View Full Version : GORP Storage?
PFCBeetleBailey
05-14-2009, 04:52
Hey everyone, I've been doing a lot of reading on the WhiteBlaze, but this is my first post over here!
Ok, so here is my question to all you old timey and seasoned trail vets, is there anything better to store my trail mix in than a zip top bag? I've been looking about for collapsible bottles online but nothing really stands out.
Thanks Folks!
PFCBeetleBailey
To what end? What are you going for? More durability?
PFCBeetleBailey
05-14-2009, 05:22
To what end? What are you going for? More durability?
Yes, a bit more durability... I have faith that if I put my GORP in a Zip top bag, I will be eating as I find it, piece by piece from the bottom of my pack. :) I am also shooting for something that is readily available, that will take up less room as its contents are consumed
Thanks
PFCBeetleBailey
Those zip locks with the actual zipper at the top are pretty reliable. I use them for my garbage(which consists mainly of crushed beer cans that still have a bit of liquid in them) and they've never leaked... which is good because I keep my garbage on the inside of my pack.
Maybe an old gatorade bottle? Although, you lose the flexibility but that baby won't fail on you.
I'm thinking that if it ain't broke, don't ix it. I can't begin to count the number of times I've put GORP/trail mix in a ziplock and never had one fail on me yet. Just be sure to get all the air out of it before sealing and you should be fine.
bigcranky
05-14-2009, 07:24
I use ziploc freezer bags - they are heavier duty.
Hikes in Rain
05-14-2009, 08:28
Yes, a bit more durability... I have faith that if I put my GORP in a Zip top bag, I will be eating as I find it, piece by piece from the bottom of my pack. :) I am also shooting for something that is readily available, that will take up less room as its contents are consumed
Thanks
PFCBeetleBailey
Sorry, but that's the time-honored way of eating GORP. Just as the time honored way of telling raw eggs from hard-boiled ones: you wring your raw eggs out of your socks.
You wouldn't want to break decades of hiking tradition, would you? :mad:
Freezer bags are a little tougher than ziplocks, although I've never had an issue with any bag. Or a small recycled bottle would work, and probably survive a tumble down a cliff.
I use ziploc freezer bags - they are heavier duty.
+1. Buy a name brand like Glad or Ziploc and you will fare well.
Phoenixdadeadhead
05-14-2009, 10:52
I keep mine in a ziplock which I then place in an old small stuff sack. I also use the sack for my trash storing it all under my mix. Walmart does sometimes carry a collapsible bottle, but all the grooves get nasty from the gorp, and then when you wash it it looks a little dirty. You can get them clean but for me it wasn't worth the trouble. Also rubbermade has collapsible bowls with lids, I never tried them but I think they are like 5 bucks for a set. http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/collapsibles/collapsibles.jhtml
Zip locks do me well. The only failure is if I use it too long, & I get about 7 days of opening & closing several times a day. Basicly I don't reuse a ziplock (anymore :rolleyes: ) once it is empty of GORP or whatever.
Like most plastics the affect of UV rays are tough. My last ZipLock failure was mostly for violating the "Don't reuse food bags" rule, & I suspect that it was because I had used it so often it got too much sun. Yep, I cried, I had just refilled it that morning. Nearly 3/4 gallon of my homemade HOT gorp on the ground. :( I still ate most of it :p
If you go to the collapsable thingy, get one with as big a lid as you can, for ease of: filling, using, cleaning. I have a few that I can get my hand in.
Feral Bill
05-14-2009, 11:35
I use ziplocks, sometimes doubled. Keep them away from mice and fellow hikers and you're fine.
budforester
05-14-2009, 11:47
I store GORP in a zip- bag. My working stock, though, is in a peanut butter jar, stashed in a pack pocket. I can "sip" on the fly... even with gloves on or dirty, wet hands.
As much as I am trying to get away from plastics, I like the way you can see into ziplocs, and the way they pack, and the way they help keep smells down (I must presume, having never actually asked a bear).
Something I don't like ziplocs for so much is skim milk powder, because skim milk powder is really kinda messy and the way it interferes with the ziploc. A good compromise is to use a lightweight opaque polypro jar with a screw top for powdery stuff lick that. If you only have one or two hard items the bagged items still do a good job of keeping the food bag from being too chunky. Also, if you do want to save space as the stuff in the PP jar gets used up you can pop a bag of stuff in with the skim milk powder.
Still working on non-plastic ideas though. Re-using stuff that would normally be tossed out is probably better than using something renewable, but I like to mess around ideas like leather or cotton or birch bark because its fun, and because someday I might finally stop buying so much plastic. A combination is good. You can also wash and re-use ziploc bags quite a few times if you are disciplined. I'm not so disclipled yet, so I try and force myself to be by not buying new ones myself, and looking around before I use the ones my wife buys. So maybe I'll get into the habit of washing them when I get back. If you do that, I think the heavier freezer types with the really tough zipper might be the way to go. If not, maybe the skimpier ones until you do. I use alot of the thin bags from bulk food stores. They tend to be use only once or twice though, but if careful maybe more. Maybe birch bark or cotton bags for re-inforcement might get more use out of the skimpy plastic. Work in progress.
garlic08
05-14-2009, 12:01
You can put the ziploc into a used plastic grocery sack. The grocery sack is good to have for garbage, for shoe liners in wet snow, etc.
We always re-used our grocery sacks in that way, but the grocery stores is our town have now started charging for bags, so are finally getting better at using re-usable shopping bags. We've had them for a year or two, but usually forgot them in the car. Now we go back out to the car if we forget. :D
Next year we are going to have to start paying per bag of garbage also. Not exactly sure how its going to work in terms of bag size. It will probably get us to reduce our garbage somehow. We are going to do a huge spring cleaning before that day comes though, which is funny when you think about it. :)
I found a gallon freezer bag 1/2 full of gorp on the trail last year next to a log. It was in perfect condition and had been rained on. I carried it the remainder of the day thinking I might catch up to its owner and return it, hoping secretly that I wouldn't. There were lots of boys scouts out then and it looked like someones Mom had made it. But, I didn't find who left it.
It took me two whole days to eat that 1/2 gallon of gorp.
Phoenixdadeadhead
05-14-2009, 19:02
I found a gallon freezer bag 1/2 full of gorp on the trail last year next to a log. It was in perfect condition and had been rained on. I carried it the remainder of the day thinking I might catch up to its owner and return it, hoping secretly that I wouldn't. There were lots of boys scouts out then and it looked like someones Mom had made it. But, I didn't find who left it.
It took me two whole days to eat that 1/2 gallon of gorp.I bet you were really depressed you couldn't find the owner lol.
I can just see the owner walking up and asking about it and Kanati saying-
"warrrrt gorrrwwwp"
(That's that best I can do at writing out some talking-with-your-mouth-full)
Blissful
05-14-2009, 19:46
A good ziploc (the real thing and with triple loc if you want to feel secure) works just fine.
I can just see the owner walking up and asking about it and Kanati saying-
"warrrrt gorrrwwwp"
(That's that best I can do at writing out some talking-with-your-mouth-full)
I just filled my mouth really full of air and mumbled What Gorp?. It came out pretty much as you spelled it.
That was some fine unintended trail magic. Mmmmm
LaurieAnn
05-17-2009, 10:08
I know what I am about to explain is a bit heavy but on some trips I like to do this... I have our gorp in a ziploc freezer bag and then every day that it is on our menu I transfer it into a small wide-mouth Nalgene water bottle (500 ml type) and biner it to the back of my pack. That way when we want gorp Bryan just walks up - undoes the carabiner and we share a snack. It's really handy and means I don't have to have to go into the pack while we are hiking.