Rolling Up a Sleeping Bag

Ok, I bought a sleeping bag for my upcoming trip. It's a 3-D Cabela Mummy Bag (100% synthetic, so I don't freeze to death if I get caught in the cold with a wet bag).

I'm having one hell of a time getting the thing rolled up so that it will fit into it's stuff sack. The first time I got it rolled back up and in the stuff sack it took an hour, now I can't even get it packed up again...

Any intrepid campers/hunters have any tips?

A. Tuck it as tight as possible when rolling it.

B. Just forget about getting it into the original bag and tie it up with a couple pieces of twine.

the whole point of a stuff sack is to just stuff it in there......no rolling, just stuff it!

SteveDallas;318506 wrote:

A. Tuck it as tight as possible when rolling it.

B. Just forget about getting it into the original bag and tie it up with a couple pieces of twine.

Yeah, I was just hoping to keep some of the wet off of it. I guess I can wrap the tarp for under my tent around it to keep it dryish.

lumberjim;318509 wrote:

the whole point of a stuff sack is to just stuff it in there......no rolling, just stuff it!

really? then why did they mislead me by having it all nice and rolled up when I bought it?

I was all, "I'm going to be smart and pay attention to how they had this thing packed so I can put it back in the way it came out."

I'll give it a try again in a bit.

Put it in a plastic bag then put a vacuum nozzle in the bag and hold tight.

get a bigger stuff sack?

He's packing for an extended road trip on a bicycle. Minimum bulk and no vacuum cleaner. ;)

LJ is on the money. Just start punching it into the bottom of the bag. You could consider picking up a slightly larger stuff sack especially if you're going to be doing this once a day for a year...

lumberjim;318509 wrote:

the whole point of a stuff sack is to just stuff it in there......no rolling, just stuff it!

Was gonna say this.

I worked retail in a outdoor store and the trick is *roll* the feet bit a little then just methodically stuff it in, it takes a bit of practice, but you will be able to stuff it in super quick after a few goes.

The machine rolls then nicely and sticks them into the bag when they are made :)

If you get really lazy and cant master it, just get a pillow case and use that as your stuff sack....tis super easy!!

Griff's right about lj's advice. Stuff it.

Also about the larger sack. You may well consider a compression sack. If you're shaving ounces (and that's a worthy goal) you would do well to consider one made from silnylon. This material is silicone impregnated ripstop nylon. Very lightweight, tough and thanks to the silicone impregnation, both slick and water resistant. The seams are typically not sealed, therefore not water-tight. I'm happy with the three or four I use all the time camping. You'll like it too. If you're a brand-name kinda person, here's are a couple of links that are excellent, but don't get stuck on the name, just the structure of how it's made.

Granite Gear

Well, I can't find the other links right now. so. look for compression sacks to save space, if they're silnylon, you get a waterresitance bonus. But I think you just need to practice stuffing it in there. One tip, start compressing it firmly in the regular sack early in the process, not just at the end when you have a big mushroom cap of sleeping bag to get into the last inch of sack. Start mashing early. If it's too tight, get a bigger sack.

Thanks for all the suggestions, it took me about 30 seconds to pack it up using the "just stuff it in there" method.

The bag came with a compression stuff-sack and that's what I'm using. They don't make one any bigger than this one, that I can find anyway.

I thought about some Outdoor Research dry-bags but the biggest one is just big enough to hold my sleeping bag, so I'm not sure it's worth it.

this is the bag, btw: http://www.cabelas.com/link-12/product/0006792513498a.shtml

Nice bag, you're going to love the hood when it gets super chilly.

Late, but I'll chime in anyway. Stuff it, jack. Especially w/ down bags, so I'm told. The rolling is supposed to be bad for them. ?

Rolling can tend to get the down oriented one way. ;)

xoxoxoBruce;318865 wrote:

Rolling can tend to get the down oriented one way. ;)

would that be called homodirectional down syndrome?

Ohh the humanity

Grant, you're ready for a road trip. You definitely need to get away. :lol:

footfootfoot;318886 wrote:

Ohh the humanity

Don't you mean, "Oh the huge manatee"?

xoxoxoBruce;319116 wrote:

Grant, you're ready for a road trip. You definitely need to get away. :lol:

Yeah, I seriously have to get the hell out of here.