Compression Sack

[kayak karl]

I need to compress my Mt. Washington under-quilt and a 0° top quilt to gain more space in pack. I'm using the JRB sacks, but they just aren't cutting it. any suggestions? I'll carry a few more ounces to get the space.

PS dont suggest DIY, my sewing machine and I aren't speaking right now.:(

[Quoddy]

Have you tried not using any sack at all? I've found that I can get down into small and unused spaces by just stuffing it loose and letting it fill the gaps in the pack's interior. I now have three compression sacks that I never use anymore. BTW, it works with other items such as shelters and larger clothing items, too.

[Serial 07]

i've joined the stuffing-my-sleeping-bag-into-the-bottom-of-my-pack revolution as well...works well for me...as far as sacks go, granite gear squished down my big ass tent into a grapefruit...a large grapefruit...

[buckwheat]

i've joined the stuffing-my-sleeping-bag-into-the-bottom-of-my-pack revolution as well...works well for me...as far as sacks go, granite gear squished down my big ass tent into a grapefruit...a large grapefruit...

I'm curious about this approach, and it raises another question that I've had.

When I first began experimenting with the actual packing of my backpack, I decided that keeping things dry was of paramount importance, so I started looking around for a good solution and discovered some appropriately sized Ziplock bags that had enough strength in them that I figured they'd take somewhat of a pounding and still hold up. Unfortunately, this approach was canned in a weight-saving purge. I went with the "everything in a waterproof, lightweight stuffsack" approach and ditched the pack liner altogether.

Not having much bad weather hiking experience, I'm assuming that given a day's worth of steady rain, my pack is going to soak thru and thru even though it's covered by its cover, and anything inside of it that's not inside of plastic or a silnylon stuffsack is going to get wet. Am I exaggerating this fear?

Given this line of thinking, I've been fearful of just stuffing my down sleeping back into the bottom of my pack for fear that once the down gets wet, I'm screwed and that I should avoid this at all possible cost. Is this correct thinking for long-haul or near-winter hiking?

I'm still at that stage where I'm gathering gear and searching my pack for every spare ounce I can remove from it, so I'm open to hearing all approaches.

Thanks,
Buckwheat

[kayak karl]

Have you tried not using any sack at all? I've found that I can get down into small and unused spaces by just stuffing it loose and letting it fill the gaps in the pack's interior. I now have three compression sacks that I never use anymore. BTW, it works with other items such as shelters and larger clothing items, too.
good idea. going to try that tomorrow

[Serial 07]

i have a basic REI bag (i say that so you know i don't have anything fancy)...i used a trash bag on the inside as a protectant and for a while used another trash bag as a pack cover...nothing terrible or even mildly terrible ever happen to my inner stuff...

now i keep my tent in a stuff sac and then in a regular plastic bag or two on those poopy rainy days...still nothing bad has happened...

my pack goes:
thermarest on bottom surrounded by my sleeping bag...tent and stove and all my clothes and jackets and whatever crammed into the nooks and crannies...no real organization, but it works for me...

[Sailor (The other one)]

Half way through our last AT section hike we bought two Sea to Summit eVAC™ Dry Sacks for our down bags at Mountain Crossings http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/64). They are sort of square shaped so they fill all the spaces nicely in the bottoms of our packs. They compressed naturally as we added stuff on top of them. And they are waterproof. I had my cothes in a Sea to Summit Pocket Shower, which is just a waterproof dry bag with a small shower nozzel. I can roll the bag's top down to force out the air and then just tighten the nozzel (http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/59). I tossed the trash compactor bag I have been using as a pack liner for a year. It worked, but I hated dealing with it.
Granite Gear has UL versions of these compression dry sacks. http://www.granitegear.com/products/packingsystems/seamsealed/airventdryblocs.html