Lose the stuff sacks?

[efosterw]

Finished reading "The Ultimate Hang" by Derek Hansen. He says he doesn't use stuff sacks for his sleeping bag, hammock quilts, etc but instead lines his pack w a contractor-grade trash bag and uses the pack as one big stuff sack. This seems like it would really help w camp set-up & tear-down time. Anybody else do this? Thoughts?


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[kayak karl]

yes. top quilt first then hammock with underquilt still attached. my suspension is all one piece . no tree straps or parts to leave behind. tarp last-in, because first out. cuben stuff sack for food and one for clothes.

[CarlZ993]

So does Mike Clelland in his book "Ultralight Backpackin' Tips." I've never tried it. I have used trash compactor bags to line my pack and use waterproof bags for my sleeping bags & clothes. This redundancy ensures no moisture reaching stuff I want to remain dry.

[Walkintom]

I like having stuff sacks. I color code my different storage types (food, first aid, clothing) by the sack I store them in and the stuff sack is a second layer of defense against moisture in my pack. Dealt with too many rainy days on the trail to go with just a trash bag. They also hold water IN.

[Turtle-2013]

I don't use stuff sacks for sleep gear, it all wraps up into a water resistance bundle inside my tarp, then stuffed into the bottom of my waterproof pack .... I DO use stuff sacks for extra clothes, food, cooking gear, etc., mostly to stay organized.....

[Christoph]

I'm using them for pretty much everything. Color coded for ease of use. I figure I'll try 'em and if I find them really not that useful, I'm sure someone will want 'em (hiker box, etc).

[kunzman]

Turtle, what do you do if your tarp is wet? I keep my tarp separate on the outside mesh compartment on my pack. It can then be quickly setup by itself if needed and then I can deal with hammock and bag while underneath it. When I tear down its the last to go in and it doesn't matter if it's a bit wet.

[Feral Bill]

I've done it both ways. I prefer the order stuff sacks impose on my disorganized self.

[Rising3agle]

I've been debating this myself. I know some UL-hikers may rain down on me, but I'll give up a couple ounces for 2-3 stuff sacks to keep things organized. throwing everything into a 50-60L single bag - for me - doesn't work.

that said, I also try to not go overboard. clothes, food, cookset (mesh bag), and I think a couple others is about what I use (think I have 5-6). I also do use ziploc baggies for hygiene kit, FAK, etc.

now, if you are a 10lb pack kinda guy instead of a 20lb pack kinda guy, then absolutely - every gram is critical. I've chosen to live in the 20lb pack world. probably something to do with being military for the past 28 years

YMMV

[squeezebox]

I'm with Feral Bill. I need organization imposed on me.

[Turtle-2013]

Turtle, what do you do if your tarp is wet?

Understand, just like Mark Twain said ... "what works for me might kill you" ...
SO, I do NOT present this as advice, just a response to the question "Lose the Stuff Sacks?"

But to answer your question, first since my tarp is Ultra-Sil it hardly holds any water, but even if it is raining while I take down. The inside is dry so the sleep gear folds into the dry inside, and I make sure the wettest part is on one side of the outside (hard to describe) ... the WETTEST part then goes on the bottom of the pack where it can't "drip" on anything else. The sleep gear stays dry on the inside. The next night I reverse the process and I'm still dry on the inside.

The ONLY time my sleep gear has gotten wet was last summer when I did not have it wrapped tight, and I had so little in my pack near the end of a 5 day that the cinch at the top of my Go-Lite Jam 50 was NOT pushed up like normal, rather it was sagging down and during a frog strangler the very foot of my quilt got a bit wet. Now I just cinch my side straps tighter so it is always full to the top.

[Sirsnappy09]

Contractor bag lining and no stuff sacks for me.

[Connie]

I don't like pulling my stuff out on the ground.

I would rather have a different color food bag, dry clothing bag, and fluffy down bag.

I use dry bags. There are cuben dry bags, if you are determined to shave grams.

I just don't feel a garbage bag or an oven bag is enough, if I have stream crossings or hike in rainy Pacific NW.

[Busky2]

I love my stuff and my dry sacks so naturally I use one to protect the other. I do chop them down a bit to be as small as needed to do the job and I always find the lightest I can to start with. Sil works for most items, coated nylon for my food bag with a few dots of reflective tape near the bottom to find it in the dark if needed, Cuban would be nice if I hit the lotto again some day. I use dry bags so I can stuff them into my kayak to make kayak camping just as easy.

[HooKooDooKu]

I use a trash compactor bag as a bag liner to hold sleeping pad, sleeping bag, and cloths. Food is in its own water proof bag. Other items are are ditty bags for organization.

[garlic08]

I once helped a hiker lighten his load considerably by pointing out (when asked) that he didn't really need the 30+ stuff sacks he was carrying. His stuff sacks were nested several deep--stuff sacks within stuff sacks within stuff sacks. It took a large stuff sack to hold all his stuff sacks, and they weighed several pounds all by themselves. His was an extreme case, but it illustrates the effect of adding things to your pack that "weigh nothing at all."

I carry two stuff sacks, one for food and one for clothing. Everything that needs to stay dry goes in the trash compactor bag liner, everything that can get wet or is wet already (food bag, shelter, rain gear) does not go in that bag. Very simple and effective. I never thought of it as a time savings, but I suppose it is.

[swisscross]

Trash compactor bag for sleeping bag and sleep clothes.
A blue ditty sack for my water gear.
Mesh bag for clothes.
Tent goes in provided bag to keep everything loose clean.
ZPacks food bag for food, stove and first aide/hygiene.

Everything else goes in pack loose in the pack.
Come to think of it, there really is not that much left.

[colorado_rob]

I sure like to keep them to a minimum, but not zero. Certainly don't use one for sleeping bag as the trash compactor works for that, but I do use one for my tent, a UL cuben sack, handy when tent is wet (a lot of the time), plus a UL mesh one for the few extra soft things (a few clothing items), plus one Sil nylon zipper sack for organizing all my small stuff (my UL pack doesn't have any zipper compartments). All in all, right about 2 ounces total of stuff sacks, plus the ~2 ounce trash compactor pack liner.

I swear I see folks out there that must have two+ pounds of various sacks. I suggest avoiding this and try to save some weight here.

[PapaGarrettP]

Dry bag for clothes
Heavy duty trash bag for sleeping bag (which is in compressor bag)
One stuff sack for food
One very light net bag for pocket knife, headlamp, phone (in ziplock), small compass, spoon, wallet (in ziplock), lighter, toothbrush & paste. This all goes in pocket on top of pack, with first aid kit (in ziplock) and glasses case and my lunch for the day. I add my elevation map and whatever else is in my pockets at night (ibuprofen, for example). This way, all the small stuff is together and handy. My stove/cup goes in the pack, but not in a stuff sack.
Rain gear is in the big outside wrap around pocket of my GoLite. Tent and pad are strapped to outside lengthwize.
So far, never got the innards wet.

[Nooga]

I use a compactor trash bag as a liner, but don't fully trust it's waterproof capability, so I use a cuben fibre stuff sack for my down quilt. On my thru hike, I used a ULA Catalyst for about half the hike. Even with a pack cover, I could not keep water from pooling in the bottom of the pack, due to the nice waterproof bottom of the pack. As with most packs, the water was entering the pack where the shoulder straps attach. I have since changed to an Osprey Exos, but if I were to use the ULA again, I would add grommets to the bottom of the pack to allow the water to escape. I know that it is redundant to use both the pack cover and a compactor trash bag liner, but at some point you will have to open your pack in the rain, at lunch or setting up camp / breaking camp.