Trash bags - not just for trash anymore

I get a lot of funny looks pulling two or three trash bags out of my pack. My hiking group has a lot of "yuppie hiker" types - great people, with (evidently) plenty of money to buy the latest stuff sack or matching pack cover. In light of the last thread I looked at where trash bags were used to keep the pack dry, here's the one to talk about all the other things you can use that Hefty bag for.

I have used one or more of these for:
stuff sacks
pack liners
drop cloth under the hammock for standing around in sock feet shaking bugs out of my boots
temporary poncho for a dash to the cathole when I've loaned my poncho to someone (or left it somewhere, more likely)
stuff clothes in to make an extra layer of cushion under the sleeping pad
stuff pack in
water carrier
vapor barrier
tote Nalgenes back from the lake after a filtering expedition
collect firewood
collect leaves (though they didn't quite make it to being used for insulation, the pad turned out to be warm enough).

Some uses are more useful than others. White trash compactor bags make pitiful ghost costumes.

I've thought of using trash bags for insulation under my hammock. They are good to stand on when getting out of the hammock. I only carry one though. It's rather large and made for a 45gal. can. If I cut it open on both sides it would make a smallish tarp. I like to keep it whole as long as it will last though. When using them for picking up leaves in the yard, I can fill it to the point that it's to heavy to carry.
I was going to use a space blanket fastened under my hammock for an insulation pocket but I think I'll sew some fabric for that.

Similar to your "temporary poncho", this year starting on the PCT I had just mailed my windshirt home when I ran into fairly hellacious wind. Fairly quick work with mini-scissors to make head and arm holes and I used that "poor mans wind shirt" happily for a couple hundred miles or more (I got my wind shirt mailed back before it wore out anyway).

Similar to your "stuff pack in" comment, for a lot of people a trash bag is the right solution to keeping some gear out of the tent yet dry and somewhat protected from wildlife.

In wet weather I'll use a smaller trash type bag to put shoes in at night.

Living and hiking in Washington state, two or even three of the lighter/thinner black yard waste bags are just de rigueur.

My preference is for trash compactor bags, just because they are a bit thicker and tougher. Also, I find that they are sized a bit smaller, making them easier to fit into the pack. They have worked great to keep all of my essentials dry in the pack in all day rains.

Thanks to you and another related thread, I started looking around today for compactor bags. This sounds like the best solution. Found them, but, so far, all are scented! This can't be good, or can it? Someone must make the non stinkered article. I still have a few more places to look.

Great post Lori! I use trash compactor bags that I get on the cheap at Big Lots as a pack liner (more durable than typical trash bags). I've never had one fail me yet. Safeway also has their own "generic" brand. I've had one last me 2 seasons so at 10 per box, they're a good deal!

I got a box of white ones, nonscented, at Longs. I've seen them in Albertsons too. I like them better than Hefty bags for lots of the uses I listed.

Google Garlington taco and see how close you came to reinventing it. I carry two trash bags and emergency blankets to throw this together in a pinch, if it's summer and I don't expect freezing temps that suddenly occur; lightest underhammock insulation you can find.

Just got 'em! Although no such stores in my part of Maine. At least now I've learned a new trick to help me along this new season. Thanks.

I've made some gaiters from trash bags before. Kept my feet nice and dry in the snow.

Re the trash compactor bags--make sure they're not scented! The ones I got from Walmart for my son and grandkids to use last summer (only place in Aberdeen, WA that carried them) were just awful! And you wouldn't want scented bags while backpacking, especially in bear country. We replaced them with the heaviest trash bags we could find and took along an extra bag or two just in cast.

I use a Hefty trash bag to protect stuff in the vestibule (especially since I try not to close the vestibule unless it's pouring). Last year I gave up on the trash compactor bag pack liner--not because it didn't work, but because every time I tried to shove a small item down in the pack, it would pop right back at me. I now use the Sea-to-Summit UltraSil dry bags for my critical gear (sleeping bag, spare socks, insulation) instead. I did test them (purposely in the bathtub last spring and unexpectedly by falling in a creek last summer) and they did keep their contents dry!