View Full Version : How big should a food stuff sack be?
Earl Grey
08-31-2006, 23:58
Right now I have a 6x11 inch stuff sack for all food items. This includes the pot with stove inside set up the bottom of the sack. This takes up about 3 inches and the rest is for food. I put some a few packs of grits, oatmeal and hot choclate mix in a zip loc bag and set it on top of the pot. The rest can be dinner time foods which I havent put in yet. It seems like there isnt alot of room. What are the average food stuff sack sizes?
Lets just say that my Ursack bear bag is at least twice as big as my sleeping bag :o:D
Wow, that is the most open ended question I've read lately. It totally depends on how many days you're out, how much you eat, etc. I always just get my meals together (I do freezer bags, thanks to sarbar) put them in 2 seperate zip lock bags (things for camp and things for trail) and then grab the smallest stuff sack I have that they'll all fit into. :D speedy
Definately different for everybody, no set protocol for that one :)
fiddlehead
09-01-2006, 02:12
mine would hold about 2 big loaves of bread. it is aprox. 17 X 8 "and can be seen here:
http://fiddleheadpa.safeshopper.com/14/95.htm?90 (the bigger one in the pic)
bartender
09-01-2006, 03:42
Big enough to hold your food. I'm not trying to be a wise ass, and I totally understand your question, I have found that stuffsacks have a way of multiplying, you go the the store(in my case Campmor)and every few months there is a new, lighter, better size, cooler material, or for whatever reason you feel like you should have it stuff sack on the shelf. I have more than I know what to do with and currently am in love with the Granite Gear air sacks or whatever they are called(so far have shown remarkable restraint and only have one that I bought in Vermont in 2004, they come in a cool little bottle). That being said I would gather the food you will be taking on your trip, bring it to your local store and find the right one that way. Any real outfitter has a demo model out to keep us from opening a ton of packages!
peter_pan
09-01-2006, 06:27
Put it this way...on any hike over three days my food sack is the biggest sack in the pack...
Pan
I use two very light silnylon stuffs of small to medium size, depending on how long I am supposed to be out--two mediums if its over a week. Although I like to hike as light as possible, I use two sacks for convenience of packing. My main dinners and evening food go in one, and I pack that further down into my pack. The second stuff has my snacks, and its at the very top of my pack for easy access. This helps me a lot with flexibility in how I distribute my weight and belongings physically in my pack.
That's just me! I snack a lot, too, so I like having those handy... gum
bigcranky
09-01-2006, 08:05
My Ursack is pretty darn big, and holds enough for 6 days of solo hiking:
http://tinyurl.com/hmzke (scroll down for photo)
I see now that they measure 14 inches long by 7 inches in diameter.
--Ken
Footslogger
09-01-2006, 08:35
To me this is almost like the "how many cu in should a backpack be"
My suggestion would be to lay out your food for 6 days, which is pretty much a worst case re-supply interval. Then see how large of a bag it takes to hold the food. That is the size food bag you need.
I went through that exercise and ended up with a 7" x 17" sack. There are times when the bag is not full, especially when I'm getting close to re-supply or on shorter intervals. But it's silnylon and doesn't weight enough to worry about the excess.
'Slogger
Alligator
09-01-2006, 09:46
I use two very light silnylon stuffs of small to medium size, depending on how long I am supposed to be out--two mediums if its over a week. Although I like to hike as light as possible, I use two sacks for convenience of packing. My main dinners and evening food go in one, and I pack that further down into my pack. The second stuff has my snacks, and its at the very top of my pack for easy access. This helps me a lot with flexibility in how I distribute my weight and belongings physically in my pack.
That's just me! I snack a lot, too, so I like having those handy... gumI do the same thing. I have a silnylon sack that was supposed to be for my parka, it's about the size of a summer sleeping bag stuff sack. Then I have a smaller sack for snacks. I haven't filled the larger sack to capacity, but I generally aim to resupply in under 4 days.
'Slogger has a good point. Six days of food is a conservative estimate for resuppply and having a slightly larger silnylon bag is a very small weight addition. If its large, you have the option to toss in your cook kit if needed and it will conform to the inside of your pack better.
stumpknocker
09-01-2006, 09:51
Ha!!! Mrs Gorp recently pointed out that a 6 by 11 inch food bag wouldn't even work for an overnighter for me. :)
I use a 7x15 equinox silnylon stuff sack and a 5x8 stuff sack for snacks at the very top of my pack. Right now I can fit my 1.3 L pot (with stove-matches-pot stand-bandana-lighter inside) my homemade insulated "cup" (countrytime Lemonade jar....stole Sgt. Rock's idea) and several days worth of food in it. If I need to fit more food, I'll just remove my cooking pot and/or cup. I do also store some of my meals inside of my cup as well (freezer bag stuff). I've never done an extended hike (will be next March though!!! :banana ) but I think this size will be more than enough space for my meals. Here's a link to the site that I purchased my sacks:
http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/accessdetail.cfm/EQ1000
Also what I like about these, is that they have the small strap on the bottom, making it easier to hang my food.
Earl Grey
09-01-2006, 11:59
Reading these posts it seems my 6x11 stuff sack is too small for any extended overnighters. I think ill steal Micheles idea and use the 6x11 as a snack pack and get a bigger one for the cookware and breakfast and dinner foods. I do have a 10x21 sack but thats way too big for just food. Ill probaly use that for clothes. So in the end itll be 3 stuff sacks.
y buddy Mtnwker showed up for our 6 day hike last month with what appeared to be a freaking pillowcase full of food .. lol! Both mine and my friend Rainy's Ursacks were swallowed by that bag.
Of course he wasn't hungry ever :p Nooooo, more like I was eyeing that bag by day 5. :D
humunuku
09-04-2006, 20:03
I use a 7x15 equinox silnylon stuff sack and a 5x8 stuff sack for snacks at the very top of my pack. .
are these the sizes of the bags when full or laying flat? Meaning is the 7x15 have a 7in diameter and 15in high or 7in wide and 15in high when laying on its side?