Posting this question in the Lightweight Zone because I suspect the answer has something to do with minimalism.

Why compression sacks? I get reducing weight, but what's the point of reducing size of a given item?

I assume that compression sacks weigh more than an equivalent non-compression variety, what with the extra buckles and webbing and whatnot. So presumably there's some tradeoff to the increase in weight carried.

When I read Colin Fletcher, 20+ years ago, he suggested avoiding packing each piece of gear too tightly, so that all the pieces would smush together nicely in the pack, thus maximizing internal space used. Has gear changed since then in ways that obsoletes this theory? What other some other theories that apply here?
_________________________
It's easy to be a holy man on top of a mountain.
-- Larry Darrell