How do you ID your gear bags?

[RootCause]

I do know that if it has been a while since I used something, I need to open it up in the gear room to recall which is which.

It's that sentence right there that set me to labelling everything with words, and not colors! Good for you guys with memories that actually work. Mine doesn't!

different colored cordlocks and/or cords or even bags doesn't cut it. "Now, which one was the blue?"

Exactly! Was it the light blue or the navy blue? Pale green, forest green, or primary green?

[FLRider]

Since I've gone over to a MMP-style DIY pack, my sacks--with the exception of my tarp and phone/camera case--are all the same color (woodland camo). On the other hand, they're also all different sizes and shapes.

At the bottom of the back panel, I have my hammock, PLTQ, PLUQ, and any sleeping clothes that I'm bringing enclosed in oversized snake skins (similar to the Lazy Slug Tube).

Above that goes (depending on amount of food) either my tarp with stakes (no bag for that; instead I use Velcro cable ties on a CRL) or my bear bag; either way, that's the next two items. Whichever is lower on the panel is whichever is heavier at any given time.

Above those two goes either my ditty bag with first aid kit, toilet kit, emergency kit, and any personals (charger for the phone, etc.) or my poncho, depending on likelyhood of precipitation. Everything in the ditty bag is sorted into Ziplocks, with the exception of my toothbrush and my headlamp.

Then above that attaches my front pack. In that goes my 3L Camelback and in-line filter. On the front of it goes either my cell phone or camera in a water-resistant case and either my poncho or ditty bag, depending on likelyhood of precipitation. In the kangaroo pocket on the front of it goes my map and compass. If I'm wearing my kilt, my knife hangs on the edge of the main pocket for easy access. My key (either car or bike) and backup flashlight get hung from one of the zipper pulls on the phone/camera case. My multi-tool (bandanna) gets tied to one of the upper body attachment straps on the front pack, usually the right-hand one. Occasionally, I'll attach it to the PALS-style loops on the front pack instead.

Everything is immediately accessible and easy to find based on its container. The ditty bag is double-ended and each end has a differently-colored drawcord. The camo cord side is my FAK; the black shock cord side is my toilet kit. Everything else goes in between those, since I won't need immediate access to anything but my toilet kit or FAK.

If I go for a day hike from a base camp, the front pack gets unsnapped from the back panel and converts into a day pack; I then remove either the ditty bag or the poncho (depending on which one is attached) from the back panel and attach it to the front pack. The straps that attached it to the back panel convert to a day pack configuration, I add a snack to the kangaroo pocket on the pack, and off I go.

Thus far, it's worked pretty well. My only complaint is that I have to root through my whole food bag in order to find a single item, but that's the trade-off I get for having it be the proper diameter to get burrito-sized tortillas to wrap around pouches of food stuffed into their middle. It prevents the tortillas from tearing along fold lines under most circumstances. So, I try to pack the food bag in order of next item needed when possible; after lunch, I put dinner and my cook kit on top, that sort of thing.

Otherwise, I've been really happy with the organization of my items. It makes life easier than trying to root through a large-capacity single bag looking for my headlamp. Or even doing the same looking for my ditty bag among everything else. MacEntyre is a genius when it comes to pack design.

[richtorfla]

You can use cloth first aid tape to make labels. Sharpies write pretty good on it and it s replacable. You can get some paint pens from Micheals and label your stuff sacks with them. They are more permanant then the sharpie and like sharpies , comes in many colors. I myself use stuff sacks with items in freezer bags labeled to go in sack. This keeps me somewhat organized. All my hammocks are in their stock bags so they are easily identfied.

Let us know how you solved your dilemna!

[olzeke]

I read tonight that Tyvek could be cut into little tags and attached to the draw strings. Tyvek is strong, light, and takes writing on with Sharpies. Conversely, you could sew it on the sides of the sacks.