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  1. #1

    Default Using a trash compactor bag - question

    Hi Folks,

    I've heard a lot about using a trash compactor bag inside your pack to hold a sleeping bag, etc. This may seem like a dumb question, but... how do you close/seal it? I mean, if you want to be able to compress it, don't you have to leave it un-sealed? But does it do its job that way and keep the contents dry? I bought a box of these things at the grocery store, and they're big enough, I'm guessing people just put the contents in, roll it around itself, and stuff it into the pack, and that's enough to keep water out.

    Thanks, and sorry for the dumb question but some of these practices are new to me.

  2. #2
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    Twist the top to make an elephant trunk and tuck it in toward your body.
    In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln

  3. #3
    Springer to Elk Park, NC/Andover to Katahdin
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    Line your pack with the compactor bag like having a bag within a bag. Then stuff your sleeping bag, clothes, etc. in the pack and twist the compactor bag closed or roll it closed.
    I am not young enough to know everything.

  4. #4
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    As a follow up, SouthMark makes a good point in his description. The bag stays in your pack. I am not sure if my description is clear. After everything is in your pack, try twisting the top and tucking the resulting trunk down toward the suspension side of your pack. The result should be very secure, but still afford you easy access to your gear.
    In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln

  5. #5

    Default

    Thanks, guys. Makes perfect sense. I'll give it a try.

  6. #6
    CDT - 2013, PCT - 2009, AT - 1300 miles done burger's Avatar
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    I usually use a twist-tie to close up my compactor bag when it might rain. Unless you knot the bag shut (which is a bad idea since you will probably tear it opening it), if you just sort of twist or fold the bag shut, the bag will tend to come open as the pack jostles around all day. A twist-tie tied tightly (say that 10 times fast) should be mostly waterproof. If you have a good bit of extra bag at the top, twist the bag up, fold the twisted part over, and then tie it off.

    A bit of string or rope will probably work as well as a twist-tie.

  7. #7

    Default

    Rubber band or girl's elastic hair thingy works, too.

    This is how they send fish home with you from the fish shop, if you've ever had an aquarium, for example. Just don't break it. :P
    Awwww. Fat Mike, too?

  8. #8
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    No need for extra item. Tucked elephant trunk won't fail. If it does, the bag is too small or it is tucked wrong. The trunk should be well over a foot long and tucked toward the suspension side of the pack. By the time it is tucked and the outside straps are cinched, the tucked trunk has no hope of moving. At least mine never has. It remains exactly like I left it when I closed the top of my pack. HMMV. But if it does, something is different.
    In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln

  9. #9
    CDT - 2013, PCT - 2009, AT - 1300 miles done burger's Avatar
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    What size bags are you using BirdBrain? I use compactor bags with about an 8-pound base weight in ULA CDT (i.e. a small and compact load), and I still have hardly any extra bag left at the top of my pack. If you are using the compactor bags like I do, I have trouble imagining that you will have more than a few inches of extra bag left when your pack is full, so you'll need something to tie it off.

    If you are using a full-sized trash bag, then what BirdBrain suggests might work, but it is overkill to have a 12+ inches of extra bag at the top. That's just useless weight.

  10. #10

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by burger View Post
    I usually use a twist-tie to close up my compactor bag when it might rain. Unless you knot the bag shut (which is a bad idea since you will probably tear it opening it), if you just sort of twist or fold the bag shut, the bag will tend to come open as the pack jostles around all day. A twist-tie tied tightly (say that 10 times fast) should be mostly waterproof. If you have a good bit of extra bag at the top, twist the bag up, fold the twisted part over, and then tie it off.

    A bit of string or rope will probably work as well as a twist-tie.
    Quote Originally Posted by BirdBrain View Post
    No need for extra item. Tucked elephant trunk won't fail. If it does, the bag is too small or it is tucked wrong. The trunk should be well over a foot long and tucked toward the suspension side of the pack. By the time it is tucked and the outside straps are cinched, the tucked trunk has no hope of moving. At least mine never has. It remains exactly like I left it when I closed the top of my pack. HMMV. But if it does, something is different.
    Quote Originally Posted by burger View Post
    What size bags are you using BirdBrain? I use compactor bags with about an 8-pound base weight in ULA CDT (i.e. a small and compact load), and I still have hardly any extra bag left at the top of my pack. If you are using the compactor bags like I do, I have trouble imagining that you will have more than a few inches of extra bag left when your pack is full, so you'll need something to tie it off.

    If you are using a full-sized trash bag, then what BirdBrain suggests might work, but it is overkill to have a 12+ inches of extra bag at the top. That's just useless weight.
    Burger said everything I would. A wider rubber band, twist tie, or girls fabric covered hair scrunchy elastic band works. I've experienced wetness inside my backpack while hiking in falling snow and heavy rain while twisting and elephant trunking/goose necking of a trash compacter backpack liner. Even still I usually place something WP or that which I don't mind a little damp inside at the top of my backpack.

  11. #11
    Registered User Cotton Terry's Avatar
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    I've rolled mine up and then fastened it with a large spring clip, but I think I like the twist and tuck method.

  12. #12

    Default

    The bags I got at the grocery store are huge - 25 by 35 inches, 2.5 mil. I only saw one size, didn't realize they come in different sizes. Out of curiosity, I rolled one up and weighed it just now. Came in at 2.3 oz. For comparison, weighed a 35 L OR dry sack, came in at 3.05 oz. I think the trash compactor bag will hold more in the pack, but the OR sack would certainly hold my sleeping bag plus probably clothes etc..., and it has a roll top clip. Hm. I like the compactor bag and will give it a try. It's supposed to rain all week here, so maybe I'll see how it works on a morning walk (I do 5-8 miles each day before work).

    IMG_0507.jpgIMG_0506.jpgIMG_0509.jpg

  13. #13
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    Mine are 56 gallon. 43x48. I will weigh one when I get home. I am not saying other methods will not work. I just need things to be as idiot proof as possible. This idiot would surely lose the twist tie or elastic.

    Edit: I am getting conflicting information. They may in fact be 30x37 and 25 gallon. I do not have one in front of me. Will have to verify.
    Last edited by BirdBrain; 09-28-2015 at 20:24.
    In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln

  14. #14

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    I'm wondering if anyone has tried these green bags. They are supposed to be super strong and "odor free" (I bought them with the idea of carrying out waste etc.). Once I got them and saw the silly little yellow "clip" they send to use with them, I just put them away and forgot about them. But the larger size may work ok for carrying a sleeping bag and maybe a few other items (self-inflating pad, clothes?). I weighed one and it's 1.4 oz, 27 by 24.5 inches. Just curious if you've seen these?

    IMG_0513.jpgIMG_0511.jpg

  15. #15
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    Elephant trunk with added rubber if I have it...never had an issue. Pack fills out and carries much better than having lumps of odd shaped items in stuff sacks. Works well to cover pack when flying home....just did this and worked great!!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  16. #16
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    Pack in pic is a loaded ula circuit with ALL items from JMT inc bear can, trekking poles, sleep bag, clothes etc...


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  17. #17

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by BirdBrain View Post
    No need for extra item. Tucked elephant trunk won't fail. If it does, the bag is too small or it is tucked wrong.
    Guilty. But only when I'm using the turkey-sized nylon oven roaster bags instead a real 2 mil compactor trash bag.

    The tempting thing is my oven roaster bags weight about 0.5oz with the hair tie, while my compactor bags weigh about 3oz each.
    Awwww. Fat Mike, too?

  18. #18
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    I just roll and tuck. It works well for me in some very prolonged wet conditions.
    I'm not lost. I'm exploring.

  19. #19

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    Just twist it and tuck it down.

    Not everything has to go in compactor bag, just stuff that needs to stay dry.
    For me, thats quilt, clothes, sleeping pad, tarp. Thats half my pack, about a foot high.
    And the tarp is optional.

    Ive got about 12" -15" to twist and tuck.

    Food is in a cuben foodbag, in ziplocks. And a reynolds turkeybag liner thats rubber banded shut. Its protected.

    Miscellaneous items are in ziplock as well.

    I dont care if pot/stove gets wet.
    Last edited by MuddyWaters; 09-29-2015 at 04:25.

  20. #20
    Hiker bigcranky's Avatar
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    I used a compactor bag for years, and could never get it to seal particularly well. Had one incident when my water bladder came apart inside the pack (but above the compactor bag) and water got inside the bag so I had a small lake at the bottom of the bag. Where my down sleeping bag was, naturally. User error, of course, but it didn't make my bag any drier that night.

    So a couple of years ago I bought the Zpacks roll top cuben pack liner. Much easier to use, and based on my experience last year, it really does work to keep everything dry. My pack soaked through during several days of heavy rain, and all my stuff inside the liner was totally dry.

    Do check occasionally for pinholes, which are easily patched. (Haven't had any yet on the pack liner, since it's well protected, but I have a lot on my cuben food bag.)
    Ken B
    'Big Cranky'
    Our Long Trail journal

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