Deuter Raincover III Review

Overview

The Raincover III is Deuter’s largest stock rain cover, built to stretch over 45- to 90-liter backpacks — think full-size trekking packs like the Aircontact or Futura Pro rather than ultralight frameless rigs. It’s a simple piece of gear: a PU-coated polyamide shell with a drawcord hem, meant to sit in an outside pocket until the sky opens up. If you’re the type who runs a full-size expedition or multi-day pack and wants a cover that will actually survive years of abuse rather than a $8 Amazon throwaway, this is the category the Raincover III is built for.

Key Specs

Spec	Detail
Weight	130 g (4.6 oz)
Compatible pack volume	45–90 L
Dimensions	97 x 37 x 30 cm (H x W x D)
Material	70D Polyamide
Waterproofing	PU coating, taped and welded seams
Closure	Drawcord hem
PFC-free	Yes

Performance

At 130 g, this isn’t an ultralight product — it’s a durability-first one, and it performs like it. The finely woven 70 denier polyamide fabric used for Deuter rain covers is lightweight, packs into a small space and provides excellent protection from the rain thanks to its PU coating. That’s backed up by the construction: the waterproof Raincover III comes with PU coating and taped and welded seams, which matters more than most people think — a lot of cheap covers skip the seam-sealing step and leak right at the stitch lines during sustained rain, not just a passing shower.

Real-world feedback on waterproofing itself is thin (rain covers don’t generate the review volume that tents or packs do), but the one detailed account I found was positive: one Amazon reviewer noted that they loved the cover, found it thicker than the original one that came with their pack, and that during a heavy rain storm their gear stayed dry. That tracks with what you’d expect from taped/welded seams versus the glued or unsealed seams on budget covers.

Fit is where this cover gets more mixed feedback, and it’s worth flagging before you buy. Because the III is sized to stretch over anything from a 45L pack up to a 90L behemoth, it runs generously oversized on the smaller end of that range. One reviewer running a 50+10L Deuter pack found the Rain Cover III hangs down below the pack by a good foot to foot and a half, and the pull string doesn’t help the sagging — they’d have preferred the Raincover II for that pack. A CampSaver reviewer had the same complaint, saying the cover was the correct size rain cover for their 50+10 pack, but since it goes up to 90 L, it is huge. If your pack sits toward the bottom of the 45-90L range, expect excess fabric flapping around the bottom — cinch the drawcord tight and consider a strip of Gorilla Tape or a hair tie to bundle the slack so it doesn’t snag on brush or catch wind like a sail.

On the packability front, it does compress down small for what it is — the cover is small and compact when not being used — and several buyers mention it living permanently in an external mesh pocket without being a burden.

One thing I can’t verify from user testing: long-term abrasion resistance on the PU coating after repeated pack-cover-unpack cycles over a multi-month thru-hike. Deuter backs it with their lifetime pack warranty, which is reassuring, but I’d treat any claims about multi-year coating longevity as speculative until there’s more field data.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Taped and welded seams plus PU coating means genuinely reliable water resistance, not just a DWR spray-and-pray
• Reflective detailing adds a small margin of safety on road walks or low-light trail sections
• PFC-free construction — no forever chemicals in the waterproofing
• Packs down small enough to live in a mesh side pocket permanently
• Covers a huge range of pack sizes (45-90L) with one product

Cons

• At 130 g it’s roughly double the weight of ultralight silnylon or Dyneema cover alternatives
• Runs noticeably oversized if your pack is on the smaller end of the 45-90L range, leading to sagging fabric and drawcord that can’t fully compensate
• No bottom cinch/toggle system beyond the single hem drawcord, so excess material management is on you
• Doesn’t cover the front pockets or hipbelt pockets, standard for this category but worth knowing if you rely on those in wet weather

Who Should Buy This

This is the right call if you’re carrying a genuinely large pack — 60L and up — and want a cover that will survive years of gravel-lot pack-ons and bushwhacking without delaminating. It’s overkill, and arguably a poor fit, for anyone running a 45-50L pack who’d be better served by the Raincover II, and it’s not a fit at all for ultralight frameless packs under 40L where a lighter aftermarket cover or a pack liner approach makes more sense.

Verdict

The Raincover III does its core job well — the PU coating and welded seams deliver real, sealed-seam waterproofing that cheaper covers can’t match — but its one-size-fits-a-huge-range design means smaller packs in its stated range will get a sloppy, saggy fit. Buy it for genuinely big packs; size down to the Raincover II if you’re anywhere near the 45-50L end. I’d put it at a 7/10: solid materials and construction, docked for a fit range that’s too broad for its own good.