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Gear Hacks

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    • I have variations. I like to cut pieces of leukotape and stick then to the non stick backing of name tags. And for rain, I put my arms through the pit zips and you have a rain vest. Your wet arms radiate excess heat and your torso stays dry. My Hydo Blu filter does the same as their Sawyer Hack without the adapter. I need to try the puffy pillow. Still looking for the optimal pillow.

    • Drybones wrote:

      I spent 30 something bucks on one of those zpack bags only to never use it, could have been a great bag if it had a stiff opening edge to fold against, it just wadded up when I tried to use it.
      I splurged a few months ago on two “pods” from hyper lite mountain gear. They don’t look very big but hold a lot of stuff and I’m very happy with them. Everything feels more organized and tidy. I have worried that my sleeping bag fabric will get caught in the zipper but so far so good.
      Images

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      Lost in the right direction.

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      I bought one of the packing cubes from Superior Wilderness Designs for clothes and it really works great. Fits perfectly in the pack with no leftover voids.
      I am able to put clothes, pillow, and sleeping bag in one pod and food bag, hygiene kit, cook set, and miscellany in the other (with room to spare). That only leaves my tent, sleep pad, FAK, and map/phone/ID baggie. I’m no longer using a bag liner.

      I’d like to try rolling and packing my sleep pad. Currently, I fold it and pack it so it’s against my back. Lately I’ve been covering it with a compactor bag because it got wet a few months ago, even with my pack cover on.


      Another advantage for me is things stay tidier in my tent. At night, I always put everything not needed during the night into my pack which then becomes a jumbled mess.
      Lost in the right direction.

    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      I bought one of the packing cubes from Superior Wilderness Designs for clothes and it really works great. Fits perfectly in the pack with no leftover voids.
      I am able to put clothes, pillow, and sleeping bag in one pod and food bag, hygiene kit, cook set, and miscellany in the other (with room to spare). That only leaves my tent, sleep pad, FAK, and map/phone/ID baggie. I’m no longer using a bag liner.
      I’d like to try rolling and packing my sleep pad. Currently, I fold it and pack it so it’s against my back. Lately I’ve been covering it with a compactor bag because it got wet a few months ago, even with my pack cover on.


      Another advantage for me is things stay tidier in my tent. At night, I always put everything not needed during the night into my pack which then becomes a jumbled mess.
      I have come to the conclusion that a pack cover is more a rain deflector than protector. It keeps your pack from getting saturated (so thus still useful), but does not keep it dry.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General

    • Astro wrote:

      Traffic Jam wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      I bought one of the packing cubes from Superior Wilderness Designs for clothes and it really works great. Fits perfectly in the pack with no leftover voids.
      I am able to put clothes, pillow, and sleeping bag in one pod and food bag, hygiene kit, cook set, and miscellany in the other (with room to spare). That only leaves my tent, sleep pad, FAK, and map/phone/ID baggie. I’m no longer using a bag liner.I’d like to try rolling and packing my sleep pad. Currently, I fold it and pack it so it’s against my back. Lately I’ve been covering it with a compactor bag because it got wet a few months ago, even with my pack cover on.


      Another advantage for me is things stay tidier in my tent. At night, I always put everything not needed during the night into my pack which then becomes a jumbled mess.
      I have come to the conclusion that a pack cover is more a rain deflector than protector. It keeps your pack from getting saturated (so thus still useful), but does not keep it dry.
      I second Asro's thought.