I've been a little out of the loop on developments in gear over the past couple of years and have noticed that there are now "waterproof" backpacks offered in ROBIC as well as X-Pac, in addition to the DCF (Cuben Fiber) packs that have been around for many years.

I have a ULA Circuit for hikes when I use a bear canister as well as other hikes where I need to carry more than 3 days of food. And I have a ULA CDT for shorter/lighter hikes as well as my European "hut to hut" hikes and Camino trekking.

I love these packs and their durability (I've had them for many years) but they are obviously not waterproof or even water resistant. They get waterlogged if I don't use a pack cover (of course, I always use a pack liner and dry bags for my down items).

I've ordered a couple of zPacks DCF packs in the past but returned them. I didn't feel like the durability would be what I am looking for and while the Arc Blast would hold my bear canister, it would only hold it in the top part of the pack (above the crossbar), which made for bad weight distribution.

I noticed that zPacks now offers a ROBIC option for the Arc Air as well a grid stop Arc Haul, both of which are supposed to be waterproof. Does anyone have opinions regarding the Robin and grid stop material vs. DCF in terms of waterproofness?

ULA also offers custom packs using X-PAC material. Does anyone have experience with this material from ULA?

I'm a creature of habit, set in my ways, so an X-PAC Circuit might be the best option for me if this material is truly waterproof.

Thanks for any insights on this....