How Do You Pack - Stuff or Cram? Latest Blog

[12trysomething]

Hi everyone, I thought I would hare my latest blog for folks to check out. Thanks for giving it a read.

http://www.backpackingadventures.net...ow-Do-You-Pack

[DuneElliot]

Always good to read something with a little humor. I'd say I'm half and half. I use the loose storage bag for my sleeping bag to pack my quilt, pajamas and pillow at the bottom of the trash compactor bag. Then come spare clothes in another loose (ie not bulky) sil-nylon bag which can be compressed and re-shaped or stuffed, and then my puffy, not in a stuff sack. I also throw my toiletries bag and FA kit in there also...those things have to be in their own bags! Roll closed the trash compacter bag then comes tent, food bag and rain gear. Camp shoes (if I take them), filter, camera etc go on the outside in various pockets. Extra collapsible water bottles go where-ever they fit.

[gbolt]

My Journey was much the same as yours; except I switch to cramming when I went from an External Frame to a ULA Ohm. I have made one adjustment since the conversion. I use a trash compactor bag to stuff the underquilt and top quilt in first. I now stuff all clothes, jackets, gloves, hats, wristies, socks, and sleepware into a Z Packs Large Dry Sac CF Roll Top, that goes on top and compresses the quilts. Hammock next, bag twisted and closed and Tarp (if dry) next followed by food bag.

The switch to the stuff sack occurred one windy, rainy, cold night before day light savings time change (Dark 5:30). I pulled the top quilt and underquilt out of the compactor bag to fluff and hang. Problem was that everything else sort of spilled out as well with some in the mud below, some blow away until morning... You get the picture I am sure. I decided that organization made up for a slight weight penalty of a few various CF sized bags.

I guess you could say that I am now, part Stuffer and Part Crammer!

[MtDoraDave]

Instead of a sign of personality type, perhaps it's a sign of hiking experience... It seems like the newer-to-hiking people stuff, while the more experienced cram.

Still being newish, I'm a crammer. Sleeping bag in the bottom, Tarpent on the left side, clothing compression bag next to it, Prolite plus next to it on the right, Cooking kit on top of sleeping pad, Misc. bag (Target bag) of toiletries/ first aid/ fire starter/ etc. on top of the clothing bag, food bag on top... rain equipment and water filter on an easy to get to pocket on the back of the pack... headlamp, book, tp, cordage, etc in lid.

Things having their place makes it easier to do an inventory - make sure I don't forget anything.

I have a cut off piece of a Ridgerest pad I use as a seat - it fits nicely in the water bag slot against the front of the pack - which also pads against feeling hard edges of things in the pack.

...since I am not this "organized" at home or in my truck, I will likely evolve into a crammer.

[MtDoraDave]

Instead of a sign of personality type, perhaps it's a sign of hiking experience... It seems like the newer-to-hiking people stuff, while the more experienced cram.

Still being newish, I'm a crammer. Sleeping bag in the bottom, Tarpent on the left side, clothing compression bag next to it, Prolite plus next to it on the right, Cooking kit on top of sleeping pad, Misc. bag (Target bag) of toiletries/ first aid/ fire starter/ etc. on top of the clothing bag, food bag on top... rain equipment and water filter on an easy to get to pocket on the back of the pack... headlamp, book, tp, cordage, etc in lid.

Things having their place makes it easier to do an inventory - make sure I don't forget anything.

I have a cut off piece of a Ridgerest pad I use as a seat - it fits nicely in the water bag slot against the front of the pack - which also pads against feeling hard edges of things in the pack.

...since I am not this "organized" at home or in my truck, I will likely evolve into a crammer.

can't find the edit button - I meant to say that I'm currently a stuffer, not a crammer.

[Berserker]

I was a stuffer, and the ULA Circuit made me into a crammer, of which I'm glad. Any of you Circuit owners know that the Circuit (at least the Brian Frankle era ones) have a weird shaped bottom, and my sleeping bag in the stuff sack would leave hard to fill voids. So I started using a trash compactor bag to line the inside of the pack, and then just jammed 90% of my stuff down in there...the other 10% goes into stuff sacks. That resolved the void issue, and also gave me a little more room to work with. It's also a lot easier and faster to pack now since I don't have to deal with all those freaking stuff sacks.

[Another Kevin]

As I said on your site, 75% stuff, 25% cram. My sleeping bag, tent and pad are stuffed. and everyone has some way of bagging the small stuff (first aid and medicines, repair, sanitary). Food rides in the bear bag, so I guess that's stuffed, too.

Clothing, battery pack, bandana, bucket, towel, are crammed.

Noxious liquids (Gurney Goo, sunscreen, DEET, stove fuel) are out in one of the outside pockets where they won't get all over gear if they leak or spill.

I might wind up switching styles if there were some other major change to my style, like switching from being a ground dweller to an Ewok.

[nsherry61]

Gosh, I guess I'm just not much of a purist.

My sleeping bag or quilt are pre-stuffed into ultralight untreated stuff sacks (stuff sacks that are not water proof, so they let the air out with ease) that are big enough that after stuffing, I can further compress them to about half again their stuffed size. This makes those, large bulky items easier to fit into and compress in my compactor bag while leaving them loose enough that they still expand and fill the voids, at least somewhat. Then the rest of my dry gear is crammed into the compactor bag, not to get lost in the folds of my sleeping insulation.

Then, my tenting/tarping supplies (guy lines, stakes, etc) get a stuff sack. My cook kit get stuffed to keep soot off of other gear. My first aid kit/emergency kit gets a stuff sack or ziploc. If I'm using a pack with a brain, I usually don't stuff, but instead cram most of the rest of my ditties into the brain. If my pack doesn't have a brain, I use a stuff sack to hold all the rest of my little ditties.

I almost always keep the bulk of my food in a stuff sack.

My tent or tarp and rain gear almost always just gets crammed into my pack (or pack pockets) outside the compacter bag. Also, my during-the-day insulation is generally just crammed into the top of my pack.

[Christoph]

You could say I have a little OCD with this one. I have my sleeping bag lower left and my clothes bag lower right. On top of that from left to right is my cooking bag (stove, cookware, etc...), my Static V2 air mattress, then my first aid and cleaning kit bag (soap, toothbrush, etc...). On the very top is my food bag, and in the bladder pocket is my TP. I pack it this way every single time so even in total darkness, I can find what I need without disturbing anyone, plus I know right away if I'm missing something. A good system for me 'cause if I became a stuffer I'd lose all my equipment over time.

[rocketsocks]

I do a kind of a fold, roll and stuff thing.

[rocketsocks]

Wich is really just a cram if ya think about...I guess.

[Secondmouse]

geez, do I have to commit? can't we all just get along?..

[gbolt]

geez, do I have to commit? can't we all just get along?..

If you were the Firstmouse you could get away without commenting. But everyone gets mad at the Secondmouse.

[poolskaterx]

I start with my standard stuff procedure; cuben sack with sleeping bag, down booties and pillow. I then put my bearbox/food in... after that most everything gets crammed into the voids in my pack. Belt pockets are crammed with filter, first aid, etc.

[Secondmouse]

If you were the Firstmouse you could get away without commenting. But everyone gets mad at the Secondmouse.

why? cuz I get the cheese???

[johnnybgood]

You could say I have a little OCD with this one. I have my sleeping bag lower left and my clothes bag lower right. On top of that from left to right is my cooking bag (stove, cookware, etc...), my Static V2 air mattress, then my first aid and cleaning kit bag (soap, toothbrush, etc...). On the very top is my food bag, and in the bladder pocket is my TP. I pack it this way every single time so even in total darkness, I can find what I need without disturbing anyone, plus I know right away if I'm missing something. A good system for me 'cause if I became a stuffer I'd lose all my equipment over time.

The older I get the more I like using a packing system that helps me retrieve items quickly. Having been a stuffer of stuff for years and becoming frustrated when I've forgotten where something was packed, this is where the older I get comes in , decided it was time to get organized.

Definitely not OCD but it does help when leaving a campsite to know that every piece of gear, stuff sacks, etc. are accountable. A sweeping visual scan of the campsite is the last order of business.