Poll: Sleeping bag protection

[tlbj6142]

How do you protect your sleeping bag in your pack?

[Streamweaver]

I put the bag into a trashbag then into a coated nylon stuff sack that I made myself because the stuff sac that came with the bag is too small. The stuff sack on the outside of the trashbag protects it from getting torn or punctured.Then I put the bag inside the pack which is usually lined with a heavy duty trash compactor bag trimmed to fit the pack. It might sound like overkill but I like sleeping in a dry bag when I can!!! Streamweaver

[Youngblood]

The best way I know is to line the manufacture's stuff sack with a plastic trash bag. My bag has never gotten wet this way, even though my sleeping bag is in the bottom of my pack and the bottom of the pack tends to get a little soggy on all day rains. I think it is important to protect your sleeping bag this way even if you line your pack with a plastic bag (any moisture that gets inside the plastic bag is going to stay there and cause everything inside to get damp unless it is also protected).

Also, I don't/won't use a pack cover that has a bottom to it, because those tend to collect water, which is a very bad thing. Because of this the bottom on my pack gets damp whenever I take it off and place in on the wet/damp ground. With the lined sleeping bag stuff sack in the bottom of my pack, this has never been a problem.

Youngblood

[chris]

Garbage bag lined stuff sack. The exception to this is with my WM Highlite, which is so small that a trash bag just doesn't really work. I make end up using a ziplock bag.

[gravityman]

I just put mine in a trash bag and smoosh the air out. No stuff sack on the outside. That works real well for me, as I can push it around to take up space where I need it, rather than it being one hard lump. My wife puts the trashbag in a silnylon stuff sack, and stuffs the bag into that. Twist the trash bag top, stuff the top down the side between the silnylon stuff sack and the trashbag, and you could float it in water without a worry.

Gravity man

[brian]

I love my Exped Drybags. About $10 each, ive got one for my sleeping bag (a medium) and one for my clothes(also a medium). At night, i use one for a pillow, and not by filling it with clothes. I can actually fill it with air and it will not deflate at all, even after 8 hours of pressure from my head. Altrec.com. Check it out!

Brian

P.S. They only weigh about 4 oz each

[Youngblood]

Originally posted by chris
Garbage bag lined stuff sack. The exception to this is with my WM Highlite, which is so small that a trash bag just doesn't really work. I make end up using a ziplock bag.

I use the small garbage bags (4 gallon) to line my WM Highlite.

[RagingHampster]

Sil-nylon Stuffsack.

[Kerosene]

Plastic trash bag inside a sil-nyl stuffsack placed in the bottom compartment of my pack.

[Happy]

I use a sil-nylon VBL as my pack liner (2 uses) and stuff my bag in a trash bag in the bottom of the pack.

[Doctari]

I put my bag inside it's stuff sack, then put that inside a trash compactor bag with a twist tie to hold it closed. Havnt had a wet sleeping bag yet.

Doctari.

[Footslogger]

I used a small silnylon stuff sack that was about the same size (or maybe a bit smaller) than the one supplied by the manufacturer. But I think the one thing that really kept my bag (and other things) dry was the plastic trash compactor bag I used to line my backpack. I would NEVER hike again without a liner in my pack. All the so-called waterproof stuff sacks in the world aren't going to keep your bag dry if your pack leaks during a downpour ...and lemme tell ya ...we had a lot of them buggers in 2003 !!

[Moon Monster]

On a related note and to caution you against my carelessness, I once had a leak in my Camelback bladder and it left a pool of water in the bottom of my trash compactor liner since I left everything all jumbled in the pack over night. If it were during the day while I was hiking, it could have gotten my bag wet.

[hikerltwt]

sil nylon liner bag and two sil nylon sacks for everything else

[Furlough]

I use the manufactures stuff sack and a plastic trashbag over that. Similarly, I do the same for my cloths, a stuFf sack covered with a small plastic trash bag.

Harry

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

A stuff sack lined with a trash bag for my bag and a dry bag for my clothes. I chill easily and the bit of extra weight is worth the peace of mind to me.

[Alligator]

Plastic trash bag inside manufacturers stuff sack. I tie off the bag with regular twist ties and keep extras in the bottom of the sack. On my pack cover, I punched two small holes in the bottom for drainage as water can pool there.

[Sorcerer]

I just use the manufacturer's stuff sack (not sil-nylon, not even water repellent nylon). I spend more time and energy keeping the whole pack dry with a pack cover and a poncho that covers me and the pack. Never had a problem yet (and I carry a down bag, ALWAYS!)

Also, keeping the sleeping bag up high in the bag helps prevent any sweat-through from your back from making you bag damp.

1730+ miles and no problems so far! For Maine I'm thinking I might get a trash bag just in case with all those nice stream crossings.