Schnozzle schmozzle

[Glenn S]

Maybe I'm just old, but when I was a boy, the PB&J sandwiches packed in my lunch for school didn't come in ziplocs. They were just plain ol' baggies. One of the rights of passage in elementary, was getting in trouble with the lunchroom monitor for blowing up the baggie and popping it. Great fun. Fast forward to present day.

I was intrigued by the Schnozzle idea, and using it as a pack liner. That might be great, but it's huge, which is the main drawback I have with garbage disposal bags. For my GG Murmur, I made a simple custom size bag out of polycryo that's just right, and I've been trying to think of a way of incorporating a stem to fit my NeoAir valve, a kind of MYOG Schnozzle setup. Then it dawnwd on me.

I puffed up the bag, wrapped my finger and thumb around the mouth as if I were going to blow it up like a sandwich baggie, and stuck the NeoAir nozzle in the hole instead. Squeezed the bag and after 3 times the Neo Small was completely filled. Sure, the small is, well, small, but so is the Murmur, so the bag isn't that big either.

Maybe this is old news, but I haven't seen it before and I was pretty excited at its simplicity. I don't see why this wouldn't work for any pack liner bag and Therma with a nozzle. It did take a bit of fiddling the first try to find good placement of my hand and nozzle with all the bunching of the bag, but it was an easy curve to learn.

[Ben Smith]

Neat idea!

When you say "puff up" do you mean with your lungs or with your hands?
I ask because some people like the pump bag/dry sack/pack liner products because they don't have to use their own breath to fill it – the condensation was their concern I think. If you still breathe into the bag then this may explain why you haven't seen it here before.

I'm sure you don't mean that you breathe into the roll top bag though, as that wouldn't be much different to breathing into your mat anyway.

So in retrospect, I'm not sure why you haven't come across this solution before. Nice work.

[Glenn S]

No, I don't blow into the liner bag. By "puff up" I mean just fluffing the sides out open then grabbing the top real quick with my hands trapping the air inside. The same way I imagine one would do with a Schnozzle.

Like I say, maybe this is old news. I can be a very slow and stubborn learner sometimes. :)

[USA Duane Hall]

I used mine just one time as a stuff sack, had a couple small "expanded" spots, so I only use it for blowing up my XTherm on winter trips, not as a stuff sack anymore.
Duane

[Todd T]

I use mine to waterproof my sleeping bag and camp clothes while I hike. Perfect.

[Glenn S]

I get the idea of using the Schnozzle as a stuff sack… I was trying to get across the idea of using a regular garden variety garbage can pack liner to blow up an air pad.

[bjc]

You can't be that old or it would have been wax paper, or older still, brown paper for the sandwich!

[d k]

"using a regular garden variety garbage can pack liner to blow up an air pad"

I like that concept…will have to try it on my Xtherm!

[edit: two rounds with a kitchen size bag filled my regular size Xtherm sufficiently. Verdict: genius! Thanks for the tip. Now I don't need to feel guilty inflating by mouth, or bring along a mini-pump either.]

[USA Duane Hall]

I'll stay opted for the cut down schnozzle, as the original was way too long. When it's freezing ash cold out, I don't care to linger doing this job with my full size XTherm, using a sandwich bag or using my bare hands long. Nice suggestions, I usually have a trash compactor bag, may have to give it a try later this Spring.
Duane

[M B]

Gee, you can find videos on youtube of people using pack liners to inflate air pads.
You dont need a nozzle, you just hold it around with your hand and hug the liner against you. Works well

[Glenn S]

"Gee, you can find videos on youtube of people using pack liners to inflate air pads."

I kinda figured SOMEbody must have done this before. It's just too simple and effective! I guess that's what excited me so much about it.

Looks like I better get busy watching more you tube videos. Oh the torture! ;)

[Michael Ray]

I'll have to try this again I guess. I had the same idea once I moved from a small to a large Neoair recently, but could never get a good enough seal on the valve with my trash compactor bag.

[Franco Darioli]

Thermarest has a kit made for the DIY 'shnozzle" brigade :

[Michael Ray]

I'd seen their airtap before but would prefer not to put a hole in my liner even though you can "cap" it.

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