Packing your sleeping bag

I use a Granite Gear Airvent sack. It works well and is waterproof. i don't carry a pack cover, as all my gear is in waterproof ultralight weight bags in one way or another.

I use a Sea to Summit eVent dry bag, and put that inside the contractor bag with my clothing and other stuff I want to keep dry. I really don't want my down bag getting wet.

That said, I think the ideal is to stuff it at the bottom of your pack in a contractor bag, and just let it expand to fill in the gaps. If you gooseneck the bag and tuck the gooseneck down to the side it should be dry in just about any conceivable situation. Guess I'm just paranoid and willing to eat the extra 2 oz. Hmm… now that I write it, 2 oz is a lot! Maybe it's time to take the plunge…

I tend to just stuff in the bottom with whatever compression my other gear puts on it such that it fills out my pack's volume.

I'd only compress if you need the room in your bag, a slack bag isn't going to carry as well.

I just use a trash bag in the bottom most times, although the dry bags frank mentions are nice, I've got a couple, just hate to use them if I don't need them.

I really like the design choice Granite Gear made using eVent bottom and eVent taped seams, much smarter design (and lighter/cheaper) than the fully eVent Sea-to-Summit sacks. I wish they had one of the same design with a square bottom sized to fit 1/2-3/4 height of the gorilla.

Jeffrey, with a good down bag, you probably won't hurt it by packing it tightly. That is, of course, assuming that you unpack it and shake it out as much as you can and allow it to fluff up if the weather is cool.

If you get just the right size of stuff sack, you shouldn't have to worry about a compression sack. You just have to lean on it a bit more when you stuff it.

So, let me understand. Your pack will not accept a 13-inch-long lump sideways. Not even at the bottom?

I always start my stuffed sleeping bag into the pack with it aimed vertically. Then once it reaches the bottom, I turn it sideways so that it completely fills the bottom horizontally. But that is just me.

–B.G.–

It fits, but its a bit awkward fitting and makes it difficult to put things in the side pockets. I was considering getting a stuff sack a little shorter and wider, or possibly trying to just put it in the trash bag with my clothes at the bottom. I wanted to see what others found worked best.

As a newbie, I spent time every morning wrestling my down bag into its stuff sack. Ditto for the sleeping pad. And clothing. I used about 4 different stuff sacks.

From reading others' techniques and my own experimentation, I found that I can pack much more quickly and efficiently space wise by NOT using stuff sacks for bag, pad and clothing. Here's what I do:

1. Line pack with a 2-mil contractor bag (i.e. large garbage bag on steroids).

2. Let out the air and fold sleeping pad to about the size of your pack and slide the thing in flat and flush against the back of your pack (i.e. nearest to the shoulder straps).

3. Stuff sleeping bag in.

4. Stuff clothing in — make sure of corners, nooks and crannies.

5. Pack the rest of the stuff

6. Close up the garbage bag by twisting the end tightly and point the end downward — then cinch everything tight.

If doing dicey stream crossing or canoeing, you should rubber band the garbage bag tight — but not needed if just to keep rain out.

Stash the day's needed items in your pack's side pockets, hip belt pockets, etc. to avoid/minimize opening up the big sack.

I now use just one small stuff sack to house misc. type small items.

Jeffrey- if you want your down bag to last- NEVER use a compression bag!
Depending on the backpack I'm using- I just stuff the sleeping bag into the bottom of my pack liner or I use the stuff sack that came with the bag. I have paid dearly for my bags so I want them to last as long as possible.
I think if you work with Benjamin's suggestions and try different options you will find what works- at least until something else strikes your fancy

Good down does not get damaged by being packed into a tight compression sack overnight. (Sorry Tad.) Sure, if you leave it packed tightly for weeks or months on end, it will suffer. I am saying that based on my experience over the last 20 – 3 years with high-performance down bags.

Yes, I always pack my quilt into a very waterproof but UL stuff-sack each morning. That way I know what I will be sleeping in the next night. I only bother with a pack liner when I have to take the pack swimming – which happens …

However, I always pack my synthetic Cocoon jacket as loosely as possible. The synthetic insulation will not take high compression: it just isn't good enough. The same applies of course to any synthetic bag or quilt.

As for the problem of the bulge at the bottom of the main bag making the side pockets somewhat unusable – well, I don't put anything into the side pockets anyhow. They are a too-high-risk place to store important gear, especially in our scrub.

Cheers
Edited to correct mistake – thanks James!

Roger do you climb into the UL waterproof sack each night with your quilt? I can't imagine that would be terribly comfortable :)

If you do end up getting a Mariposa plus, I think you'll find that doing the contractor bag trick and letting the bag expand out to fill the bottom works best. Having the bag basically fill out the nooks and crannies down there seems to improve the fit and carry of my Mariposa, anyway.

I'm a big fan of the pack liner method.

Like many others here, I use a trash compactor bag. It's cheap, durable, and light (2 oz). First, I roll up my sleeping pad into a tube and put it in the pack.

I open up the trash compactor bag and shove it in the middle. My sleeping bag/quilt gets stuffed into the bottom. Clothing goes in next. Out of the clothing, my insulation layer (usually a 9 oz fleece) goes in last so that I can access it quickly if needed. Anything else that I want to keep dry goes on top of the clothing.

I twist the bag and put a rubber band around it. I carry two extra rubber bands of the same size in my emergency kit. They're worth having in case one snaps or is lost.

On top of that goes my stove, fuel, filter (if I'm carrying one), and food. Everything else is carried in my pack's front pocket — I use a Golite Jam 2 — or on the outside of the pack.

I use a GLAD 13 gal/49lit trash sack. Cut off the handle/ties and it weights .68 ozs. A little delicate?? but not an issue if treated well. I'm looking for something in this size range that is black, because several years ago I successfully dried a damp down bag in a large black trash bag in direct sun. Also the larger size of this bag lets me store my bag during the day fully lofted but protected, if base camping.

I usually line my bag with a trash compactor bag and then stuff my sleeping bag in a OR Ultralight dry sack. My main reason for doing this is I'm already take the dry sack as my waterproof bear bag and i just pack my food during the day in my bag loose. This gives my sleeping bag extra protection without having to bring anything extra along.

I appreciate all the comments/suggestions! I think I'm going to try just stuffing the bag at the bottom of my pack liner and see how that goes. I think it may work well.

I usually just stuff the bag into my pack or my pack liner. If I bring a bivy, then it is my pack liner. I put the bag first, and pack other stuffs in the interval space. Besides, I don’t mind over compressing.

I had posted a thread about how I pack my pack.
How do you pack a frameless pack?

I put my quilt/bag in the BA Pumphouse sack that is more than big enough. I prefer an easy stuff into the sack and if I need further compression it happens once the bag (in it's sack) is in to bottom of my pack.