Not Just For Turkey

[Chris Ruis]

I just wanted to share a little idea that I have been using for a long time now. This is not you average piece of backpacking gear. It's very cheap and is readily available from most all grocery stores.

So what I use is the Reynolds Turkey Size Oven Bags. They come two to a box. At only a half oz. each, and $4.00 they make for a great multi use item.

I use them as a pack liner for my Osprey Hornet 32 and 46. You can use them just as they come or add a piece of self stick Velcro and you have a great very tough 1/2 oz. roll top bag. Use the smaller ones for great stuff sack's, just add Velcro. Use them straight out of the box as a sit pad for around the camp or on the trail. Cut open one side seam and the bottom on two of them and add a piece of tenacious tape to join the two together and you have a very tough 1 oz. ground cloth. I use the ground cloth for camp while I cook or just to lounge around on. They last a long time and are tough for the cost and weight.

Anyway just wanted to share one of the many tricks in my bag.

[Chris Schmidt]

I shared a camp site once with some Boy Scouts training for Philmont. They were using turkey bags to line their cooking pots. Once the macaroni and cheese for 12 was consumed, all they had to do was squeeze out the last cheese for the last hungry boy and they had a clean pot and a soiled plastic bag for the trash.

[M B]

Nothing new, people use them for many yrs.

Makes a cheap food bag if something happens to your more durable one. Many a thru hiker has used one for that after having a bear or rodent destroy another, or just plain forgetting it (hard to believe someone would leave their food hanging and hike off, but they do)

I think Id know if 50% of my pack was missing. People obviously are carrying a lot if they dont notice their food bag isnt in pack.

[Dena Kelley]

I love this site. I learn something new daily. I had never thought of using a turkey roasting bag as either a pack liner or a pot liner. Thanks.

[Steven McAllister]

Often times versions of some cooking bags have small vent holes to allow excess steam to escape. These holes can create a mess if your unaware.

[John Taylorson]

I've been using the roasting bag as a stuff sack for my sleeping bag (WM Summerlite) and sometimes my clothes bag. It weighs next to nothing, stuffs well and is waterproof. My only complaint is that it's noisy, especially when breaking camp early morning; it wakes everyone up.

[Alex Eriksson]

While I appreciate the dual use of a plastic bag to line a pot, the impact to the environment from one plastic bag as it slowly disintegrates (not biodegrades, just breaks down into tiny particles of plastic) in my mind more than outweighs the personal annoyance I get from having to scrub a pot. For a real eye opening look at what all our plastic-loving ways is getting us, check out this 3 part documentary:

http://www.vice.com/toxic/toxic-garbage-island-1-of-3

Disregard that it's from Vice magazine, bastion of hipster douchebaggery. Regardless of that, when I saw this I swore off plastic everywhere I could or started reusing.

[Steven McAllister]

I reduced my usage of plastic bags after I realized how many I was using on long hikes.

I do most of my kayaking on the ocean. After years of seeing a lot of plastic bags in the water and on the shoreline every time I went for a paddle, it kind of made me more conscious of the issue.

[Billy Hoag]

Californians have been packaging some of their finer produce in these things for years. Word has it the have a low level of permeability, making it more difficult for the noses of humans and possibly canines to detect cannabis. Possible scent blocking food bag?

They now come in goose and ostrich size bags and in quantity. True Liberty bags, available in hydroponics, garden stores and random gas stations in Norcal.

http://truelibertybags.com/?page=Products

[Steven McAllister]

The TrueLiberty site states that the bags are breathable. I wonder how breathable?
They may not be appropriate as VBL socks if they are.

[AJ Groff]

I was thinking of using one of these for my sleeping bag (WM Summerlite). for those of you who use these for sleeping bags, how do you seal it? just a rubberband?

[Dave Marcus]

They also state that the bags are vacuum sealable. Those two statements seem at odds.

Also, who in the world has an oven that will fit a bagged ostrich?

[Ben C]

I will caution that these bags are only marginally durable enough for stuff sack use. I have had the bottom seam burst when using one for that purpose. I think it can work fine as long as you are aware of the susceptibility to bursting at the bottom seam. May sure you vent the air out of the top or you'll have a stuff sack that opens top and bottom.

I'm really with Alec on the use of these as a pot liner. I don't find it a huge chore to just wash out my pot.

[Delmar O’Donnell]

Agree with post above ^; you need to run packing tape along the bottom seam.

I use a turkey-size (big) nylon bag for my quilt, and the large size (which should be called medium) for clothes, and a double medium bag for my food.

To close I twist the open end closed, make a loop of the twisted area, then bind across the double-thick twisted area with a NiteIze Gear Tie. This is now sturdy enough to use as a hang bag, and I DO use it as such. Just slip a carabiner in the twisted loop and haul it up.

The double bag I use for food storage is more durable, gives one more layer of protection against spills, *maybe* helps a bit with odor control, but the main advantage is: the area between the inner and outer bag becomes my clean "catch-all" area while cooking. Bandana, spoon, lid, lighter, whatever…it stays clean in between.

[Delmar O’Donnell]

Regards durability: I ran out of square footage for a groundcloth with a piece of Gossamer Gear polycryo. So I opened one of these nylon bags and used it to cover the remaining section…just taped it in place where I needed it.

After several trips, I notice that the nylon bag portion is showing pinholes, whereas the polycryo is not.

So I suspect that as durable as these nylon bags are, they're still not as tough as polycryo/window insulation shrink film.

[John Taylorson]

AJ, When I did use the turkey bag as a stuff sack for my sleeping bag, I carefully squeezed all the air our, then twisted the top and tucked the end over using the elephant trunk closure.

After a few accumulative weeks on the trail, the bag will break, so I no longer rely on the turkey bags. Instead, I stuff my SummerLite into a large trash compactor bag, along with my clothes, and call it a day. Less stuff to worry about.

[Delmar O’Donnell]

John did the bag break along the bottom seam? As I mentioned, if you tape that seam, you have a much more durable bag.

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