pack liners

I just use one pack liner, but I keep my down quilt in a silnylon stuff sack. It's not totally waterproof (seams are sealed for strength, but it's a normal drawstring opening) but it's certainly waterproof enough to keep incidental drops out while I have my pack liner open.

I know some people like to ditch the stuff sack altogether and just let their insulation expand, but that only works if you have significant extra room in your pack.

I also keep all my "dinky stuff" outside the liner altogether, since that's already waterproof or in ziplocks. No point having to open the liner just to grab some sunscreen or TP.

I do it both ways, sometimes quilt is in cuben stuffsak, sometimes not. Regardless, the clothing is only in the liner, never had a problem. I've never accessed clothing in the rain til shelter is set up. I suppose if I got really cold, I might need fleece or long john top. In that case I would pretty much cover the top of pack with my body/rain jacket and be quick about it. Usually though, I'm sweating under rain gear, and when I do stop, I set up shelter and change to dry longjohns.

Really shouldn't worry about 1 oz anyway. A Reynolds turkey bag would work for clothes and is only 0.55 oz.

No, ounces don't really matter. I have a tendency towards complexity, and I'm trying to simplify my pack. I've reduced the number of stuff sacks considerably–used to have over-organization syndrome–Hi, my name is Diane, and I'm an over-organizer…(from the crowd <>).

Hi Diane

I've been using one big trash bag for everything in my pack many times, including cold and rainy weather where i had to reach for more clothing. Never had a problem. I don't worry about any down (sleeping bag or jacket) or other clothing getting a tiny bit wet when reaching in the pack during rain. Just be quick and a little strategic. Get a packing system a stick with it. That way, you can get everything in the pack out through a small opening in the liner.

Cheers

I too switched from multiple stuff sacks to using just one big pack liner ('contractors bag' rated 2 mil) — and never looked back. The advantages over using different compartments or different stuff sacks are many:

1. More space efficient — I had to actually try this out to convince myself, but it really is true. I can pack noticeably more without using stuff sacks / compression sacks!

2. More time efficient — imagine not having to wrestle your sleeping bag, pad, clothing, etc. into their respective stuff sacks! Yep, just line your pack and then shove everything in. You will soon develop a system that's fast, efficient, and orderly.

3. More weight efficient — every ounce counts, right? Why use multiple stuff sacks if they add weight, and actually waste both time and space?

Tent stuff sack aside (more on that below) — I now use only one small stuff sack to house the iddy biddy stuff.

But what about exposing everything to the rain?

Firstly, I always attach my tent to the outside of my pack. I can thus easily set up tent without opening up my pack at all. And when striking camp in the rain, I pack and close up everything under the protection of my tent — then I just put on my rain jacket, take down and attach the tent to my backpack, and hit the trail. Also, no worries about packing a wet/muddy tent into my backpack.

Secondly, IMO, using a sturdy liner actually provides better water protection! I close up the liner by twisting the end real tight and then bending it down like a shepherd's hook (pointing to the ground) — and then I close and tighten all straps — keeping everything in its place. If canoeing, I add a rubber band to make sure the twists stay tight.

Some packs work better than others…. but I really think using separate stuff sacks for tent, pad, food, clothing, etc. is actually counter productive.

I've used a pack liner in the past but went back to cuben stuff sacks. I see benefits to both systems and just prefer the superior organization and secondary "back up" they provide. Admittedly though, I always seem to trek in the rain.

I guess I'm just an organization freak!

I use a 2mil poly bag as a liner. Sleeping bag goes in a myog silnylon sack. Same for clothing. This gives double protection to the important stuff, maybe I'm paranoid. Food goes in stuff sacks (or bear can, if required). Pot/stove in separate sack to keep everything together and keep the sometimes dirty pot bottom from touching anything. Tent and stakes in their own sack. Maybe one or two small sacks for misc. items.

I make all the sacks out of leftover silnylon, and I have dozens of them, maybe that's why I use so many.

A single pack liner doesn't work for cold/rainy conditions in which you need to take your active insulation layers on and off while on the move.
Lets say it's a cold rain and you start on a downhill section. You start to get cold and need to put on another layer, lets say it's a fleece sweater. Well you will need to take off your rain jacket to put on the fleece and if it's raining the fleece will get a little wet from the rain. Then when you have your rain jacket on, a certain amount of perspiration will get trapped depending on how breathable your rain jacket is. So you have this damp fleece. Then you warm up and need to take it off. If you put your damp fleece inside of the pack liner, you risk getting your sleeping bag and camp clothes wet.
So in a situation like that, it helps to have 2 separate waterproof sections in your pack, one for dry stuff that needs to stay dry and one for damp clothes. Even better would be 3 separate sections to separate damp clothes from soaking wet clothes.

But for 3 season conditions where you will only ever be wearing a base layer under your rain jacket, then yeah a single liner works great.

I really don't like using stuff sacks or dry bags for my sleeping bag though. I have a very specific way I pack my stuff and really don't like voids in my pack, I want stuff to fill evenly.

I also use two bags to keep things dry. First thing in the pack is the schnozzle, into which goes all gear that I'm very unlikely to need during the day. Then to one side of that I slide in the tent. On top of those go stove, food bag, rain gear, etc., all loose. At the top I put daytime insulation rolled up in an oven bag for quick access. For the weight cost of the oven bag, I can easily pack up everything in the morning while staying warm, then put my puffy or whatever in the top of the pack when I'm ready to start hiking and have it ready for breaks without digging down in my pack, with no exposure to my sleeping gear. With different gear, I'd probably have a different packing system.

There's plenty of room left in the schnozzle, so I'll probably now experiment with not using the oven bag.

Trash compactor bag in. Quilt at the bottom, spare clothes on top of that. twist closed. sleeping pad, cooking pot, food bag next layer. rain jacket and long sleeve shirt last layer. tent under the lid. my Osprey Exos is water resistant enough to handle a few mile run through a downpour with no leaks (involuntary test) so i'm not worried about the possibly used clothes being wet