Long Skinny Compression Sack For A Sleeping Bag

Uncle Phil said:
The Dan just gave me a great idea to try - make a tube out of pvc pipe to stuff it in.
I'd just have to find a big enough diameter to work ... :think1:
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That is not a problem. PVC pipe comes in DWV - that is thinner than the standard Schedule 40 plumbing pipe. Hopot will have sizes up to 4". A wholesale plumbing supply house (anyone can buy at these places) will have all of the sizes, though once you get above 6", they start to get heavy, expensive and even worse, slippery.

Your best bet is to have a local seamstress or upholstery shop make you a custom bag out of treated cordura. This stuff will not remain waterproof forever, especially on seams. You can push a plastic bag into the stuff sack and your sleeping bag into the plastic. The only thing that makes a compression sack different than a stuff sack is straps with buckles on the outside.
 
Uncle Phil said:
What I am looking for is a compression bag that would allow me to 'lengthen' my sleeping bag into a 'skinnier' roll more like the length of my tent bag (36+ inches).
It would allow a more 'uniform' bundle to strap on the back of my ST1100.
I've about Googled out on EBay, Amazon, REI, Dicks, etc. as they all list liters of volume instead of length of roll.
Anybody got a resource for a waterproof one?
BTW, I already have a 'normal' one but it makes it a short stubby fat man.
Just thinking ahead to RockStoc ...
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rolling a bag makes it harder to pack. Try this method, it's suppose to be better for the loft and it packs smaller. It works and makes it faster.
 
Don't extra wide stuff block your mirrors' rear view ? I had to buy another tent for that reason , a few years back .
Heck , just my hands on my levers block the upper , inner quadrant of my mirrors of rear view .
 
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Vango make a series of spare bags of different sizes for packing tents. Something like this with additional compression straps may work. I assume there are similar products in the USA.

Vango Spares & Repairs

www.campingspares.co.uk www.campingspares.co.uk

Also - see what gear is available for things like canoe trips. They tend to use waterproof dry bags which come in different sizes.

Being waterproof isn't an issue. Use bin liners / gardeners waste bags as a liner inside whatever bag you manage to find.

Because I have a pillion, the rear seat is in use. I used to strap long narrow bags - like the tent, and two insulation mats, to the pillion grab rail and to the attachment point that folded out from under the seat of the 1100. It rested on the top of the pannier, without the pannier taking much additional weight. Three compression straps did a good job. You have to check the view in the rear mirror though.
 
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I know that most dry bags and compression bags are more short and fat. That's why I went with the dry bag I did... because it was not short and fat but long and skinny. When I didn't have a top case on a bike I'd pack so the long skinny bags were set longways so they would not be in the mirrors at all. But with my Burgman I couldn't do that with having a top case. So I made sure to pack the shorter tent bag on the bottom and the longer skinny bag on top so it would be above the view in the mirror. With my AK the mirrors are up high so I'll pack just the opposite, with the long skinny bag on the bottom and the short bags on top. Of course, I don't have a top case on my AK yet so I'll see about packing longways again. There are many ways around the mirror view issues.
 
amorley said:
Why do you need a 5 Deg sleeping bag Uncle Phil?
How often do you sleep in temperatures below 32 degF?
I use a Sea to Summit bag that is rated to 40 degF that compresses to the size of a 1 litre water bottle. If it gets cold, I just put on more clothes.
Spark Ultralight Mummy Sleeping Bag for Backpacking | Sea to Summit (seatosummitusa.com)
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I have spent too many nights in a tent freezing before I got it! :biggrin:
I'd rather have more than I need than less - I'd rather have it and not need it as to need it and not have it!
I can tell you at the BRG I was one of the few that did not go into Walmart one night to buy an electric blanket - that was an incredibly cold one!
It packs small enough in a compression sack, I am just trying to change the 'dimensions' for more uniform packing.
It is also a very roomy mummy bag so I don't feel like I'm a banana that needs peeling. ;)
 
On my last trip to WinterSTOC, I used a dryspec 38L bag and folded my air mattress in the bottom then just used the whole bag as a stuff sack for my sleeping bag after putting anything else in there I wanted like pillow or extra clothes. It's tight but it fits and it's a 15 degree bag. I can also use a compression bag and the bag for the air mattress and get more space for stuff but that's all I need.

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Then, I use the SW-Motech tent bag for... my tent... and it fits nicely on top of the dryspec bag.

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The tent bag isn't waterproof but water resistant but that doesn't matter so much for a tent as it will dry out and it has a nice long side opening making rolling up, or stuffing, your tent pretty easy.
 
I'm really sort of warming up to the big PVC pipe idea.
If I could create a cradle that would hold 4 pipes (2x2), I would have 1 for my cot, 1 for my tent, 1 for my sleeping bag and 1 for my tarp and poles.
Strap the unit to the back seat, then I would just have to unscrew the caps off, pull the stuff out and I'm good.
:think1:
 
Uncle Phil said:
I'm really sort of warming up to the big PVC pipe idea.
If I could create a cradle that would hold 4 pipes (2x2), I would have 1 for my cot, 1 for my tent, 1 for my sleeping bag and 1 for my tarp and poles.
Strap the unit to the back seat, then I would just have to unscrew the caps off, pull the stuff out and I'm good.
:think1:
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Add a little OD green paint and some stencils and they'll look like rocket launchers.
 
Be prepared to spend some $$$ for the pipe idea. Just the pipe alone, without the caps, will run you at least $38 at Lowe's (cheaper than Home Depot or Amazon) for sewer gravity drain pipe that is only 6 inches diameter by 14 ft long. That would give you 4 pipes by 36 inches long with some left over. Caps can cost at least the same as the pipe or more and you'd need 4 solid caps and 4 screw clean out caps (which cost double the solid caps but likely needed to make it water proof). 8 inch pipe would be available at plumbing stores but cost even more. I'll stay with the dry bags and straps and spend the money on gas.
 
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