View Full Version : Keeping stuff dry
What setup do you use to keep your sleeping bag and your clothes dry. I have to go as light as possible.
Amigi'sLastStand
07-30-2006, 10:13
Then a tarptent is for you. If youre not concerned about skeeter's, you can even get just a tarpcover over you like a Go-Lite Lair cover.
http://www.tarptent.com/projects/tarpdesign.html
hikerjohnd
07-30-2006, 11:28
I assume you mean in camp - so I will second the tarptent recommendation. If you mean in your pack, just line your bag with a trash bag or each stuff sack with trash bags - cheap, light, and easy to replace.
Amigi'sLastStand
07-30-2006, 11:39
I assume you mean in camp - so I will second the tarptent recommendation. If you mean in your pack, just line your bag with a trash bag or each stuff sack with trash bags - cheap, light, and easy to replace.
And I second HJ. Trash bags are your friend, along with ziplocs, and siliconized DWR.
Footslogger
07-30-2006, 13:08
What setup do you use to keep your sleeping bag and your clothes dry. I have to go as light as possible.
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I use a plastic garbage compactor bag as a pack liner and then I place my sleeping bag and clothes in separate silnlon stuff sacks. Despite having hiked in a considerable amount of rain during my thru in 2003 I did not experience a single episode of wet gear/clothing.
'Slogger
OOoooops...I gotta learn to be more specific...I ment in the pack. I have been using the sea to summitt bags with nothing else. But most people seem to go with the trash compactor bag/stuff sac combo which weighs in about the same. As for tarptents...THEY ROCK!!! I own a Lunar Solo for just me and just got a Squall Classic for when I have company (or for when the dogs make me take them) I have not been able to take the Squall out for a test drive yet because of the heat but it is seamed sealed and ready to go.
hikerjohnd
07-30-2006, 22:41
I'll be test-driving my new Essence pack (finally!!!) in about a week and I plan to try just using sil-nylon stuff sacks. Since I am abandoning trash bags for this attempt, I am assured buckets of driving rain for the four days I'll be out. I still think trash bags (whether lining the pack or each stuff sack) is best, what is the point of using waterproof (near enough) stuff sacks if you do not trust them?
I don't line my whole pack with a trash bag, I line my individual stuff sacs with Large turkey oven roasting bags, then stuff my bag and clothes into it. They are lightweight and bombproof. I don't have to deal with all that extra plastic from a big garbage bag every time I want to pack or unpack. That way, my bag and clothes are always protected, not just when they are in my pack.
Exactly where do you find those turkey bags...I have read about them but can never find them at the grocery store...
Johnny Swank
10-19-2006, 12:31
I did the compactor bag thing with good results. I almost never used it unless I was sure it was going to rain. Had to repack quickly a few times, but it made the rest of the days easier to deal with. Most of the time I would just string up my tarp right by the trail, repack, eat, and call it a break.
I have looked for compactor bags at Wally World and the local grocery stores. Still no luck in finding them
I have looked for compactor bags at Wally World and the local grocery stores. Still no luck in finding them
Hey Ewker, Ew-ker just ask someone in wally world. I think I found them near the leaf & lawn bags. I haven't seen them in any grocery store, but then again I haven't looked either.
Just Jeff
10-19-2006, 13:47
I'd be surprised if Walmart didn't have them. Go over near the paint/construction section and ask somebody.
The big lawn and leaf bags work well, too....they're bigger and thicker than normal garbage bags.
And if you still can't find them at your Walmart, Lowe's and Home Depot carry them.
I use the big lawn and leaf bags now. Supposedly the compactor bags are heavy duty.
ask someone at Wal Mart for help :confused: yikes they have no clue :eek: :D
I use a big black garbage bag as a pack liner. my sleeping bag and down underquilt go in the bottom, sometimes wrapped in a smaller kitchen trash bag (white), sometimes not (depends on weather.) my clothes and hammock just pile in on top of that. my cookset and foodbag go inside if it's going to rain, just sit on top (easier to get snacks and lunch) if not. i always carry a copy of 'the hobbit', which goes in a ziplock bag inside the trash bag. raingear is outside the trashbag, but still inside the pack. my toiletries and repair kit go in ziplocks in the outside pocket. the other stuff in there with them is all ok to get wet (cord, compass, knife, whistle/ thermometer, headnet, keys, spoon, bug juice, headlamp, and spare glasses).
if i have wet raingear or tarp, they go under an elastic web on the back of the pack. i also have a 9 x 18 blue foam sit pad that i can strap over the top of the pack (btw, it's a go-lite gust, with a roll-top), to shed rain.
Skidsteer
10-19-2006, 18:39
I use the big lawn and leaf bags now. Supposedly the compactor bags are heavy duty.
ask someone at Wal Mart for help :confused: yikes they have no clue :eek: :D
Ewker you could try the 'contractor bags' at H. Depot or Lowes. They're 3 mil and very heavy duty. I find I have to cut them down a bit as they're too big. An uncut bag weighs 5 oz.
Firefly,
There seem to be 2 approaches. No pack is waterproof, but liner bags help, and the plastic bag advice above is all good stuff. The other approach is to keep rain off the pack with a poncho or cape. That works OK, too, and it is less trouble than liner bags -- if and only if you like to use ponchos or capes. They keep water off the pack better than a pack cover because no water gets between you and the pack. Just thought I'd throw that in the mix to make your decision more complicated.
Just Jeff
10-20-2006, 23:47
And don't forget about the Packa...ventilates like a poncho, but secure like a jacket in the wind. May be worth considering if you don't like ponchos.
Paul Bunyan
10-21-2006, 18:46
If you are looking for the turkey bags, go to any grocery store or wally world. The brand i use is reynolds. definitly use double bagging though, they occaisonally rip.
jasonklass
10-25-2006, 00:35
After what happened to me, I'm using trash compactor bags. The story is here (http://www.freewebs.com/jasonklass/gearblog.htm).
You can find trash compactor bags at Sears or Lowes etc. I use a waterproof bag (larger than came with it) for my sleeping bag, as well as for my clothes, etc, and have always depended on heavy duty trash bags, never thought of using compactor bags , never had the need, have always used a down bag , hiked in rain for days on end and have yet to get it wet. I use a nice pack cover and am very careful ;-)
RAT
GlazeDog
10-25-2006, 20:43
Firefly--
You stated in a previous post above that you had been using sea to summit sacks and nothing else. Why would you change? Those sacks are the best and completely waterproof in my experience. Staying with what you have is absolutely the cheapest route. Your items are organized. No need for a bag liner of any sort. Also the sea to summit sacks are the lightest weight TOTALLY waterproof bear bag option--I'm talking waterproof under prolonged intense deluge rainstorms (you'll experience these on the AT).
peace--
GlazeDog
trailale
10-30-2006, 11:20
The trash compactor bags work great...if you can find them. I used to be able to buy them in lager supermarkets, but havn't seen them in years. My last one lasted for years, but I was forced to make it into a pack cover on my last hike (worked great though). Granite Gear now makes pack liners...I think out of the same material as one of there stuff sack lines. Drysack maybe? Anyway, they look great and would likely be the last pack liner you ever had to buy. And they better be considering the price. Not sure of the weight but prob a little heavier than the compactor bags. They are available in different sizes.
Footslogger
10-30-2006, 11:26
[quote=trailale;263184]The trash compactor bags work great...if you can find them. I used to be able to buy them in lager supermarkets, but havn't seen them in years.
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WalMart sells them but they are not with the regular plastic bags (ziplocs etc). They are over near the housewares by trash cans.
The come in a roll of 10 (I think).
'Slogger
I use silnylon bags.
First, my sleeping bag goes in a large one so as not to compress it. I reverse it then I put it inside another silnylon bag. Now I know it will never get wet and is my last line of defense. My clothes go inside another bag. My food goes inside another, as well as pot, alcohol, etc., same bag. then I have my mall 'possibles' bag, too. hammock or tarp, depending on hiking environment, smashed inside between the aforementioned.
It works wellEverything stays dry, even aftr day after day of rain. A pack cover is completely unnecessary!