Packing a mummy bag

[HangNhike]

So the other day while packing up from doing an overnighter, one of my friends noticed me rolling up my sleeping bag to put it in its little bag. He stopped me and said I should stuff it rather than roll it as rolling it will create creases and prematurely wear out the bag. Thoughts?

[Tinker]

Theoretically, he's right. Practically, it's anybody's guess. Stuffing is quicker and easier. Start with the foot and pack it as tightly as you can right from the beginning, or you might run out of stuffsack before the bag is all the way in. Some folks will say that stuffing may tear the baffles inside a down bag (especially an ultralight one). I've never seen it happen.

[HangNhike]

I don't think mine is Down.... Sierra Designs Wild Bill 35

[Tinker]

I don't think mine is Down.... Sierra Designs Wild Bill 35

No, it isn't down, and is probably pretty beefy, so stuffing shouldn't be an issue. It's easier.

[HangNhike]

Beefy lol Its my first nice bag (all my old ones were Colemans I used car camping" and I thought this was nice and light/compact lol

[Wise Old Owl]

Stuff - to roll is old skool.

[Monkeywrench]

The "little bag" is called a stuff sack for a reason. That said, it's your sleeping bag, do it any way you want to.

[Rocket Jones]

Doesn't matter as long as you don't store it long term in the stuff sack.

[coach lou]

My down bag gets stuffed in a compression sack on my pack. At home in storage, after I let it air out, it goes in the big laundry type bag that it came in. This is suppose to keep feathers from matting together. The step kids non-down bags get rolled, nice & neat.

[handyman439]

I have also heard that stuffing can tear the feathers, but I still use that method.

If you are fairly gentle when you stuff the bag in the sack, I cant imagine it could cause much damage to the down. It seams to me that it take much more force/stuffing for me to get the bag into the stuff sack if I roll it first anyways.

[Ktaadn]

Get rid of the stuff sack and just stuff it into your pack. This goes the same for your tent if you use one. Keep in mind that your pack is nothing but a giant stuff sack. There is no need for redundant stuff sacks inside of it. And yes, I would avoid folding or rolling anything in the same manner everytime. The creases will eventually ruin it. Think about bending a spoon. Sure, you can bend it back into shape several times, but eventually even steel will break.

[Obiwan]

Always been a stuffer

[Tinker]

Get rid of the stuff sack and just stuff it into your pack. This goes the same for your tent if you use one. Keep in mind that your pack is nothing but a giant stuff sack. There is no need for redundant stuff sacks inside of it. And yes, I would avoid folding or rolling anything in the same manner everytime. The creases will eventually ruin it. Think about bending a spoon. Sure, you can bend it back into shape several times, but eventually even steel will break.

Actually, that's what I do, too. I stuff my down bag into the bottom of my frameless pack into a tall kitchen trash bag. I include my sleeping clothes and down "camp only" jacket. I push all the air out of the garbage bag, then twist the top and stuff it down between the backpack and the bag itself. Makes for a very compact package which does not fill the pack with a bunch of "bowling balls" or "stuffsack logs" which leave gaps between them which could otherwise be used for more gear.
In addition to the sleeping bag/sleep wear bag, I also have a "warm up and windproof bag" which includes a windbreaker and fleece vest or jacket, and knitted cap and gloves, should I need to pull something on for a quick rest break.

[Harald Hope]

The notion of not using a sleeping stuff sack is worth checking out, it took me a bit to get used to the idea, but as noted above, if you stuff your sleeping stuff into a turkey baster bag or trash compactor bag (make sure to get the ace hardware variety, the ones in supermarkets tend to be scented, not a good idea re bears and critters etc) it works really well. Also, another good advantage is that the stuffed sleeping bag is free to fill up the entire bottom of your pack, all the nooks and crannies, and can be compressed more or less depending on the gear you use and how full the pack is. All in all one of the simpler and better suggestions I've seen re lightening up, waterproofing the sleeping bag during the day, and improving your packing. Hard to beat that combination.

[hunter121]

Think I may be in love with this.