Stuff Sack Closure

[Passionphish]

I'm making my own Sil-Nylon stuff sacks. But I wanted a roll top closure. Not a draw string. I think I can save some weight that way. Anybody try this or own something like it? Looking for pros, cons, and new ideas.

[Jack Tarlin]

Keep in mind that roll tops don't close well, or at least don't stay closed, not like drawstrings. (Unless you add velcro closing tabs or something similar, which would, in fact, outweigh the drawstring).

And have you considered how much "extra" weight would be added by the addition of a drawstring and the thread required to keep it in place? It's kind of negligible. If weight is THAT big a factor, either skip the sacks altogether or use big Ziplox, which you can at least seal shut.

Also, drawstring bags can be hung up in places like shelters or hostels; roll ups can't. Draw stringbags are also easier to carry around in town, where you can use larger ones as laundry bags, shopping bags, etc.

All in all, I don't think omitting the drawstring in order to save weight is worth it.

[Just Jeff]

I use a few JRB roll-top compression sacks...they're pretty light and I've never had any problem with them staying closed. They do have a little patch of omni-tape at the top. The biggest advantage to these is that they're compression sacks rather than simple stuff sacks...a standard drawstring stuffsack would be about the same weight, so I agree with Jack - there's probably no weight advantage unless you're looking for compression.

If it's really a stuff sack you want, go find a Sea-to-Summit dry bag and see how they do it. They add a stiffener along the mouth that keeps it from unraveling like Jack was talking about...again, more weight. But they're still pretty light considering they're sealed and all. There's an article about them at jwbasecamp.com that isn't very flattering, though.

[Footslogger]

Didn't make them myself but I do own some roll-top stuff sacks made by OR. They work well but are a tad on the heavy side and I only use them for car camping nowadays.

Not sure how they'd work if made from silnylon. Can't think of any reason they wouldn't though. You'll probably need some velcro tabs on each side to fasten the ends down to the body of the sack ...at least that's how OR did it.

'Slogger

[Pringles]

Hi,

Sparky! gave directions for making a roll top bag out of silnylon. I found it here

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1203&highlight=priest+collar

by looking up "priest collar" in the search box and cursored down to Sparky!'s entry. (I hope the link works)

I made a few of them and they work great. Good luck with your project.

Pringles

[atraildreamer]

Check out this link to Jim Wood'sd Base Camp site. Lots of good stuff sack info:

http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/DryGear/index. :sun

[Passionphish]

Thanks for the article Atraildreamer!

So what i'm gathering is there is no real weight savings to skip the draw string... I think I can see that. May just add an inner flap to seal the hole instead.

[Just Jeff]

If you want truly waterproof for lightweight, make the bag tall enough that you can twist a gooseneck into it. A normal drawstring w/ a panel won't be waterproof.