Let's Talk About Stuff Sacks

What is the best stuff sack setup? How should they be used, or not used? What do you think about bag liners?

Should I simply pack my Kelty Serrano 15+ synthetic bag into the factory stuff sack (it's a bit of a hassle because it's a tight fit)? Or should I get a sack that clinches down with straps?


Or should I buy a waterproof stuff sack like these? I pack my sleeping bag horizontally at the base of my pack (my Kelty Slickrock has a separate compartment for it).
I already bought a small one (20x7in) for clothes and I like it.

Do I need to keep my tent in a waterproof sack, or will the factory sack be adequate? Should I keep my food in a waterproof sack and just use some nylon rope to hang it in trees away from bears.

In short, I'm curious to know what y'all think about stuff sacks. What's your strategy?

Just a note--a stuff sack with drawstring closure is not waterproof--water can enter the closure. I'm not the only backpacker around who has slipped and fallen while crossing a difficult stream ford. A dry sack is waterproof. So is plastic if properly fastened. Some folks line their pack with a 2-mil plastic trash compactor bag (make sure it isn't perfumed!) and don't bother with a sleeping bag stuff sack at all--just put the bag in the bottom and put everything else on top. Others use a mylar turkey roasting bag. If you have a synthetic bag you almost have to have a compressor stuff sack to make it fit in the pack. You don't want to use these for down bags, though (they do plenty of damage to synthetic insulation, too). I prefer to use a Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil dry bag for my sleeping bag and another for my insulating clothing. These weigh little more than a standard stuff sack. They also have a version with an eVent bottom so you can squeeze out extra air. I do use a lightweight stuff sack for my cooking pot (to keep the lid on and therefore keep the stuff inside it, especially my stove, from falling out) and another to organize my toilet articles and first aid. Plastic bags can work just as well, though. Stuff sacks add to pack weight, so don't take any more than are absolutely necessary. And get light-weight ones, like silnylon.

You don't need a stuff sack for your tent, either--depends on how you want to pack it. Just make sure you won't lose any poles or stakes.

Depending on where you camp, you may want to hang your food in a stuff sack or you may be required to use a bear canister. I personally use an Ursack where a canister is not required, because throwing things (something I can't do with any accuracy anyway) exacerbates arthritis in my shoulders. If you hang your food, I'd get an OP sack big enough for the food to put inside a lightweight stuff sack. The OP sack takes care of the waterproofing and blocks most odors, making your food sack less attractive to small critters and birds who are not deterred by hanging food sacks.

I have roll top waterproof sacks for my quilts, and use a compactor bag as a pack liner. I put tent stakes in a sack, sometimes clothes, and my hammock and tarp have their own double ended sacks, but none of those are waterproof. Food goes in an OP sack then into the bear can or hangin' sack. Working for me so far.

I tend to use few stuff sacks, and none are dry bags. I stuff my sleeping bag into the bottom of my pack, without a sack. It fills in all the space that way, and lets me compact it however I need to so other stuff will fit in. I store each day's food in a gallon-size freezer bag (which turns into a garbage bag as I eat the food.) If critters are going to be a problem, the freezer bags go into a small or medium stuff sack for hanging. (Bears are non-existent where I hike.) If I'm not using the lid on my pack, I'll put all the small items into an organizer or small stuff sack. My pack has two vertical outside pockets on the front (back?), and my tent fits perfectly in them (fly and poles in one, inner tent in the other.) So, I leave those stuff sacks behind, also. I use a "pocket bowl" to dip water for filtering; I fold it around the filter when I'm done, so no stuff sack there, either. My stove and pot go in the mesh sack the pot came in. My poncho is currently in the stuff sack it came in; it could just as easily live sack-less inside the pack, or in the shove-it pocket when wet. Jackets, etc. also stuff into the pack without sacks.

Two things to note: I'm using a poncho, which keeps all the rain away from my pack. If I were using a pack cover, I'd use more stuff sacks since the rain can now get at the back of the pack and pool in the cover - increasing the possibility that it will soak through the pack. The other thing is that I'm taking a calculated risk on stream crossings. Most of the streams I deal with are shallow and not overly fast; I've only taken one serious pack-soaking fall in the last 10 years, and even then I was back on my feet so quick that no water soaked into the pack.

As far as brands, I've used and like the Granite Gear "Air" series of silnylon sacks and pouches, as well as the OR Hydrolite sacks. OR also makes some neat little organizers for first aid and miscellaneous stuff.

Most stuff sacks are not absolutely necessary. So if you're counting ounces go without. You have weight on one side of the equation and convenience on the other. When one goes up the other goes up too. It just depends on where you draw the line.

Some people protect their gear from water by lining their pack with a trash bag. That protects everything and eliminates the need for lots of little bags.

Those compression sacks with buckles are heavy and bulky. With little more hassle a couple of feet of parachute cord will compress your bag just as well. And you have some cord for other uses.

Lately on multi day trips I simply leave my sleeping bag in my shelter, roll up both together and stuff them in my pack. That eliminates the need for two stuff sacks. It makes packing up much simpler too. But the price I pay is a little more bulk in my pack. Again, it all depends on what your priorities are.

Like so many things, "it depends". A weekend trip in anticipated warm, dry, sunny weather will require a different packing strategy than a 3-week trip with a lot of stream crossings and anticipated multiple days of rain. When my wife and I hiked in the narrows in Zion National Park (walking through water, at times waist deep), we were glad to have a pack-sized drybag to put pretty much everything in.

I'm like Glenn in that I typically use a poncho, but as I live in the Pacific NW, I typically use a trash bag whole-pack liner too. I do use the factory stuff sack for my down bag, as I don't want to compress the down any more than that. For a bulkier synthetic bag, I'd use a compression sack if I had to (to fit everything in), but would rather use a down bag ...
I put the stuffed bag in a plastic bag just to be safe.

Apart from keeping gear dry, stuff sacks are about organization --- so different colors help. Plus perhaps you might want an odor proof bag for food (and other smellables).

Since as has already been stated, normal stuff sacks aren't waterproof, IMO there's no reason to get a standard ~heavy nylon stuff sack. One can by "ultra light" stuff sacks of silnylon or the like for not too much money. For times when you really want to keep things dry, then some sort of plastic sack or even ziplock bag can help a lot.

Silnylon stuff sacks are also a great beginner sewing project, cheap to make, and you can customize the shape, size and color to exactly what you need.

I like really lightweight silnylon sacks because my pack has a habit, through no fault of mine of course , of sorta erupting when I make camp.

Neon yellow sacks are also easier to find in the dark!

I have made all my stuff-sacks (unless gear came in one). After I made the hammocks, I had strips of fabric left over, and wanted some sacks... perfect combo!

I keep my hammock, straps & bugnet in a sack. This makes them easier to pack, unpack and setup. The last thing in is a strap, so I pull it out, tie it, walk backwards letting the hammock emerge, and tie up the other end when it appears. Then I'm ready to go! (Unless I'm putting up the tarp, which is rolled in my pack.)

My blanket/sleeping bag came with a stuff sack, so I use that.

Small items (paper, pencils, camera, batteries, etc.) go in a ziplock baggie. The baggie keeps them contained and dry at the same time. It's cheap and ultralight.

If I'm going for more than a weekend, a trashbag lines the pack. Easy, cheap and lightweight.

I'll say "it depends" on your climate & on the pack you use. I've done the majority of my hiking in SE Alaska's temperate rainforest and a fair bit of hiking in Western WA where it rains about half as much. I chose a pack that's almost watertight, and I can get away with non-waterproof stuffsacks and no liner/pack cover even through all day rainfall.

I use a small stuffsack for my tent but no separate one my sleeping bag - the bag lives in the tent because it stays pretty dry in there, but the whole thing goes into a stuffsack because the outside of the tent generally gets too wet to go into my pack uncovered.

My clothes go into a compression sack because I have a small pack; the gear won't fit otherwise, especially if I'm carrying a two-person tent. I've been meaning to upgrade the compression sack to one of those rolltop "Event" ones; no side straps = less weight.

The only time I'll use something completely watertight is when I go paddling. Then, I'll use a roll-top pack liner and tie my pack onto the boat. The rest of the packing system stays the same.

Edit: Oh yeah, the bear bag thing. It's good practice to put the food into an "odor proof" bag, which is pretty watertight anyway. The hanging bag can be any ultralight stuffsack that's the right size.

Watertight stuffsacks are also good for general boating use. The don't have to go in a backpack.

Thanks for all the great ideas.

Grand theory

For years the only stuff sack I have used are the ones for my tents, which strap onto the outside of my pack. Now I find myself looking for the stuff bag for my huge WM Super kodiak sleeping bag. Ordinarily I just shove it into the huge pack, but I really do need to stuff it cause even a 6500 inch pack gets sorta over stuffed with that big of a bag.

My own opinion - if you need stuff sacks to keep your gear sorted, you have way too much gear. I guess I also have a zippered net pouch in the top compartment of my pack, for my first aid stuff. But then I have way too much first aid stuff.

A pack IS a stuff sack, why carry extras?
Jim YMMV

Like BrianLe, I use small nylon or mesh bags to organize my stuff. Plus, I use some of my kayak camping gear, like my compressible dry bag, for clothes and a trash compacter bag for my sleeping bag. Here in the NW, once things get wet they will seldom, if ever, get dry.