are pretty much water proof and have high storage capacity without getting in the way. With the shoulder pouch I could whip my phone out to check Guthooks and stow it with one hand without missing a beat. I also used the shoulder strap to stick the handle of my umbrella in. Along with another strap, I could walk hands free with umbrella in the rain. I even setup my tent once without taking my pack/umbrella off. Just reached back and removed duplex from lower 2 straps. I was proud of myself. I ditched the umbrella due to all the brush but will be taking it on my PCT hike this year.

Hope this helps. Msg me is you have any questions. I have about 3000 miles using zpacks gear. I highly recommend them.