What does UL packing look like for masters? 02 The secret to packing is how you use the stuff sack.
Written by Yasushi Hisatomi
The video series for "Outdoor Gearzine Trailhead Presents Arai Yusuke Packing Course 2016" which started the other day is already the second installment. This time, we will tell you about the staff bags (staff sacks), a gear that is essential for organizing miscellaneous items and packing them without gaps.
As usual, he cut the recommended shape, size, and tips on how to use Arai's staff sack, with his untidy words. The practical know-how that cannot be achieved through textbook-like knowledge will surely be useful even if you're not a UL fan!
Of course, this is an opinion based on individual experience, so rather than just accepting each of the opinions, please enjoy it through the filter of each individual's wise judgment and broad mind.
What is Outdoor Gearzine Trailhead?
Outdoor Gearzine was held in November 2016 at a gallery near Yoyogi Park for two weeks under the theme of "Starting autumn mountain climbing with Outdoor Gearzine . There is an exhibition of recommended autumn mountain tools, a corner for purchasing tools, a store for valuable outdoor gear, a flea market for used mountain tools after the test, and a talk event with mountain photographer Arai Yusuke, and various projects are being held that can be enjoyed by people who want to climb the mountains or have recently started climbing the mountains. This event has been a huge hit with readers of this site and mountain enthusiasts who have come here casually. For more detailed plans, please see this past announcement page .
Profile of Arai Yusuke
Mountain photographer. Head of SHARA PROJECT. Since his father's acquaintance was a traitor, he grew up in a deep, intimate nature from a young age. He has a deep knowledge of a wide range of fields, from traditional trekking to UL hiking, skiing, MTB, hunting and survival techniques, and outdoor gear, and is also well-versed in knives. Every year in autumn and winter, it is a bush crafter that clings to hunt, and then dismantles and cooks in the mountains.
List of serialized articles "What is Master's UL Packing like?"
table of contents
table of contents
- Packing Techniques for Ultra Light Hiking - The secret to packing lies in how you use the Staff Sack - (Video)
- Video and audio transcription
- Video commentary
Packing techniques for ultra light hiking - Tips for easy packing stuff sacks
As usual, the characters in the video are Arai on the left and me (Hisatomi) on the right.
Video and audio transcript
What staff sack does Arai recommend right now?
Arai Yusuke : I'm making this my own now, but I guess this staff bag can fit from both sides . Put the dirty items you put in a plastic bag from here (left). So, if you put something beautiful out of this (right), it's more convenient than something with a partition in the middle. If there is a partition in the middle, if there is one new one left on the other side (when you put the items you used), it would be difficult to put them there . This means that it's best to just go in from the left (exit from the right side) and return to the same size.
Furthermore, the colors of the left and right strings have been changed, so you can tell which ones contain dirt and which ones you can get from.
What do you pay attention to when packing your staff sack?
Arai Yusuke : I'm currently putting this in a crumpled position, but you shouldn't fold the clothing properly . If you fold it properly, roll it up and put it in, it all ends up like a moss wrap. This will make it difficult to put in (the whole thing will become stiff), so it's best to have them packed casually without folding them. This will prevent the seams from getting beaten. So it's easy to put in.
Is not packing too much the shortcut to packing?
Arai Yusuke : Many American products (the included stuff sack) can be packed roughly and large enough to fit them. I'd be sorry if there were people who used this by mentioning the manufacturer's name, but it wouldn't fit in like Fine Truck Zert (it's just too big and it's too big to fold properly)*. If you put it in and squeeze it out tightly with a drawstring bag, it will come out with a "post". Rather than showing off the small size in such a tight state, it is a roughly packed item that changes shape inside the backpack (when packing) neatly fits in .
Hisatomi : So, should I not use ready-made staff bags (the closest size)?
Arai Yusuke : That's right. Even with ready-made staff bags, this (Montbell Versalite) is surprisingly smart. This will fit in firmly while still crumpling.
*By the way, Fine Track's Zert itself is recommended as Arai's first Zert in other parts of the video. Just in case.
Video commentary
Well, this time it was still quite extreme, but there were many hidden essences that we could use. I will try to supplement this as carefully as possible.
About our own stuff sack
The advantages of Arai's "double-sided, cylindrical, no partition" stuff sack are summarized below.
- The left and right openings (pair type) make it easy to organize beautiful and dirty items together.
- The long, narrow cylindrical shape makes it flexible and easy to pack.
- There are no partitions so there is no spatial loss. It's even lighter and more compact.
1. Convenience of paired stuff sacks
The Air Pair just comes from two different-colored stuff sacks attached.
As mentioned in the video, there are currently several models with mouths in both the left and right directions. The most representative model is Granite Gear Air Pair . Just the divider is fixed in the middle. As Arai pointed out, although it is possible to group together the items from a pair, it is certainly difficult to use before and after use.
As the name suggests, before and after is enough to allow the divider to pop out to the other side so that you can change clothes before and after use.
work from Pergo Works in Japan has been resolved well. This model has a movable divider with a certain amount of room, so you can put the same amount on both sides, or you can also use it as Arai says, "First, put your clothes in one bag, and then throw them in one bag when you've finished wearing them . This would be enough to satisfy anyone like us.
2&3. Thin cylindrical shape, no partition
If you're an ordinary person, you'll be satisfied here, but this is where the experts' commitment is interesting.
As with this before and after, most of the stuff sacks available on the market are inevitably thick cylindrical or so-called drawstring rectangles. These are easy to use for large backpacks, but medium and lower backpacks have a large bottom area, so if you have a small amount of contents, it is certainly possible that the entire item will be flat and difficult to put together.
On the other hand, what about Arai's own model is that it is a long cylindrical shape, not too thin or too thick . This can be placed horizontally to fit the inner wall of the pack, or vertically to hold the pack, allowing you to store it flexibly even in distorted gaps . Of course, not all bags of this shape will work. However, gaps that cannot be filled with the same shape and sizes sold now will appear. In addition, the flexible stuff sack that can "fill in gaps" should dramatically increase packing efficiency. I was impressed by the ingenuity that allowed me to reach that itchy area.
Moreover, it is not easy to do boldly remove the basic functions of a bag, which could even lose the divider. However , even the seemingly bold mechanisms are carefully selected based on experience and trial and error, so their commitment certainly has a universality that is relevant to us. The joy of Ultra Light is that you can improve your own way through your own personal discretion, and it can be said that it is the real joy of DIY. Anyway, I can't find any drastic specifications like this on commercially available products, so I only have to make my own. I'm thinking of trying it out soon, but if anyone else has tried it, please let me know.
By the way, the recommended stuff sacks currently on sale is following Osprey UL dry sacks It's a lunch box-shaped stuff sack, or rather a rectangular parallelepiped type. Available in sizes 3, 6, 12, 20, and 30L. Generally, the bottom of a backpack is rounded rectangular, so this shape will match the inner wall of the pack more than you would expect. It may seem a bit more than just waterproof, but at the moment I'm holding back because of the ease of use of this shape.
The ease of packing can vary considerably with some small ingenuity. Even if you've always thought this was the case, why not take a look at the staff sack again? That's all for this time. Stay tuned for the next episode!
Related reading
What does UL packing look like for masters? 05 Tips for good packing and how to choose a smart backpack
What does UL packing look like for masters? 01 What is the contents of Arai Yusuke's carefully selected backpack?
What does UL packing look like for masters? 03 How to use sleep bags and sleeping pads
What does UL packing look like for masters? 06 We recommend "vertical" for sacoche