View Full Version : Number of Dry Sacs and Sizes
lunajo12
02-09-2016, 19:06
Hey, I'm planning on starting a thru in March. When it comes to food bags, what size dry sacs to people use? Also, how many do you use? One for food, one for electronics, and one for first aid?
Any and all replies are appreciated!
Thanks and Gig 'em,
Jordan Luna.
soumodeler
02-09-2016, 20:13
Look at the ZPacks Blast Food Bag. Or just get the bear bagging kit. Has everything you need for your food hanging system.
Hey, I'm planning on starting a thru in March. When it comes to food bags, what size dry sacs to people use? Also, how many do you use? One for food, one for electronics, and one for first aid?&lt;br&gt;<br><br>
&lt;br&gt;<br><br>
Any and all replies are appreciated!&lt;br&gt;<br><br>
&lt;br&gt;<br><br>
Thanks and Gig 'em,&lt;br&gt;<br><br>
&lt;br&gt;<br><br>
Jordan Luna.&lt;br&gt;<br>
Jordan, congratulations on your choice to thru hike the AT. I did it in 2008, had a great time and also had a great deal of satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. For my food bag I used a Granite Gear bag, I don't remember the specifics, it was zippered, waterproof and about 2+ liter size. It holds enough food for up to 10 days for me. Food for during the day I just packed in a 1 gal Ziplock on the top of my pack. Otherwise a 1.5 L for my cookset including stove, 1/2 L bag for headlamp, small radio and spare batteries, 1 L for toiletries, medications, vitamins and first aid stuff, 1/2 L for spare socks, 2 L for base layer and very few spare clothes that I carried. If they were clean and/or dry I put my socks and rain gear in my clothes bag for a pillow. All of the bags except for the food bag were Outdoor bags I bought at Walmart, 3,000 miles later and all of my bags are going strong. Have a great time and hike safe. -Burro
macdaddy
02-09-2016, 20:40
It all depends on how organized you like to be. I have three for food. I don't like to hunt through all the food I carry every meal so I have one for breakfasts and or snacks, one for lunches, and one for dinners. Also one for my "clean" or camp clothes. In cooler weather I might have a synthetic hoodie stuffed in a dry bag. Electronics for me is a cell phone with a camera, usually in the top of my pack or a pocket where I can get to it quickly, may put it in a ziploc if it's raining. First aid/personal hygiene is usually a ziploc baggie but a dry bag would work as well.
mattjv89
02-10-2016, 01:06
I use one big ole 20L drybag for my food. Probably bigger than truly needed but I did come close to filling it more than once towards the end when appetite was through the roof..anyways I just use a variety of gallon and quart Ziploc bags to keep stuff somewhat organized inside that drybag. Then I have one other little stuff sack as my ditty bag with all the small items, I use a couple Ziplocs there too. Everything else, clothing sleep system stove etc. I just stuff loose into my pack, everything that can't get wet is in a trash compactor bag.
Bag size depends on what you're carrying. A 10* synthetic sleeping bag is not going to fit into the same bag as a 40* down bag.
I use the Sea to Summit Ultra-sil Dry Bags. One 8L for clothes, one 8L or 13L for my sleeping bag (depending on which one I'm using) and one 13L for food.
My answer: None. Ziploc bags & a trash compactor bag should do it. A whole lot lighter and WAY cheaper. Less bulk too.
Ziploc Big Bags if the 1 gallon size won't do.
https://ziploc.com/en/products/closet-storage
Wayne
I use 3 . Got the cheep Walmart 3 pack of dry bags. Food bag , clothing bag , small stuff bag . Food bag weight is 1.5oz and it's the biggest . Clothing bag is my pillow . Works for me
thom
DuneElliot
02-10-2016, 10:02
One small dry bag from Walmart for my FA kit and one for my toiletries. Sleeping bag, sleeping clothes and pillow go the sleeping bag's storage bag at the bottom of the pack. Clothes in the sil-nylon stuff sack my sleeping bag came with. Cooking gear (stove, pot, cozy, spork, fuel and lighter, and foodbag hanging line) in one of Walmart's stuff sacks (not the dry sacks).
Food bag is either a cheap nylon "backpack"...the kind with strings...for a 2-3 day trip or a 20L waterproof drybag for longer trips and is the same weight as the smaller 2-3 day bag. I went with the 20L because even when full I can add my toiletries and cook kit in the top to hang it so that everything remains dry if it rains. Anything that has a smell to bears goes in the 20L dry bag to be hung.
DuneElliot
02-10-2016, 10:10
I should add that everything goes into a trash compactor bag inside my backpack as a precaution to keep everything dry.
I kept everything in Sea to Summit dry sacks during my 2014 thru hike.
20L bag for food
10L bag for clothing
8L bag for sleeping bag
2 liter for toiletries
2 liter for electronics
1 liter as a wallet
4eyedbuzzard
02-10-2016, 10:49
+1 on the Outdoor products dry bags like these https://www.campmor.com/c/outdoor-products-3--45;pack-ultimate-dry-sack-65731ast?gclid=CjwKEAiA3Ou1BRDso5XyhduuwFASJABP3PE D6HYkZiV5V-408BxzA4BWP8ZGPn1cWfgiDxqATL3lfBoCRjzw_wcB also available at WalMart. I use the big one for food for up to 3 days. It also makes a good water tote. They make larger ones as well, like a 20 liter. One of the smaller ones get all my other stuff, which I don't really carry a lot of. My clothing goes in a Granite Gear Pillowsack. One side of it has a microfiber fabric that makes it a nice soft pillow. http://www.backcountrygear.com/granite-gear-pillowsack.html?gclid=CjwKEAiA3Ou1BRDso5XyhduuwFAS JABP3PEDT_MXRMQhRkAoF5IHu0CwGLO9IvrhhCdJvojY9uVt9x oCBnfw_wcB
ryjohnson09
02-10-2016, 10:50
I discuss this in my gear list video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6N7uzH4OGk). We are starting out around the same time (I'm heading out in a little over 2 weeks).
MamaBear
02-10-2016, 11:23
I used a 13L Sea to Summit bag for my food, with the roll top it was easy to do the bear hangs. Once in a while, especially the day after a big resupply, there wasn't quite enough room in the 13L, so I would use the empty sleeping bag stuff sack for an extra food bag to hang at night. For lunches and snacks, I would place most of that food in a gallon size ziplock that went into the lid of my pack and the remaining snacks in my hipbelt pockets. That was my "lunch bag", which at the end of the day was just put in the 13L bag to be hung with the rest of the food. This helped to limit the digging around in my pack or food bag during the day. For the rest of my stuff, clothes, first aid, tolietries I used ziplocks, gallon and quart sized. Sleeping bag, tent and sleeping pad in the stuff sacks they came with. I also used a trash compactor bag inside the pack, never had anything in there get wet.
MamaBear
02-10-2016, 11:26
Forgot about electronics. I had a Sealine bag for those, just to make sure they stayed dry, plus my phone was in a Lifeproof case.
MamaBear
02-10-2016, 11:28
Grrr. Seal Line. Can't spell or type. Probably need to get out for a hike . . . .
Kerosene
02-10-2016, 11:45
I'm a big proponent of the zPacks Cuben dry bags and their food sack. I have dry bags for my sleeping bag and camp clothing, and a waterproof zip for wallet/phone/keys. I use simple ditty bags for my first aid kit, toiletries, kitchen stove/pot/cup and "hiking ditty" (basically all the stuff I frequently access while hiking, such as footcare, Aqua Mira, albuterol, etc.).
I kept everything in Sea to Summit dry sacks during my 2014 thru hike.
20L bag for food
10L bag for clothing
8L bag for sleeping bag
2 liter for toiletries
2 liter for electronics
1 liter as a wallet
I gotta ask. How much food were you carrying in a 20 liter bag? I own a 15 liter bag that I use for my Zero degree near winter sleeping bag. It's big. I could probably eat out of it for 2 weeks. Maybe longer.
I can't picture food for the usual long weekend quantities of food needed for a thru hike requiring a 20 liter bag. How much beer was in there????????? Grinning.
Wayne
I gotta ask. How much food were you carrying in a 20 liter bag? I own a 15 liter bag that I use for my Zero degree near winter sleeping bag. It's big. I could probably eat out of it for 2 weeks. Maybe longer.
I can't picture food for the usual long weekend quantities of food needed for a thru hike requiring a 20 liter bag. How much beer was in there????????? Grinning.
Wayne
I'm 6'3" and during my thru hike I went from 230 pounds to 170 pounds. Ridiculous hiker hunger. I only filled the 20L bag on 2-3 occasions....from Fontana to Hot Springs (7-8 days), and during a couple long stretches in Maine. IMHO, it's better to go with a big bag rather than squish your food to fit in a small bag.
I'm 6'3" and during my thru hike I went from 230 pounds to 170 pounds. Ridiculous hiker hunger. I only filled the 20L bag on 2-3 occasions....from Fontana to Hot Springs (7-8 days), and during a couple long stretches in Maine. IMHO, it's better to go with a big bag rather than squish your food to fit in a small bag.
That seems reasonable.
I'm more into not spending money than I am into convenience or saving weight. Ziploc products hit all of my sensitive nerves just right. Light. Cheap. Waterproof. Already in the house. What's not to like? Plus, I have a bunch of nylon bags laying around to corral a pile of Ziploc bags and both of my packs have real external pockets that hold Ziploc bags very nicely.
I do have one REI brand 15 liter dry bag. Bought to hold a specific sleeping bag in a specific pack.
Wayne
lunajo12
02-10-2016, 20:15
Thank you for all the responses! This will definitely help me in preparation for my thru hike. It's nice to be able to see what other people did and that there is no absolute right or wrong. A lot of worries are being dealt with!
Thanks!
It's easy lighten up and enjoy.
Thom