This is the second video summary of the "Outdoor Gearzine Trailhead Presents Yusuke Arai Packing Lesson 2016," which began a few days ago. This time, we'll be talking about stuff sacks, an essential piece of gear for organizing miscellaneous belongings and packing them without any gaps
Arai-san is particular about his stuff sacks, and he spoke frankly as always, sharing his recommended shapes and sizes, tips on how to use them, and more. His practical know-how, which goes beyond textbook knowledge, is sure to be useful even for those who aren't UL supporters!
Of course, these are opinions based solely on personal experience, so please do not take each piece at face value, but rather enjoy them through the filter of your own wise judgment and open 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 tips for ultralight hiking: The secret to packing is how to use a stuff sack (video)
- Video audio transcription
- Video explanation
Packing Techniques for Ultralight Hiking: Tips for Packing with a Stuff Sack
As usual, the characters in the video are Arai on the left and me (Hisatomi) on the right.
Video transcription
What stuff sack do you recommend right now?
Arai Yusuke : I made this myself, but this stuff bag can be accessed from both sides . You put the dirty items that are in a plastic bag in here (left) and take out the clean items from here (right), which is more convenient than one with a divider in the middle. If there's a divider in the middle, it's difficult to put something new on the other side (when you put the used items in) . So it's best to keep putting things in from the left (and out from the right) so that they return to the same size.
Furthermore, the colors of the strings on the left and right are different, so you can tell which one contains dirty items and which one you can take out clean items from
What do you pay attention to when packing your stuff sack?
Arai Yusuke : Right now, I'm putting this in crumpled up, but the theory behind packing is that you shouldn't fold your clothes neatly . If you fold and roll them up neatly and put them in, they'll all end up looking like moss. That makes it hard to pack (the whole thing becomes stiff), so it's best not to fold them and just pack them in haphazardly. That way, the seams won't be bumpy. So it's easy to pack.
Is not overpacking the key to good packing?
Arai Yusuke : Many American products (with their included stuff sacks) are large enough to fit if you pack them roughly. I apologize for mentioning the manufacturer's name if there are any loyal users out there, but a Finetrack tent won't fit (it's so tight it has to be folded up neatly). If you stuff it all in and then tighten the drawstring, it pops out. Rather than trying to show off its small size by packing it all in like that, it's better to pack something that can be packed roughly and can change shape inside the backpack so it fits in nicely .
Hisatomi : So, is it better not to use ready-made stuff bags (that are just the right size)?
Arai Yusuke : That's right. Even among ready-made stuff bags, this one (Montbell's Versalite) is surprisingly well-designed. It fits perfectly even when crumpled.
*By the way, Arai also recommends the Finetrack tent as the first tent in other parts of the video. Just to be safe
Video explanation
Well, this time was another pretty extreme story, but there were a number of hidden essences that we could use. I will explain them as carefully as possible
About homemade stuff sacks
The advantages of the "double-sided, cylindrical, no divider" stuff sack recommended by Arai can be summarized as follows:
- It opens from both the left and right (pair type), making it easy to organize clean and dirty items together
- Its long, thin cylindrical shape makes it flexible and easy to pack
- There is no partition, so there is no loss of space.It is also lightweight and compact
1. The convenience of paired stuff sacks
The Air Pair just looks like two different colored stuff sacks stuck together
As mentioned in the video, there are currently several models with openings on both the left and right sides. A typical example is Granite Gear 's Air Pair model. However, the divider is fixed in the middle. As Arai pointed out, while it can be used to store matching items, the design makes it difficult to separate items before and after use.
As the name suggests, the Before and After compartment has enough space for the divider to pop out to the other side so that you can swap clothes before and after use
After model from Japan's Pargo Works solves this issue well. This model has a movable divider with ample room, so you can put the same amount of clothes in each side, or, as Arai says, you can conveniently use it by "putting clothes in one bag at first, and then throwing them in the other bag when you're done ." For ordinary people like us, this size should be more than enough to satisfy us.
2&3. Slim cylindrical shape with no partitions
An ordinary person would be satisfied with this, but the interesting thing about the masters is that it's from here on out
As you can see from this before and after photo, most stuff sacks on the market are either thick cylindrical or drawstring-style. While these are reasonably easy to use in large backpacks, in medium-sized or smaller backpacks, the base area is so large that even with a small amount of contents, the whole thing becomes flat and difficult to pack
In contrast, Arai's homemade model is a long, cylindrical shape that's neither too thin nor too thick . It can be placed horizontally against the inner wall of the pack, or placed vertically, allowing for flexible storage in irregular spaces . Of course, not everything works with just this type of bag. However, there are always gaps that cannot be filled with the similar shaped stuff sacks currently on the market that come in different sizes. In addition, having a flexible stuff sack that can "fill in gaps" like this should dramatically increase packing efficiency. I was really drawn to this ingenious design that hits that spot.
Moreover, removing the dividers, a drastic reduction that could result in the bag losing its basic functionality, is something that is rarely possible with commercially available models. However, what may seem like an overly bold design has been carefully selected based on experience and trial and error, and there is certainly a universal quality to this attention to detail that we can all relate to. The fun of ultralight bags is being able to perfect them by making compromises in your own way, and this is perhaps the true joy of DIY. In any case, you won't find such drastic specifications on the market, so you'll have to make it yourself. I personally plan to give it a try sometime soon, but if any readers have tried it, please let me know.
Incidentally, among the stuff sacks currently on the market, the one I like and recommend because it's easy to pack into the Osprey UL Dry Sack . It's a lunchbox-shaped, or rather rectangular, stuff sack. It comes in 3, 6, 12, 20, and 30L sizes. The bottom of a backpack is generally a rectangle with rounded corners, so this shape matches the inner walls of the pack better than you'd expect. The fact that it's only available in waterproof version can sometimes feel a bit unnecessary, but for now I'm putting up with it for the ease of use of this shape.
Small ingenuity can make a big difference in how easy it is to pack. Even if you think your stuff sack is fine, why not take another look at it? That's all for today. See you next time!
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