Stuff Sacks When Backpacking?

**Redoleary** · 06-30-2017, 17:43

In the summer months when I'm using a sock style bug net I typically leave my UQ on my hammock and stuff the hammock, net, and UQ into a large compression sack and put my top quilt and pillow in the same bag but I put them in first, separate from the other mess. Then I'm compress it all down into a brick that will fit inside my backpack with relative ease.

**ps22285** · 07-01-2017, 19:24

Im a rammerjammer without a stuff sack. Just me😄

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**TNhunter** · 07-01-2017, 19:31

I hate the extra time to stuff things into a stuff sack. And things fit into the pack much better if you just stuff everything into it. I do use a compactor bag inside the pack for the things I don't want to get wet. The tarp rides either outside the pack if it is wet or in the pack but outside the compactor bag of it is dry. The tarp is inside of a diy snakeskin which makes it much easier to deploy and take down.

**waterboy** · 07-01-2017, 22:09

Generally use stuff sacks to keep collections of small things together.... First aid, food, toilet kit, clothes etc. I just stuff the biggies to keep dry (down, hammock) in the bottom Of The compactor bag and this has worked for me

**T- Minus** · 07-01-2017, 22:21

I use a cuben dry pack sac from Z-packs, for my quilts and hammock, at the bottom of pack.
I use the cuben stuff sack from my tarp for my clothes bag, if raining it to goes in the above sac.
I Use a cuben bear bag kit from Z-packs, for food and hygiene.
I use a cuben small sack for my s#it kit. Nothing worse that wet TP when you need it.
and my tarp is in cuben skins.
water kit, lines, and cook kit along with the pack take a hit, when it rains. Everything stays dry.

**DuneElliot** · 07-02-2017, 02:05

With two 10° quilts there is no way I would be able to get by without using the stuff sacks...they just take up too much room in my ZPacks Arc Haul. I pack around them with and fill in the gaps with my baselayers and extra clothes etc to be space-efficient.

**zukiguy** · 07-02-2017, 15:29

No empirical evidence but it seems when I pack everything in their assigned stuff sacks they take up less space in the pack. However, I've tried both the "lazy slug tube" setup with my hammock/TQ/UQ/Pillow in there and it's super fast. The problem is that with the big tube it becomes hard to compress and takes up tons of room. Recently, I've started doing the plain old "cram it into the compactor bag" and that works OK. I find it hard though to get the whole mess of squirming nylon jammed into the compactor bag while inside the pack. I've tried jamming everything into the bag first then squishing out the air and trying to get that into the pack. It turned into kind of a wrestling match.

Overall I think I like having my items in separate stuff sacks. That way if I do have a pack leak or some kind of failure I will hopefully only have one wet item instead of everything getting damp (all my eggs in one basket??).

**OneClick** · 07-05-2017, 08:25

Originally Posted by DuneElliot

With two 10° quilts there is no way I would be able to get by without using the stuff sacks...they just take up too much room in my ZPacks Arc Haul. I pack around them with and fill in the gaps with my baselayers and extra clothes etc to be space-efficient.

Yeah there's always something in your pack you can use to fill the gaps.

Originally Posted by zukiguy

No empirical evidence but it seems when I pack everything in their assigned stuff sacks they take up less space in the pack. However, I've tried both the "lazy slug tube" setup with my hammock/TQ/UQ/Pillow in there and it's super fast. The problem is that with the big tube it becomes hard to compress and takes up tons of room. Recently, I've started doing the plain old "cram it into the compactor bag" and that works OK. I find it hard though to get the whole mess of squirming nylon jammed into the compactor bag while inside the pack. I've tried jamming everything into the bag first then squishing out the air and trying to get that into the pack. It turned into kind of a wrestling match.

There's no doubt you can pack smaller when using the stuff sacks. Doing so let's you get all that down "contained" or under control before putting into your pack. I can get close with a pack liner, but it's never quite the same. Lately I've switched to stuffing my larger quilt (almost always the UQ) in its separate sack, then stuffing the top quilt around that loosely in the pack liner. Sort of the best of both worlds.

**OCDave** · 07-05-2017, 09:19

I use a Cuben Fiber pack liner, quilts roam free in the bottom with small cothes bag and hammock on top. Separate Cuben fiber food bag, Cook kit and tarp ride on top, outside pack liner. Stuff sacks, in my experience, are just a way to pack too much stuff.

**HammyDavisJr** · 07-05-2017, 21:36

Originally Posted by Shrewd

I've been on the AT since March 12th, and abandoned my stuff sacks after the first week. No real reason at first, it wasn't like they caused a problem...more like why stuff it into a sack then stuff the sack into a pack

I just cram them into the bottom of my pack liner with my little down pillow then cram my hammock (also no sack, rolled up) down on top.

No issue and nothing has ever gotten wet or given me cause to be cranky

Well, ok, the AT gives you plenty of reasons to be cranky, but you know what I mean

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How's your AT trip progressing? Hope you are healthy and having a great time.

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