various post gear questions post weekend

Compression sacks suck, imo. I don’t use many sacks but when I do it’s a larger one packed loosely. I want the contents of the sack to conform to the inside of the pack rather than having a hard sausage shape.

i don’t use soap much. Just a little 3cc dropper bottle of Dr. Bronners unscented. My cookpot stays clean because I usually rehydrate in ziplocks or a plastic jar.

I usually carry an inflatable pillow. A buff with a down jacket inside makes a decent pillow but it comes apart in the middle of the night sometimes.

Thanks Matt. Dont understand this:

“My cookpot stays clean because I usually rehydrate in ziplocks or a plastic jar.”

I only boil water in my cookpot. No need for soap there. Usually I rehydrate my food in a ziplock baggie.

I’m not a huge fan of compression sacks either.  I’m with Matthew on this one.

Unlike Matthew, I do cook in my pot.  I just clean it out as well as I can with a spoon.  If something is stuck in it, use creek sand, pebbles, grass, or whatever nature provides.  Then rinse it well.  I use a very small bottle of soap only for hands.

I never know exactly what to do with my civilization items either.  I will typically just carry a single key, card, and bill.  I will either zip it in a pants pocket or store it in a ziplock.

I usually bring a separate, cheap, light, hospital pillow.  Its pretty light and worth it to me to avoid makeshift pillows.

I also do not use compressions sacks…My gear is small enough that I don’t need to compress it.  Quite the opposite actually…I prefer it to puff up and fill the space.  I like the STS Ultra-Mesh bags…super light and I can see what I’m trying to get out. I have 3-4 of them. Also work great for things that may be wet (towels, water filters, etc) as they promote drying.

I’m with Matt on cooking…pot is just for boiling water and drinking coffee out of…after which a quick rinse is all that is needed.

Wallet and keys are in a ziplock in a hip belt pocket.  Glasses are either there or inside the pack.

I use a Big Sky Int’l inflatable pillow with a buff slipped over it for a pillowcase.  Before the Big Sky I used a TAR LiteSeat folded in half inside said buff.  Clothes etc waded up in a bag is always too hard and uncomfortable.

I don’t use compression sacks either as a small hard lump often takes up more space than it should.  I like just a couple large sacks, one with quilt and puffy and one with clothes.  They can be formed around other gear and take up space as my food bag goes down.  All my little items go in a silnylon organizer with zippered compartments.  It’s from Equinox and weighs 1.6 oz but keeps everything organized in one place from personal items to repair kit, headlamp, first aid, etc.

i just boil water but have been going stoveless more and more to simplify and spend more time enjoying my time outdoors.  I am a “food is fuel” guy and know some are big on meals and enjoy the whole process.  I take a mini dropper of Dr Bronners to clean me or anything else that needs it.

I too usually carry an inflatable pillow, currently a Clymit X.  I am fine with a pillow from clothes in a stuff sack, but on the coldest nights I have no clothes available for a pillow.

Another vote for an inflatable pillow. I find that the only kind of wadded up clothing that works good for a pillow, I’m not carrying extra of if I’m trying to watch my pack weight. For example, a fleece makes a fine pillow, but a down jacket is not firm enough to hold my head up.

• I no longer use compression sacks for clothing or quilt – everything seems to take up the same volume in the pack whether I use them or not, and it saves time packing and unpacking too. It also feels more comfy on by lower back to not use stuff and compression sacks.
• I never cook food in the pot – just boil water, remove from heat, add food, and let hydrate. If there’s some oily film left in the pot, I swish around some water to rinse a few times and drink the dirty water.
• Credit card, driver’s license and vehicle keys go inside a ziplock inside a pack zipper compartment, or inside a tiny Cuben stuff sack lashed to the inside of my main pack.
• I always take an inflatable pillow. I’ve tried a number of other options to save weight (multiple ziplocks, bubble packing, clothing in a bag, etc), but it’s just not worth it to me given how comfy and inflatable it.

I am paranoid about losing my car key/id/credit card.  I have a small ZPacks cuban “wallet” http://www.zpacks.com/accessories/zip_pouches.shtml that weighs .3 oz that I clip to the inside of my pack with a mini caribiner (0.1 oz). Most packs have a loop for a hydration bladder or some attachment point on the inside back of the pack. I zip everything in when I leave the trailhead and haven’t lost anything in 4+ years. Like the other posters, I don’t use much soap and usually just boil water in my pot. When I do cook in the pot, I pour a little water in after I finish and use my spoon to scrape off the remains and drink the water. A tiny drop of camp suds and quick rinse to finish up. I carry the soap in a .15 oz dropper bottle https://mountainlaureldesigns.com/product/mini-dropper-bottles/. I keep my extra clothes in a cuban stuff sack and make a pillow case out of a cotton handkerchief by covering the sack and tying the ends. The stuff sack keeps the pillow from falling apart and the hanky feels better than the cuban on my face.

• No compression sack for me. I have a larger stuffsack that can conform in shape to however I stuff it in my pack.
• I rehydrate all my meals in my pot. Normally after dinner I will clean as best I can with my spoon and water. If there is some good grass or leaves, I will sometimes use that too. My favorite way to fully clean the pot though is to make peppermint tea before going to bed. I use the teabag as a sponge to wipe the pot. Sometimes it adds some new flavors to the tea, but the peppermint normally does a good job of cutting that out.
• Credit card, ID, Cash, and car key go in a ziplock bag which then goes into my zippered first aid/ditty bag which then goes inside my pack.
• Ive been experimenting with different pillow setups, but currently have settled on the Flexair pillow from Litesmith.com. It goes into my extra clothes bag with my down jacket as a “down topper” of sorts. Then the bag gets wrapped in a buff. Overall since I am already bringing everything else, the flexair only costs me 0.88 oz.

thank you.

So where do you put the boiled water into?? Say for oatmeal…..or ramen (non cup version).

I put my food in one of these but it drives me crazy to look for what I want and Im not sure if they are rain proof when I hang it on tree? (hasnt rained when Ive hung them)

http://www.seatosummitusa.com/product/?item=Ultra-Sil%26reg%3B+Dry+Sack&o1=0&o2=0&o3=281-22

a lot of people do FREEZER BAG COOKING .

So where do you put the boiled water into?? Say for oatmeal…..or ramen (non cup version).

I put the oatmeal/ramen in a cheap plastic bowl and then add the water.  Or sometimes I do cook it in the pot (aluminum, non stick).  But either way, I just wash it out with a little soap (Dr Bronner’s, or regular soft soap) and my bare hand. Then I dry it with a small piece of microfiber towel and call it good.  There’s a difference between “backpacking clean” and “civilization clean.”

I put my food in one of these but it drives me crazy to look for what I want and Im not sure if they are rain proof when I hang it on tree? (hasnt rained when Ive hung them)

I keep my food in zip locks, and then I put that in a regular (non waterproof) ultralight stuff sack to hang. I’ve never had a problem with food getting wet, and even if it did, it would still be edible.

As for pillows, I’ve yet to fully solve that riddle in almost 30 years of backpacking.  I’ve mostly just settled on a simple camp pillow with polyester fill.  The weight is not too bad, but it’s a little bulky.  I think an inflatable pillow feels like a balloon and I generally don’t have enough extra clothes to make a pillow out of.

What part of the Smokies were you in as I was there this weekend as well.

I am in the no compression sack camp.  I use a trash compactor bag that I loosely put any excess clothes I carry in as well as my quilt (in a non compression oversized stuffsack) and Neo-air (rolled).

I never cook in my pot.  On shorter weekend trips I rehydrate my food in freezer bags.  On trips a week or more I bring a ziplock bowl (1.4oz looking for something lighter if anyone has ideas) and rehydrate in that.  Dirty freezer bags start to smell pretty bad after a week :).  I rinse the bowl out and reuse and keep all my trash “dry” trash.  Like I said, I would only do that for longer trips.

I do bring a 0.3oz bottle of repackaged un-scented Dr Bonners in a mini dropper bottle.

If the pants/shorts I am wearing has a zippered security pocket I keep my “wallet” in there otherwise I keep them in a ziplock (harder to lose as it’s bigger). I only take one key and then take my drivers license, credit card, and insurance card with a rubber band wrapped around them.   I wouldn’t ever put them in a Outside non zippered pocket.

For a pillow I take my quilt stuff sack and fill with my fleece or down jacket.

@@Brad Rogers. I did Icewater Shelter + Boulevard + Alum Cave Trail + some side hikes (Bunion, Jumpoff, Andrews Bald). U?

What do you all drink your coffee/tea in? Hope its not in zop locs!

Also, do any of you all carry a day backpack?

Your ultra sil bag for hanging should be fine in the rain, I use something similar. As for finding things, I reduce all my original packaging for things like oatmeal or freeze dried food, hot cocoa ect. and bulk them into zip locks. The wife and I split the load from there into 2 larger clear plastic zipper bags. One for daytime and one for camp. It is usually a pretty close split. When in clear bags you can see where everything is. After the first day the empty bags are repurposed for garbage.

As others mentioned its pretty common practice not to stuff clothes. Unnecessary stuff sacks add weight and if you have a water proof bag lining your pack like a trash compactor or nylafume bag you gear will still stay dry. Your expensive puffy layers be it synth. or down will thank you later.

I both boil water for drinks and cook dehydrated meals in the pot. The key is not to burn the meal to the bottom to start with. Most meals I will add a little extra water and although a little looser it is much easier to clean up. Swishing a little water around after in the pot and scraping with spoon or fingers is fine.  I’m not a believer in cleaning pots in water sources or leaving traces of cooked food around a frequented camp especially in brown bear country. I rather it stuck to the side of my pot where it will do no harm.

Same here as other with an ultra light wallet of the MYOG variety carrying CC a little cash and license. I put all my non trail stuff like keys in one hip belt pocket where it stays zipped over the trip until I return. You could simply burry them at the bottom of your pack as well but it sucks getting back to the vehicle and doing a pack dump…grrr.

What do you all drink your coffee/tea in? Hope its not in zop locs!

In cooler weather I use the GSI Infinity mug… 102g

Warmer weather and lower-end UL or SUL-ish I use an inCycle cup…. 4.5g

inCycle somehow managed to go out of business, but I bought a good supply of them before they went under.

I did a loop using the AT/Welch Ridge/Jonas Creek/Forney Creek staying at #69 on Saturday night.

I carried a 20# dumbell for training making my total pack weight 38# making the ~3700ft climb seem really long :)

I’m sort of with everyone else:

I don’t use compression sacks.  They create firm irregular objects that leave dead space when packed together.  It’s more efficient just to cram soft stuff in around your hard gear.  I use a 3 mil contractor trash bag as a waterproof pack liner for my sleeping bag and clothes.

I bring a dropper bottle of Doc Bronner’s for my hands, but not for washing pots.  I’ve moved away from freezer-bag cooking since I dislike dealing with the dirty freezer bags.  But I still only do “add boiling water” cooking, though I do it in my pot.  Since nothing is cooked over flame heat I never burn food to my pot, which is easily scoured with a handful of sand or gravel.  The next time I boil water, the pot is sterilized.  I do not carry a bowl- I just eat out of the pot.  I have a 1oz plastic mug for hot drinks when I feel the need, and it’s graduated to act as a measuring cup.  Since it’s not metal it’s lighter and I’m less likely burn my lips with hot drinks.

One of the few stuff sacks I use is yellow hi-visibility silnylon for my wallet and keys in a ziploc.  (I do worry about losing them.)  This is tied to a lanyard that is secured to a pack strap to make loss even more unlikely.

You cannot make a “decent” pillow out of clothes.  You can make an “acceptable” one, but the only time I have luck is when I’m belly-sleeping with the clothes in a sac on my arm.  I never seem to have enough extra clothes to make a large pillow that would work without sleeping with my head on my arm.  Frankly, I usually have NO extra clothes, so I’ve taken to using a thin inflatable pillow, wrapped in my bandana to avoid the annoying plastic-on-face feeling.   Again, it only really works when belly-sleeping, though I have had occasional success in propping my hiking shoes under whatever pillow I’ve improvised.

So if I understand right, the freezer bag approach:

Pre pack your food in multiple freezer bags and add hot water to those .

For coffee bring some kind of cup?

You hike around with multiple dirty used freezer bags?

how do you carry your food, what do you bring it in and then what do you do with the packaging once you have eaten it?

Pre pack your food in multiple freezer bags and add hot water to those .

Yes.  I vacuum seal my DIY dehydrated meals and use these bags…they are quite sturdy.  Make a cozy out of reflectix, or buy a commercial version.

For coffee bring some kind of cup?

I actually just drink coffee (Via) out of the pot.  A little water and a swirl cleans is nicely.

You hike around with multiple dirty used freezer bags?

Yes. But I clean them out as best I can, and use a clean 1 gal ziplock as the “main trash bag” that holds all others.  If you are careful and roll each used bag up expelling all the air, it really is not much of an issue.  If I’m feeling really retentive, or the trip is longer than a few days, I will double up the main bag.

Yes, I repackage every dinner (generally a Pack it Gormet Deyhrated meal) in a freezer bag and rehydrate in that.  I repackage them as the original packaging is bulky and heavy.

On trips over a week I usually carry a Glad style bowl and rehydrate in it to keep the freezer bags “dry” trash and thus less smelly.

On overnighters, I generally don’t bother repackaging and just use the original bag.

So all the freezer bag business is to avoid cooking food in the cooking pot?? Why?