Packing wrong

[HkNewman]

File this under useful stuff found on social media.. and generally kicking myself.  Hope this admission helps other hikers of course.,

I’ve been struggling with 40L packs and resigned myself to get a bigger one with the new “ultra” fabric. In particular I tried packing for Mt Hood (Oregon) last fall using a Zerk 40 and could barely fit my gear/food in.

Then getting a clue here or on r/ultralight (Reddit) I check out Justin Outdoor YouTube channel for his GDT videos.

Lo and behold, the guy has packed mostly slightly larger stuff (vs what I had) inside of said Zerk.  Namely a RW Xlite, EE Torrid and a set of alpha direct clothes with extras inside the pack in a nyloflume liner, food in an Ursack and a single wall DCF shelter on top (stakes in DCF bag),   Then complete raingear in the back mesh pocket along with hygiene items, water kit, poop kit, DCF FAK, and DCF ditty bag containers chargers, cords, etc..  Forgot where he put the stove.  He carried some other stuff in the Zerks ample front pockets like lip balm, sunscreen stick, and even bear spray which he had to use once.

https://youtu.be/2KQ7IUJq3_Y

Think my problem was using a stuff sack (albeit DCF) to pack my quilt instead of letting it, and my packed clothes, fill every part of my lower pack. Granted I remember a rip in a former pack liner (garbage compactor bag) but thinking I should’ve investigated what caused the rip.  Back to 40L packs,   it’s been difficult packing a [discontinued] Patagonia Micropuff hoody (more packable then a Torrid) but watching this guy not only putting the latter in, but also an alpha direct top/bottom, plus likely additional base layers.  Maybe I can save some money not buying yet another new pack, etc.. ? … Nah.

Still smaller packs tend to run a bit cheaper and my Zimmerbuilt is there for the large loads.

Well at least my lighterpack is probably lighter..

[Steve Thompson]

I wouldn’t call what you do wrong, but not as space efficient.  Putting things in various sacks provides a degree of organization that poking clothing items into nooks and crannies does not.  And for me, putting items into sacks also helps me keep track of them.
<p style=”text-align: left;”>But I’ve learned that using bigger sacks and having my bag and clothes loosely stuffed makes them more malleable and let’s me fit more in my pack.  Probably not as much as Justin but for me a good compromise.</p>

[moggie]

I wouldn’t say you pack wrong either, unless it affects the way your pack carries and makes it physically uncomfortable. There’s always a tradeoff no matter which method you use. Maybe a more organized but less tightly packed style has benefits that are worth it for you. You can always try out the way you saw and see how you like it.

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