View Full Version : any ideas on compression sacks?
Hey does anybody have any ideas, opinions, thoughts, SALES, or websites on compression sacks? We probably need 2, and just toss our sleeping bag and clothes in together. Also, what size bag works best for you. Thanks:-?
Chaco Taco
12-26-2009, 18:29
Granite Gear makes great compression sacks, esp for sleeping bags
white_russian
12-26-2009, 18:31
my opinions is compression sacks are stupid. just get stuff sacks and carry an appropriately sized backpack. you can squeeze everything into a dense wad if you want to, but i think it is lots of trouble for pretty much zero gain.
Not what you are asking ,but some find that just putting your stuff inside a light dry bag or heavy duty plastic bag and letting the rest of the gear weight compress it down works better. That is because it is a lighter solution, does not compromise loft in the long term and fills the backpack making it more stable.
Franco
Spirit Walker
12-26-2009, 18:56
The more you compress your sleeping bag, the less it will keep you warm.
my opinions is compression sacks are stupid. just get stuff sacks and carry an appropriately sized backpack. you can squeeze everything into a dense wad if you want to, but i think it is lots of trouble for pretty much zero gain.
For the most part I'd agree, with the exception of my sleeping bag. I have a granite gear air compression sack (http://www.campsaver.com/itemmatrix.asp?GroupCode=ggr0006&MatrixType=1) (XS) that packs down my sleeping bag, with minimum effort, to a very small size and in no time at all. So compact that is literally rock hard. It takes up half the space of the sack it came with.
No trouble at all and it makes packing easier, freeing up more space FOR ME.
Desert Reprobate
12-26-2009, 19:59
Like a trash compactor. You load it down with 20 pounds of trash, push the button and you end up with 20 pounds of trash.
Anumber1
12-26-2009, 20:18
I like compression bags because the less space my clothes and sleeping bag take up, the more space I have for food and beer.
postholer.com
12-26-2009, 21:53
Nothing destroys down faster than compressing it, especially on an every day basis such as a thru-hike. If you hate your sleeping bag, compress it!
I've sewn 2 different size stuff stacks that match the girth of my 2 favorite backpacks. The volume is twice that of the manufacturers stuff sack. Yes, it uses MORE room, but I love my down bag (Marmot Helium).
When I carry more than 6 days of food or more than 4 quarts of water, it is a hassle, but worth it.
-postholer
As mentioned above, stuffing everything into a series of sacks in your pack actually reduces the amount of gear you can fit into it. Picture a sack full of bowling balls and the empty space between them. You can actually fit more into a backpack by using larger stuffsacks and understuffing them. After you've placed them in your pack you can squash them as much as you want, essentially turning your whole pack into a compression sack. This will also minimize overcompressing some of your more delicate items.
Thanks everybody, lot of good ideas. Skipping the compression bag and using just the pack straps is sounding like a pretty good idea. I'll load up my pack later this week and see how it rides.
Jeez. They are even bashing compression sacks. Personally I love them and use them for everything.
Jeez. They are even bashing compression sacks. Personally I love them and use them for everything.
I hope no one gets the wrong message here. I'm not opposed to stuffsacks, but, as I said before, compression stuffsacks sit in your pack like a bunch of bowling balls. The idea is to not waste space, but the space between the compression sacks ends up being wasted, and if you use a frameless pack (doubtful or you'd agree with me), the pack ends up with a "hinge" wherever there's a gap between stuffsacks making for a floppy bag with a lot of bumps against your back.
Here is another idea...
Andrew Skurka has two of the JRB "stuff sacks" for sale. See details here
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=27224 (http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=27224)
They are somewhat in between a compression sack and a stuff sack. I have one with the No Sniveller. Very clever I think, and very light too.
Franco
skinewmexico
12-27-2009, 02:35
Compression sacks have their place, just not for sleeping bags, synthetic or down. Unless you want to reduce the rating of your bag by about 20 degrees pretty quickly.
harryfred
12-27-2009, 03:59
One more vote for no compression sacks. I do not have a lot of experience but I use to keep my bag in the sack it came with because it compressed so small and, well it came with the sack. I started just stuffing my bag in my back pack because I saw so many other hikers doing it and I was tired of rolling up and stuffing my bag in it's sack. turns out not only does it speed up packing up in the morning but it fills out the space in the bottom of the pack better allowing for more room for other stuff. A real big plus in the winter.It also allows my pack to sit upright better when I take it off. At home my bags get stored hanging full length from a hook in the ceiling. Just got a new 0deg. bag for Christmas. first thing I did was toss the stuff sack to my wife she'll use the sliders, straps and drawstring for pack repair or other projects. Also thats a few more oz.s you don't have to carry.
mweinstone
12-28-2009, 20:07
my system uses no sacs at all. and their is no waste and no problem. i dont use a trash bag either. i simply stuff my marmott eq helium into the bottom of my pack. my clothes are all synthetic and i have a go lite pac cover. my pac can be loaded sitting down. thats the test for me. does a system require all your streangth and standing up to load it. does it require light to do so? or can all your crap be on your back in a "yo that lightning is too close" minute?my pot and stakes and pole and stand and fuel bottle are all on the outside . so my main compartment can be plopped down on like a wonderful seat at each rest without worry of popping seams or crushing gear. nothing in my pack is crushed into a too small space or compressed.
Update.........loaded my new vapor trail and did'nt use any compression sacks. Tossed my sleeping bag in last, and used the straps on the bag. BTW, loaded the pack for 3-day winter hiking and had plenty of room. Went for a 5 mile hike, everything rode just fine, no problems. My one complaint about the vapor trail, is that the packs lower compression straps go right across the packs side pockets. This would make it impossible to use water bottles. Anyway I use a 2-liter platypus, Which fits very neatly between the suspension and main bag. That way you don't need to open your pack to refill the platypus. Other than that I highly recommend this pack, I can see why thru-hikers like it so well. Keep on hiking my brothers and sisters!
With regards to compression sack damaging down sleeping bags. I contacted the manufacturers of the brand Rab enquiring about down sleeping bags and compression. Their response has reaffirmed my intention to use a compression sack:
As for compressing, this should also be fine, but as a matter of course as and when your tent has been erected, drape the bag over it inside out, if weather permits, for it to air, and similarly again when you get up in the morning and before you strike camp. This means that you're sleeping bag should be out of the compression sack longer than it is in. However, long term storage with no airing, would damage the sleeping bag
Regards,
Mark Wilson
Customer Services Manager
Equip Outdoor Technologies
ShelterLeopard
01-04-2010, 14:27
Granite Gear makes great compression sacks, esp for sleeping bags
They do- I love the granite gear bags! But for my down sleeping bag, I always use my Outdoor Research HydroSeal DryComp sack. It's a lightweight dry bag (also have used it kayaking, submerge it in a river, it'll keep everything completely dry). I LOVE it. I'm a waterproofing freak. A trashcompacter bag just doesn't do it for me.
I used a compression sack for my sleeping bag until Winton Porter did a shake down for me at Neels Gap and showed me how much MORE room I could achieve in my pack without it. Amazing!
Never used one since.
With regards to compression sack damaging down sleeping bags.
Call me cynical, but you are going by a stuff sack manufacturer's words on whether a stuff sack works in the long term or not for a sleeping bag?
You are welcome to listen the manufacturer who primarily deals with short term backpackers...or the thousands of miles of cumulative experience from people on this thread who seem to advocate to not use a compression sack in the long term. :sun