What all size of Compression Sacks/Dry Sacks do you use?

[skinewmexico]

Trash compactor bag. Although I did just buy a 2 oz Sea to Summit day pack that I will probably use as a stuff sack / .............day pack.

[sbhikes]

Hey:

I'm debating on what all sizes of dry sacks I should take on my thru-hike. Obviously one for my sleeping pad and sleeping bag, but what about food, etc.?

Just curious on what sizes you guys use.

Thanks,

-Kevin

Sleeping bag went in my pocket shower, which is just a dry bag with a shower nozzled at one end.

One trash compactor bag for my clothing.

One trash compactor bag for my food.

One lawn-n-leaf trash bag for a pack cover.

That's it, and it's probably more than a lot of people.

[sbhikes]

Oh, by the way, I swam in some rivers twice (water over my head) with my pack on and both times my sleeping bag and clothing did not get wet inside of trash compactor bags, even though one of them had a hole in it and none of them were sealed at the top very well. I think it helped a lot that my blue foam pad was burrito-style inside my pack.

[m_factor]

Just another data point...

After an AT thruhike, a handful of other long hikes, more long weekends than I'll ever be able to count in the wet White Mountains of NH, and an estimated ~6000 total trail miles on 6 continents, the only time some of the down in my bag has gotten wet was during a tent failure while I was sleeping in the bag.

I use a regular stuff sack and sometimes put that in a regular trash bag. Sometimes I've used a trash bag (not compactor - too heavy) as a liner. I usually (always?) use a silnylon pack cover in the rain.

Invest in a good down bag (800+ fill) and don't wreck it with a compression sack. Find a system that works for keeping the contents of your pack dry, and handle your gear gently so you're not constantly putting holes in your plastic bags.

As for my sleeping pad... If I put mine on the outside of my pack, I make sure my packcover will cover it and I don't bother with additional protection. Inside my pack, I don't even bother putting it inside a liner. If it gets damp, it's only be a fraction of the surface that gets wet and I wipe it off or put it on the "down" side when I sleep.

[Doooglas]

My backpack is a dry sack/stuff sack.
It's a Rivendell Jensen jumbo.

[Tinker]

Hey:

I'm debating on what all sizes of dry sacks I should take on my thru-hike. Obviously one for my sleeping pad and sleeping bag, but what about food, etc.?

Just curious on what sizes you guys use.

Thanks,

-Kevin

None. I use a trash can liner between my pack and my pack's frame (a blue light pad - the pack's frameless), then one inside that for the sleeping bag and sleeping clothes/spare socks. I compress that one down to squeeze out all the air, twist off the top and tuck it in behind the bag itself. Above that I place my tarp/hammock stuffsack (it's oversized so that it conforms to the pack's interior). On top of that I place my cookset/food bag (this is the only one which is cylindrical - it fits my cookset perfectly in the bottom and I pile my food (up to 4 days' worth) on top of the cookset and close the stuffsack. That goes in horizontally from side to side. On top of that I put my "warm up clothing" stuffsack (holding whatever jacket/hat/glove combination I deem necessary for the expected weather). Again, this stuffsack is rarely stuffed to capacity so it doesn't form a stiff "log" inside my pack, wasting valuable space. On top of that I put my raingear and water filter and possibly snacks or a lunch in a zip-lock. Just before putting in the water filter and lunch (or whatever) on top, I press down on the whole mess and twist the garbage bag (remember that, the one which goes between the pack and the blue foam?)'s top closed so it doesn't suck in any air, and tuck it between the back of the pack's interior and the bag itself.
Boy, this one was wordy!

[Tinker]

Rereading my post, I should've written TWO dry bags (or stuffsacks).
My main point was not to pack your pack as if you were stuffing it with stiff, log-like, overpacked stuff/compression sacks. Let the WHOLE PACK be the compression sack.
Sorry if I was unclear. My stuffsacks are for organization, not compression.