Serious question, does anyone actually use those tiny stuff sacks for sleeping bag compression?

I spent like 4 years shoving my sleeping bag into one of those little sacks that came with it, thinking I was packing smart. Last trip on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia, my buddy just shoved his bag loose into the bottom of his pack and had way more room than me. I finally realized those tiny sacks just create dead space and make your bag lumpy. Has anyone else ditched the stuff sack and just let the bag fill the voids in your pack?

3 comments

3 Comments

aaron_mitchell1mo ago

Rolled my eyes at this post at first, thought "nah, those sacks are essential." Then I tried it on a three day hike last fall and felt like an absolute clown for not figuring it out sooner. My bag just molds into every weird gap in my pack now, no weird lumpy cylinder taking up space. Pretty sure half my backpacking problems were just me being stubborn about that dumb little sack. Your buddy sounds like the kind of person who also uses a single pot for everything and I bet it makes him look like a genius.

aaron_mitchell1mo ago

Man, I used to swear by those tiny stuff sacks until I had the exact same realization on a trip last summer. I finally tried just shoving my bag loose into the bottom of my pack and it was a total game changer - my buddy was right about those sacks just creating dead space. Now I never bother with the compression sack and my pack feels way better balanced.

ivanbell1mo ago

That's a nice theory but I found the exact opposite. Keeping my sleeping bag compressed in a stuff sack actually lets me pack other gear around it more efficiently, and without that structure my pack just turns into a floppy mess with everything sliding down.