Lose the stuff sacks?

[Wülfgang]

I used to "sack" and itemize all my gear. It's nice for organization, but adds 8-12 oz or more, and it's unnecessary.

Try some of these ideas:

Sleeping bag in it's own separate dry sack; all other gear in a trash compactor bag.
All gear in a roll-top dry sack, not itemized in individual bags.
All gear in a trash compactor bag.
Small ditties in ziplock freezer bags or cuben sacks.
Pack cover (not the best plan for heavy rains, IMO)

...or any combination of the above.

I do think it's advantageous to have your sleeping bag in it's own separate dry sack, because this is a critical piece of gear you never want to get wet. Sure, a trash compactor bag does the same job, but I like that extra layer of security around my bed. Nothing worse than "surprise!!! there's a hole in your trash bag and now a wet spot on your sleeping bag".

[Harrison Bergeron]

Nothing irritates me more than hunting for something in my pack or losing something in camp. I'll take the 12 ounces.

Trash compactor bag liner in the main compartment of my Atmos.
Tent -- stuffsack it came with, in the "sleeping bag" compartment at the bottom of my Atmos.
Neoair -- inflation stuffsack it came with, in the "sleeping bag" compartment with the tent.
Situpon -- 18" square of blue foam, rolled up and strapped to the bottom, to protect tent and neoair.
Sleeping bag -- compression sack it came with, inside a small trashbag, inside the trash compactor bag.
Sleeping bag liner -- stuffsack it came with, inside the small trashbag with the sleeping bag.
Clothes -- large orange waterproof stuffsack, inside the trash compactor bag.
Hygiene -- small blue dry sack, inside the trash compactor bag.
Misc -- medium orange dry sack, inside the trash compactor bag.
Kitchen -- red homemade silnylon stuffsack, inside the trash compactor bag.
Food -- large zipper-freezebag, inside large green dry sack, on top of the trash compactor bag.
Garbage -- large zipper-freezebag, inside food bag.
Bear-bagging kit -- Gossamer gear Roksak with line and carabiner, inside the food bag.
Cold weather gear -- red homemade, flat, waterproof silnylon stuffsack, in pack back pocket.
Water filter -- black homemade nylon stuffsack, in left side pocket
Rain gear -- No stuff sack, stored in pack lid pocket.
Belly Bag -- one of the silly-looking tourist bags, for valuables, maps, and stuff I need to access to while hiking or in town.
Electronics -- heavy-duty plastic zipper bag, in belly bag.
Wallet -- Coglin's plastic wallet, in belly bag.
Coin purse -- tiny homemade nylon stuffsack, in belly bag.
Mojo bag -- small black homemade stuffsack containing a day's worth of gorp in a small ziplock, hung on shoulder strap.
Water bottle holster -- homemade nylon stuffsack clipped to packstrap. It has part of a larger water bottle inside to hold it rigid.

The dry sacks are a set of three "Outdoor Products" roll-top bags from Walmart that weigh about 1oz each. The clothing bag came from REI and weighs 2 oz. It's also my pillow. The homemade bags are much lighter -- the largest weighs 0.3 oz.

[Miner]

Using your pack as a giant stuff sack seems like a great idea until you have to find a small item and end up having to dump the contents out more than once a day. There goes your time savings. I know many people who have lost things in that vortex called their pack. They were convinced that they left it on the trail somewhere and then 3 weeks later it mysteriously turns up.

I, on the other hand use several small cubeb fiber stuff sacks for storing everything . All my stuff sacks only add 6.5 oz., including the food bag. I know where every item in my pack is and could find it in complete darkness.

Chaos vs order. People all have their own preference.

[shakey_snake]

Nylon oven roaster bags.

20deg quilt and other down items go in the turkey sized bag.
During summer I use the large size bags for my 40deg quilt.


I use seamgrip along the bottom seam to keep it from blowing out. The sides are much more resistant to abrasion than cuben dry bags. Like cuben bags, one will not last you an entire thru-hike I generally get about 20 nights out of one. However, unlike cuben stuff sacks, two turkey sized bags only cost $4.50 and are available at almost any grocery store.

You really don't need a stuff sack for anything else. Future Food can go in 2.5Gallon ziplock bag. Todays food can go in their own ziplock. Ditty bag items, can go in their own ziplock. So can your phone. No, the ziplocks aren't perfectly waterproof, nor should you expect them to be. But as long as you don't lose your pack in a stream crossing, they should be water resistant enough, just like a drybag.

[q-tip]

$500 sleeping bag. Thats enough for me.

[colorado_rob]

... All my stuff sacks only add 6.5 oz., including the food bag. I know where every item in my pack is and could find it in complete darkness.

Chaos vs order. People all have their own preference.

6.5 total is darn good, better than most, probably right where I'm at all said and done (I had forgotten, duh, about my food sack). Don't forget about good old zip-locks for organizing small stuff, they last long enough and the smallest ones weigh about 0.15 ounces. All it really takes is about 6-7 ounces (and a little bit of cash for a couple cuben sacks!) for excellent organization.

[efosterw]

Wow! Thanks for all the great responses. My reason for considering this pack-as-stuff-sack method is because of the simplification of set-up & tear-down. I'm hiking my wife and some friends in April and on the last trip (my wife's first), I did all of that stuff basically by myself and we made our group late to hit the trail. I'm thinking about how to simplify and speed up the process. The first and most time-saving solution is to teach my wife to handle her gear (first round of training already done ) I was just intrigued by the concept. The way I pack my gear, I'd probably be ok w one or two bags to keep stuff dry. I'd at least like to try it; may revert to stuff sacks later!


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[atmilkman]

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.....

What pack do you have?

[brianb2]

You've likely seen them, but Shug has a lot of great videos on hammock camping on YouTube and talks about this specifically. He's on the trash compactor bag side of the discussion. I took his advice and it's worked well for me and the family for the past year. Teaching the wife and kids to hang their hammocks, and as many other camp tasks is time well spent.

Good luck. Here's a link to the video I mentioned.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DeBdD7MhAtU



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[Miner]

Like cuben bags, one will not last you an entire thru-hike I generally get about 20 nights out of one...

I've seen a few people say that about cuben fiber bags and yet they do last me for a thru-hike for some reason so I'm using them or doing something differently with them. As an example, the only bag I tossed after my PCT thru-hike was my clothing sack which was also used as a pillow as it was starting to fray a little near the top. I'm guessing the zipper on my down jacket caused it from stuffing it every night to be my pillow. The other 5 stuff sacks I carried (food, quilt, toleitries, misc stuff, tarp) were still fine. My quilt obviously not having a zipper may have helped.

[Firefighter503]

I used to be in the stuff sack crowd (one for mid weight layer, one for lightweight layer, both in clothes bag, etc.), but have since converted. I now use one cuben fiber liner with my sleeping bag (loose), clothes bag (loose), and sleeping pad in it, and then put my food bag and tent on top of that. I also have a small ditty bag that holds my wallet contents, first aid kit, cell phone, etc. Other small items that are used daily go in my hip pockets.

[OwenM]

Stuff sacks all the way for me, as I much prefer having some organization and "pillow kits".
Checked, and my heavy duty OR(food bag), Katabatic(quilt), small S2S(clothes), ZPacks roll-top cuben(valuables), Thermarest ProLite and Tarptent Notch stuff sacks, plus another one from an old Sierra Designs windbreaker that I use for my water filtration setup weigh a combined total of 142g/5.0oz.

$500 sleeping bag. Thats enough for me.

No joke! My Katabatic quilt currently sells for $495, and it might be 100% fine, but just the thought of cramming all my stuff on top of it while loose is a bit sickening! My gear stacks and layers really well inside my packs with minimal gaps, though, so neither wasted space or extra weight is an issue.

I've seen a few people say that about cuben fiber bags and yet they do last me for a thru-hike for some reason so I'm using them or doing something differently with them.

Guess I'll be another. I've got a cuben stuff sack for my mug/cook kit that split open where the lid pushed against it the first time I put it in my pack, and has a layer of repair tape all the way around the inside. My 12L one that's had a sleeping bag or quilt in it half a dozen times is coming apart at the seam. That's .51oz/yd cuben, so I can hardly imagine how fragile something like ZPacks' .34oz/yd pocket tarp must be.
My 2.92oz/yd hybrid multipack, and a Solo floor/groundsheet and rolltop bag in 1.0oz/yd cuben are all fine after a lot of regular use, but the light stuff has been a disappointment.

[12trysomething]

I switched to no stuff sacks early last year and haven't looked back. Here is a look at how I do it. I hope this helps a bit.

- Rob

http://youtu.be/HTTon3JunJY

[jawnzee]

if i have a lot of food, i'll put some extra the bottom. then, all my fluffy night stuff is in a trash compactor bag. then i'll have shelter stuff on top of that, sometimes loose sometimes not. then food, usually in a plastic grocery bag. one for food, one for trash. dinky stuff in a plastic baggie. hiking clothing that i'm not wearing but might on top.

[Don H]

I had a trash compactor bag leak through the bottom seam.
Instead I use 3 different Sea to Summit UL dry bags which probably weigh less than the trash bag. A 13 liter one weighs 1.4 oz. and I know nothing inside it will get wet.

[BirdBrain]

In general, if a gear choice saves weight without incurring unreasonable discomfort or safety, it is desirable. Whereas I do not carry any "extra" items, losing any of those items is unreasonable. It is unreasonable to have a wet sleeping bag. However, it is possible to keep things dry and found without having many stuff sacks. I use a 2mil trash bag as a pack liner. I have a stuff sack for my tent, my food, and my "smalls". I use a shock cord to keep the lid on my grease pot and to store my entire cooking system. Sleeping bag has no sack. My pad remains in my BA sleeping bag sleeve. Depending on what I am wearing, one of my clothing items is the clothing stuff sack. My "smalls" items continue to get smaller in size and number. They all fit in one sack. However what works for you is always superior to what someone else says works for them.