Gear Rant - the evils of undersized stuff sacks!

[BikerDad]

Am I going to complain about how many extra grams a stuff sack or two adds to your load? Nope, that's not it. Perhaps it's the occasional disappearing cinch-lock on a stuff sack? nope.

No, what I'm highly annoyed with is the continuing insistence by manufacturers of outdoor gear to provide with their product stuff sacks/gear bags that are exactly large enough for an Asian black belt in fold-fu to get the gear back INTO the bag in less than 1/2 hour. REI, bless their souls, recognized this problem some time in the early part of the century, and I've never had gear from them that took more than 25% more time to put back in the bag than it did to get it out of the bag.

My Amok Draumr XL, on the other hand... It took longer to get the blasted hammock back into it's stuff sack than it did to actually set the entire thing up, and that includes inflating the mattress. Oh, and then there's the mattress. Again, it took way longer to put it away than it did to set it up, but at least with an air mattress there's some obvious reason. Still, sizing the stuff sack for your air mattress so it's a snug fit when there is ZERO air in the mattress is absolutely idiotic. How many people are going to spend 10+ minutes chasing all the air out of an XL mattress?

Rolling the tree straps should take more time than anything else. It shouldn't be the fastest aspect of packing up.

Am I a lone crazy ranting in the wilderness, or is this a pain shared by others?

[Falarny]

This is so awesome! I don’t know how many times I’ve gotten irate trying to get a tarp or whatever back into a stuff sack. I’ve since stopped using most of my stuff sacks for their original gear... (tarp is in a snakeskin, my camp pillow is just stuffed in my backpack...) & they now carry straps & suspension.
I agree, why cut corners on stuff sacks?


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[FLTurtle]

I have an REI inflatable air pad...you're right, they do a good job with their stuff sacks. I've never had an issue getting it back into the stuff sack so long as I did a reasonable job of getting the air out. My inflatable pillow won't go back into it's stuff sack, but I just deflate it as best I can and cram it in my pack.

I don't see the problem with the cottage gear. Honestly, when I first got my HG quilts I didn't think the included stuff sacks would be big enough. They are like rocks though, so not much more compressible. I usually don't use the stuff sacks with the quilts. If I do, it's usually the UQ to protect the suspension and not tangle/snag the shock cord.

The tarps compress well. I have a Thunderfly and Superfly in snakeskins and I can still get them back into their stuff sacks. My hammocks fit just fine in their stuff sacks. The WB hammock stuff sack is considerably larger than the Dutchware. Both can still compress further so they do a good job at filling empty spaces in the pack.

Maybe get a larger stuff for your Draumr? How big is the one they include?

[BikerDad]

Maybe get a larger stuff for your Draumr? How big is the one they include?

The Draumr uses an attached stuff sack, I am loathe to cut it off, so I'll probably just stuff it along with everything else. I have a passel of sacks I got a while back from Sierra Madre, I think I'll grab some of those and see what fits.

I am really, really liking the idea of a lazy slug for gathered end setups. I have a two-piece snakeskin for my tarp.

[OneClick]

When I open my tarp stuff sacks, it's a total snake-in-a-can moment.

[jeff-oh]

Another validation of your frustrations... I purchased the next size up stuff sack separately for my quilts. I could barely get them back in the original bags. There are other decent companies out there...

[BillyBob58]

I totally agree. I hate tiny stuff sacks, particularly when they are too narrow for my hand with a handful of fabric to get inside. I always replace with reasonable sized sacks so that packing up is much quicker and less frustrating. Or, skip the stuff sacks by stuffing most stuff inside my giant stuff sack otherwise known as my pack.

[PopcornFool]

... I always replace with reasonable sized sacks so that packing up is much quicker and less frustrating. Or, skip the stuff sacks by stuffing most stuff inside my giant stuff sack otherwise known as my pack.

+1 on the single, giant stuff sack!

When backpacking, the only thing I use stuff sacks for are suspension and stakes (to keep the mud/sap/etc. off my other stuff) and for tiny items I want to keep together (like my first aid kit). These few "stuff sacks" I use are simply ziploc bags ... cheap, easy to replace, extremely lightweight, water resistant, and I can see what's inside.

All the big compressible stuff that most folks use stuff sacks for like hammock, UQ, TQ, clothing layers, etc. just goes loose into my pack and naturally compresses to available volume. To protect my bug net (when I take one), I fold it within my hammock so no mesh is exposed before I shove the whole thing in my pack (easy-peasy with an integrated net, a little more effort with my Fronkeys, but not really an issue). Tarp is in snake skins, true, but then I just shove it in to an outer mesh pocket with my rain jacket. If I take a pad at all, it's CCF, so it won't stuff anyway.

I am conscientious about where/how I pack the very few sharp and pointy items I must carry, but I've never had any issues with damage to my hammock or quilts.

At home, everything is stored uncompressed in plastic totes or large blanket/duvet bags or similar. Bottom line is that virtually every original stuff sack that came with every original purchase is sitting in a box collecting dust or has been repurposed around the house.

What works for me wouldn't work for all, but hey, that's what it's all about, right?! HYOH!

[Tyroler Holzhacker]

I agree with the OP and have thus used snakeskins for my tarp and oversized REI stuff sacks for my quilts. I bought an extra large custom german flag bishop bag with my DH sparrow, and use it to store my straps in a sap bag.

[Semiuseless]

OMG Yes!!!

I replace all the stuff sacks with something that is about 50% bigger than the original. If I will be in a hurry when I pack up, I have a stuff sack that is 2x the size of the original.

Does it weight a bit more? Yes.
Does it take up more space? In theory.

In practice, I find that having each "thingy" in a larger stuff sack makes them slightly more "malleable" and I have a slightly easier time packing my bag.