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skinnbones
01-03-2017, 12:12
I apologize for all these questions, but hike begins soon and trying to get things right. I purchased the Sea to Summit compression sack for sleeping bag, but don't really like it. Does anybody just shove bag in loosely? How do you pack your sleeping bag? Many thanks.

G-FOURce
01-03-2017, 12:19
I use a Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Nano dry sack for my down bag. The 13L weighs an ounce and the 8L weighs only 0.8oz. Love 'em

http://www.seatosummit.com/product/?item=Ultra-Sil%26reg%3B+Nano+Dry+Sack&o1=3&o2=3&o3=514-32

Leo L.
01-03-2017, 12:23
I put my Exped down bags in the airtight packs they are delivered with (which are quie big), squeeze out as much air as possible, roll-close the top and shove it in the pack (from bottom to top between the mat and the tent) in a way that it fills gaps between other stuff.
I dont like compression sacks that have straps on four sides, because they form a rigid pack that doesn't fit together well with the other stuff.

Engine
01-03-2017, 12:25
Many people just stuff the bag into the bottom of their pack and then pile other items on top. That approach works pretty well if you have a large enough pack, but I find it's hard to get the bag compacted enough to allow for everything else to fit. I don't really like compression sacks, they add unecessary weight and complexity to the process of packing gear.

I use a 13L Sea-to-Summit dry bag for my quilt, liner, and down puffy. It's air tight so getting it compacted to a small size and sealed up is pretty easy. That allows me to add an extra layer of moisture protection for the gear that absolutely must remain dry, with only a 1.5 ounce increase over an ultralight 13L stuffsack.

skinnbones
01-03-2017, 12:30
I put my Exped down bags in the airtight packs they are delivered with (which are quie big), squeeze out as much air as possible, roll-close the top and shove it in the pack (from bottom to top between the mat and the tent) in a way that it fills gaps between other stuff.
I dont like compression sacks that have straps on four sides, because they form a rigid pack that doesn't fit together well with the other stuff.
That is what I dislike. The sack that holds my bag becomes a brick.

Feral Bill
01-03-2017, 12:39
That is what I dislike. The sack that holds my bag becomes a brick.
Looks like you need a bigger stuf sack. I use a 20 L.

saltysack
01-03-2017, 12:57
Simple trash compactor bag for all dry gear...


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ScareBear
01-03-2017, 13:01
Get an STS eVent drysack for your bag. Best way to compress a down bag into the shape you want and to keep it dry.
http://www.seatosummit.com/product/?item=eVent+Compression+Dry+Sack&o1=0&o2=0&o3=291-12

Leo L.
01-03-2017, 13:05
That is what I dislike. The sack that holds my bag becomes a brick.

I'm speaking about something like this:
https://www.ortlieb.com/en/Dry%20Bag%20PS10/
If you squeezed out the air, you can still form it into shape.

Slo-go'en
01-03-2017, 14:41
Many people just stuff the bag into the bottom of their pack and then pile other items on top.

I don't know about "many people" packing their bag that way. If fact, in 6000 miles of hiking the AT, I don't think I've ever seen anyone do that. The last thing you want is to have your bag get wet due to the pack leaking or from wet stuff packed above it. Your bag is one of the most important things in your pack and you want to protect it.

I put my bag in a dry sack which is about the same length as the width of the pack so it fits in the bottom nicely. Then at night my clothes go into the sleeping bag sack (so long as they are dry) to keep them all in one place and in case the tent leaks if it starts storming overnight.

Time Zone
01-03-2017, 14:43
Many people just stuff the bag into the bottom of their pack and then pile other items on top. That approach works pretty well if you have a large enough pack, but I find it's hard to get the bag compacted enough to allow for everything else to fit. I don't really like compression sacks, they add unecessary weight and complexity to the process of packing gear.


I noticed that too. It sounds good in theory, but you'll never compress the bag nearly as much if you just push stuff on top of it. After you stuff it in the bottom, it starts expanding again when you go to get other stuff! And the more you put in there, the less a compressing effect it has on the part of the bag furthest from where you're pushing. In my experience tis best to just use whatever compression/stuff sack you have and try to pack around it. Fill in the gaps with small / soft stuff that isn't as bulky as the sleeping bag (like sleep clothes).

trailmercury
01-03-2017, 14:54
Get an STS eVent drysack for your bag. Best way to compress a down bag into the shape you want and to keep it dry.
http://www.seatosummit.com/product/?item=eVent+Compression+Dry+Sack&o1=0&o2=0&o3=291-12

I prefer Zpacks dry bags...Much lighter and accomplishes the same thing, they have many sizes and they used to custom make sizes but I don't know if they do that anymore due to higher volumes.

skinnbones
01-03-2017, 15:28
I have removed a flap that offered me a separate bottom compartment for my sleeping bag. Now I have full bag to stuff items. My backpack is lined with a heavy duty trash compactor bag. I just shoved my sleeping bag into the bottom and will begin hike this way. I'm going to carry a empty compression sack just in case I change my mine. Thank everybody!

Traillium
01-03-2017, 15:41
I noticed that too. It sounds good in theory, but you'll never compress the bag nearly as much if you just push stuff on top of it. After you stuff it in the bottom, it starts expanding again when you go to get other stuff! And the more you put in there, the less a compressing effect it has on the part of the bag furthest from where you're pushing. In my experience tis best to just use whatever compression/stuff sack you have and try to pack around it. Fill in the gaps with small / soft stuff that isn't as bulky as the sleeping bag (like sleep clothes).

I stuff my sleeping bag into a trash-compactor bag in the bottom of my Osprey Exos 58. My clothes go in too. Then I compress the bag somewhat but not maximally, twist the top tightly and fold it down. Other gear with their awkward roundish shapes go on top. If it's going to be really wet, or if I'm on the water, I'll first compress my bag into an eVent S2S stuff sack that normally sits in the bottom of my pack. But I find I can get more gear compactly stowed with the sleeping bag and clothes providing a 'plastic' shape that allows the other more solid shapes to nestle down into the trash compactor package.

saltysack
01-03-2017, 15:50
I stuff my sleeping bag into a trash-compactor bag in the bottom of my Osprey Exos 58. My clothes go in too. Then I compress the bag somewhat but not maximally, twist the top tightly and fold it down. Other gear with their awkward roundish shapes go on top. If it's going to be really wet, or if I'm on the water, I'll first compress my bag into an eVent S2S stuff sack that normally sits in the bottom of my pack. But I find I can get more gear compactly stowed with the sleeping bag and clothes providing a 'plastic' shape that allows the other more solid shapes to nestle down into the trash compactor package.

Not sure how small a pack he's talking about but I can fit a 45* and 20* quilt with all winter dry clothes in a 40-50l pack in a compactor bag without any trouble compressing enough....


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Venchka
01-03-2017, 16:26
Oh good grief. Overthinking one more time. I tried unlearning everything I know and followed internet wisdom like "shove the bag in the bottom and pile stuff on top" with a new ULA Catalyst. Bunk! Says I! As pointed out above, the bag could not be compressed small enough or stay compressed.
So, I very quickly unlearned the internet advice and relearned what I knew would work.
WM bag stuffed into WM stuff sack supplied with bag shoved into bottom of trash bag inside pack. Done. No additional cost. No additional weight.
K.I.S.S.
Wayne


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saltysack
01-03-2017, 16:49
Not sure how small a pack he's talking about but I can fit a 45* and 20* quilt with all winter dry clothes in a 40-50l pack in a compactor bag without any trouble compressing enough....


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No compression bags used or needed for ME.... I like my pack space filled out as it carries better frameless or not when it's solid like a pillow..


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saltysack
01-03-2017, 17:15
I have removed a flap that offered me a separate bottom compartment for my sleeping bag. Now I have full bag to stuff items. My backpack is lined with a heavy duty trash compactor bag. I just shoved my sleeping bag into the bottom and will begin hike this way. I'm going to carry a empty compression sack just in case I change my mine. Thank everybody!

Wouldn't carry xtra unnecessary gear esp an xtra stuff sack....this leads to carring all sorts of xtra gear you don't need. I.e. Packing your fears. Buy along the way if you feel must have but seriously doubt you will want one...


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LIhikers
01-03-2017, 17:45
I'll second the trash compactor bag idea.
Now, my winter sleeping bag goes into a compression sack or it would fill up my pack without room for anything else.

Turk6177
01-03-2017, 17:49
I have heard a lot of people like to just stuff it into their bag and let it fill the voids. Me personally, am not that brave due to my fear of my down bag getting wet. i use a waterproof sea to summit compression sack, stuff it in and pull the cords to make it as small as possible. It is the first thing I open once I get my shelter set up in order to give it time to get its loft back into it.

Hikingjim
01-03-2017, 17:53
If you use a compactor bag for clothes/sleeping bag, etc, just make sure you have a plan if something gets wet. eg: your bag gets a bit wet with condensation (whoops). Are you putting that in with your clothes? Or where is it going if it's rainy the next couple days and you're hiking on?

I like a couple basic UL stuff sacks to keep my crap simple and isolate things if needed. I have never been able to justify the weight of compression bags, unless someone has their space 100% maxed out and can't do anything else about it.

ScareBear
01-03-2017, 18:39
MY down bags go in the smallest drysack I can fit them in. Then they go in the STS eVent drysack packliner(already in pack), along with anything else that cannot stand water. Then, roll down the STS...keep slowly rolling as the air seeps out the eVent bottom...keep rolling....Voila! Smallest pack volume possible, all waterproof. On top of the packliner goes bear bag. On top of bear bag goes water bladder. There. Done. K.I.S.S.

We packed the 35L Klymit for yesterday's 8mile jaunt in the 45 degree rain in less than 5 minutes. Down bag, stove/fuel/kettle, first aid bag, down vest/polypro zip t/balaclava/rain glasses/rain pants/socks, food, 2 litres of water in Nalgene's, SOL bivvy sack, phone/battery pack, camera, 100' Dyneema cordage, multi-tool. 13 pounds wet with pack. The nice thing about the Klymit is that as long as nothing sharp is poking me in the back, shape really doesn't matter because when I inflate the air frame....POOOF! Ahhhh......
I should note that in the name of safety, I had a waterproof compass/whistle clipped on a zipper on the pack....just sayin...
YMMV...

ScareBear
01-03-2017, 18:42
Oh...and the Klymit 35L is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO not water-resistant...travel without a pack cover and liner at your own peril...just sayin...

Traillium
01-03-2017, 18:46
Not sure how small a pack he's talking about but I can fit a 45* and 20* quilt with all winter dry clothes in a 40-50l pack in a compactor bag without any trouble compressing enough....


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Osprey Exos 58. So it's on the big side … (My excuse — other than it's very comfortable — is that I'm also on the big side at 192cm/6'4", with correspondingly bigger gear.) The reason I don't compress the bag much is so that it cradles and forms around the harder more-edged gear above it.

Ktaadn
01-04-2017, 10:35
Oh good grief. Overthinking one more time. I tried unlearning everything I know and followed internet wisdom like "shove the bag in the bottom and pile stuff on top" with a new ULA Catalyst. Bunk! Says I! As pointed out above, the bag could not be compressed small enough or stay compressed.
So, I very quickly unlearned the internet advice and relearned what I knew would work.
WM bag stuffed into WM stuff sack supplied with bag shoved into bottom of trash bag inside pack. Done. No additional cost. No additional weight.
K.I.S.S.
Wayne


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I'm having trouble understanding what seems to be an obsession of some to squeeze out every last milliliter of air out of their sleeping bag. Why do you feel the need to have it fully compressed?

I used to always put my sleeping bag in a Walmart bag but I have found Target bags to be more durable and use them almost exclusively now. I then stuff the bag in the bottom of my pack and stack from there. Your backpack is a giant compression sack. No need to have a compression sack inside of a compression sack. We aren't carrying Russian nesting dolls, right?

Gambit McCrae
01-04-2017, 10:51
Many people just stuff the bag into the bottom of their pack and then pile other items on top. That approach works pretty well if you have a large enough pack, but I find it's hard to get the bag compacted enough to allow for everything else to fit. I don't really like compression sacks, they add unecessary weight and complexity to the process of packing gear.

I use a 13L Sea-to-Summit dry bag for my quilt, liner, and down puffy. It's air tight so getting it compacted to a small size and sealed up is pretty easy. That allows me to add an extra layer of moisture protection for the gear that absolutely must remain dry, with only a 1.5 ounce increase over an ultralight 13L stuffsack.

Best most awesomeness solution I have found is ONE zpacks pack size dry bag, stuff sleeping bag down to the bottom of pack, next goes in pad, inflatable pillow, cook set etc. dry bag has Velcro and roll top. everything is 100% waterproof no doubt about it at end of a all day rain hike, my stuff WILL be dry

RangerZ
01-04-2017, 13:24
I stuff my sleeping bag into a trash-compactor bag in the bottom of my Osprey Exos 58. My clothes go in too. Then I compress the bag somewhat but not maximally, twist the top tightly and fold it down. Other gear with their awkward roundish shapes go on top. If it's going to be really wet, or if I'm on the water, I'll first compress my bag into an eVent S2S stuff sack that normally sits in the bottom of my pack. But I find I can get more gear compactly stowed with the sleeping bag and clothes providing a 'plastic' shape that allows the other more solid shapes to nestle down into the trash compactor package.

Glad to see the trash compactor bag is still working for you. I stuff my down sleeping bag into a waterproof stuff sack in the zippered bottom of my pack (beside my tent in its own cut down compactor bag) for access. If I thought it was going to be really wet I might put it in my trash compactor bag liner. I have my down jacket in a nonwaterproof stuff sack but inside the trash compactor bag lining my pack. Other "stuff" goes on top of the closed trash compactor bag. My pack has wet through in a storm but everything important stayed dry.

Traillium
01-04-2017, 14:23
Glad to see the trash compactor bag is still working for you.

That trash compactor bag has been wonderful, sir — thanks!

Bronk
01-05-2017, 11:43
I have a bag that came with a compression sack but threw the sack away...I put my sleeping bag in the pack last and just pack it in as loosely as it will fit.

Obiwan
01-05-2017, 11:53
I have removed a flap that offered me a separate bottom compartment for my sleeping bag. Now I have full bag to stuff items. My backpack is lined with a heavy duty trash compactor bag. I just shoved my sleeping bag into the bottom and will begin hike this way. I'm going to carry a empty compression sack just in case I change my mine. Thank everybody!

Even if you simply stuff your bag in the pack, an extra drybag is a good idea in case you get in a situation where you KNOW you are going to get really wet

One Half
01-05-2017, 11:55
I use a Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Nano dry sack for my down bag. The 13L weighs an ounce and the 8L weighs only 0.8oz. Love 'em

http://www.seatosummit.com/product/?item=Ultra-Sil%26reg%3B+Nano+Dry+Sack&o1=3&o2=3&o3=514-32


I use the same, just bought it. I don't turn my bag into a bowling ball with it though. I just compress it enough so that I can fit it in the bottom of my bag across the width. I have a down bag so keeping it dry is essential to my happiness and health. I also keep my sleep clothes in it.

One Half
01-05-2017, 11:58
I use the same, just bought it. I don't turn my bag into a bowling ball with it though. I just compress it enough so that I can fit it in the bottom of my bag across the width. I have a down bag so keeping it dry is essential to my happiness and health. I also keep my sleep clothes in it.

Woops. I use the e-vent compression version.

josh_ATL
01-06-2017, 22:19
I'm a huge fan of just shoving my bag in the bottom of my pack and piling everything on top of it. It fills out the bottom of my pack and helps keep everything else in place.

fastfoxengineering
01-06-2017, 22:42
Your gonna get a different answer for every response. I've used the sea to summit ultra sil dry bags inside a compactor bag. I've also just used a compactor bag. I feel the quilt just stuffed into a compactor bag worked best in my pack. It took the form of the bottom of the pack. However inside a dry bag inside a compactor deffinetly adds some piece of mind.

My current setup for backpacking. My quilt in a cuben dry bag from zpacks. My spare clothes I pack loosely. I line my pack with a gossamer gear packliner. I compress my quilt in my dry bag and put it at the bottom of the pack liner. I then fill in the voids at the bottom with my spare clothes.

I then compress the pack liner and twist it a few times then stuff the top down in a corner.

My food bag and cookpot are the only other two items that go inside my pack. And they don't need to be inside the pack liner. I use a cuben food sack and a titanium pot. I don't care if they get a little wet.

I like putting my expensive down quilt inside the dry bag for a few reasons. Extra waterproofing and protection. It's easier in the am for me to sit up and pack my bag into a dry bag. I'm OCD about organization.

It would also depend on where I hike too. On the AT it rains alot. I would use the method I do now.

On the PCT where rain is alot less frequent. I might just pack it in a plastic bag.

Dry bags are overrated for hikers. Especially the ones with straps for compressing stuff. Do they have a use, sure, but thru hikers typical don't need them.



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greentick
01-08-2017, 14:57
Get an STS eVent drysack for your bag. Best way to compress a down bag into the shape you want and to keep it dry.
http://www.seatosummit.com/product/?item=eVent+Compression+Dry+Sack&o1=0&o2=0&o3=291-12

I like this one (http://www.seatosummit.com/product/?item=eVac%26trade%3B+Dry+Sack+&o1=0&o2=0&o3=392-32). No compression straps. I just fit it in the bottom of my pack, extra air comes right through the e-vent.

ScareBear
01-08-2017, 15:31
I like this one (http://www.seatosummit.com/product/?item=eVac%26trade%3B+Dry+Sack+&o1=0&o2=0&o3=392-32). No compression straps. I just fit it in the bottom of my pack, extra air comes right through the e-vent.

My bad! I use the one you use! I don't have the one with compression straps! Don't know how that got there! I use the 35L grey in a Flash62 right now...but I am looking into a new, smaller lighter pack...for the summer, at least...

mweinstone
01-08-2017, 15:32
Any advise given on such a choice other than" what keeps it dry and works for you is moot.
every single one of us had to learn by trial and error and so shall you. How i do it or others do it is not helpfull
the first order of buissness in these affairs is doing it the wrong way first.

Another Kevin
01-08-2017, 15:47
I'm having trouble understanding what seems to be an obsession of some to squeeze out every last milliliter of air out of their sleeping bag. Why do you feel the need to have it fully compressed?

I carry my winter bag in a compression sack because my pack is a compromise. It's rather bigger than I need in the summer. but uncomfortably tight in the winter, and compressing the sleeping bag helps me get everything else in.

liteweight
01-08-2017, 16:28
I put my WM megalite in a stuff sack for years. Last year I got a Zpacks pack liner (trash compactor bag will do) and now just stuff the bag into the bottom of the pack. If you have a pack liner or compactor bag is there any reason to still use a stuff sack?

Venchka
01-08-2017, 16:37
Any advise given on such a choice other than" what keeps it dry and works for you is moot.
every single one of us had to learn by trial and error and so shall you. How i do it or others do it is not helpfull
the first order of buissness in these affairs is doing it the wrong way first.

Right on. Some of us are so devious that we might answer with the wrong way in this thread.
LOL.
But Seriously folks. Trial and error. Practice. Practice. Practice. Start with the least expensive solution. Don't run out and buy stuff that either won't work for you or you don't need.
Good luck.
Wayne


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K2 Travels
01-10-2017, 11:39
I pack mine in a lightweight stuff sack and then place it beside my shelter standing vertical in my pack. Sleeping pad is then put behind these two, creating a nice frame when combined with my sit light pad.

Night Train
01-10-2017, 20:20
Keep it loose, in the bottom, but you can try whatever method you feel is best for you.