Another tent packing question

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 20:25:30 +0100, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>
wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

and I don't want packing my sack to become a logistical problem due to
having to wait - in potentially v. wet conditions - until I've taken
the sack down. [...]

Doh... that should have been "...taken the tent down".

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 20:25:30 +0100, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Also, the only way that I can fit my Akto into my sack is vertically,
so that means that I'd be unable to pack the rest of my kit away in
advance of packing the tent, as there'd need to be a space reaching
down almost to the bottom of my sack in order for me to get it in.

I pack my Akto inside my rucksack and, as you say, I always want it to
be the last thing to go into the sack if the weather is bad.

My sleeping bag is always put in the bottom section of my pack. My
water/stove/fuel/some food are usually in the pockets. My dry clothes
are in a plastic bag. If it is bucketing down with rain then I will
be wearing my waterproofs! This means that it is quite easy to slide
the packed Akto down the side of the clothes bag and any other things
that I have already put in the sack.

I do tend to use plastic bags to individually pack items. Not
everything goes in its own bag, but I find that a single rucksack
liner just doesn't work for me - I always get something wet unless I
wrap it in plastic. I am confident that anything I take out of my
pack, in order to re-pack before setting off on the walk, will stay
dry. However, I do worry that I'll leave something essential lying on
the floor so I do have a routine for ensuring I have picked everything
up.

This works for me ....... but stand by for opposing views!

Judith

Quoted message said:

I started off intending to pack my tent inside my sack as I really
don't like hanging significant items on the outside, but on the
Pennine Way I didn't have room and so took to strapping it to the
bottom of the sack.

Now that I'm back to weekend trips with much less kit there's room in
my pack again, but I still hesitate to put a wet tent, in a wet tent
bag, inside my sack, even though I've wrapped my other kit in
(allegedly) waterproof stuffsacks.

Also, the only way that I can fit my Akto into my sack is vertically,
so that means that I'd be unable to pack the rest of my kit away in
advance of packing the tent, as there'd need to be a space reaching
down almost to the bottom of my sack in order for me to get it in.

Apologies again for asking more than once about this, but it seems
pretty important to me. I don't want my tent to wet my other things,
and I don't want packing my sack to become a logistical problem due to
having to wait - in potentially v. wet conditions - until I've taken
the sack down. How do the rest of you backpackers do it?

I pack the poles separately. the slide nicely in a corner even with a
full pack. I pack the tent body on the top, either in the tent bag or
I just stuff it in as is. the Akto is quite long because of the
plastic supports at the end, so you might have to leave enough room
that you can stuff it in vertically. I have anything I care to keep
dry in waterproof sacks, if you're worried about getting the contents
of your bag wet, I suppose you could just put the tent in a
Sainsbury's bag. hmm, on second thought they have holes in them,
perhaps a Waitrose bag is better.

/ot

Judith said:

I pack my Akto inside my rucksack and, as you say, I always want it to
be the last thing to go into the sack if the weather is bad.

It's pouring down with rain, I pack up all my stuff inside my tent, into
my rucksack.

Quoted message said:

If it is bucketing down with rain then I will
be wearing my waterproofs!

With everything else packed, I put my waterproofs on, still inside my
tent. Then I take down the inner tent and pack it in a tent bag into
the top of the rucksack, on top of the rubbish bag. I then get out of
the tent, take it down, pack the flysheet into another tent bag and put
it on top of the closed rucksack, underneath the lid. The poles and
pegs are put in another bag strapped to the side of the rucksack.

At least that's how I used to pack my tent. Lately, with my new tent
(Nallo 2) I tend to pack the entire tent into one bag and strap the
entire tent to the side of the rucksack.

My new gear tends to encourage packing the tent inside the rucksack.
Time will tell as to how well this works.

With regard to rucksack liners, not everything has to be put inside the
liner. Why not put all the stuff you want to keep dry into the liner,
then fold it over, then pack wet stuff, like the tent, inside the
rucksack but outside of the liner.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

* The air of uk.rec.walking was filled with the delicate perfume
* of violets, as Peewiglet <[email hidden]> descended on a shaft
* of golden sunlight, and announced:

Quoted message said:

Apologies again for asking more than once about this, but it seems
pretty important to me. I don't want my tent to wet my other things,
and I don't want packing my sack to become a logistical problem due to
having to wait - in potentially v. wet conditions - until I've taken
the sack down. How do the rest of you backpackers do it?

I put the stuff that _must_ be kept dry (spare clothes, sleeping bag) into a
drybag (currently I'm using an 'Outdoors Designs' one). The tent, in its bag
goes into the sac. It takes up pretty much the length of the sac, but that's
fine as it's the first thing I want out anyway. I strictly avoid having the
tent strapped outside the sac, as it's the last thing I want loosing bits.
It's a real danger - I fell in with a couple of chaps coming off Bynack Mor
last summer that had picked up some alloy poles in a bag that someone had
dropped. Fortunately by the time we got to Ryvoan, we met a party that had
been sent back to look for the poles. The only thing I strap to the outside
of my pack is my mat, which goes on the lid.

Regards: Jim Ford

Peewiglet said:

Now that I'm back to weekend trips with much less kit there's room in
my pack again, but I still hesitate to put a wet tent, in a wet tent
bag, inside my sack, even though I've wrapped my other kit in
(allegedly) waterproof stuffsacks.

Also, the only way that I can fit my Akto into my sack is vertically,
so that means that I'd be unable to pack the rest of my kit away in
advance of packing the tent, as there'd need to be a space reaching
down almost to the bottom of my sack in order for me to get it in.

Well I do try and break camp in the dry but if forced to do it in the
wet you have to put your gear somewhere dry whilst you break the tent.
I have two waterproof liners and one of these in combination with a
survival bag will keep the gear dry until I have the tent in the
rucksac and the other liner in place to protect the dry suff I will be
packing.

I know that my liners *are* waterproof. They have been tested on long
days in the pouring rain and my sleeping bag has always been dry.
--
Phil Cook looking north over the park to the "Westminster Gasworks"

Peewiglet said:

Now that I'm back to weekend trips with much less kit there's room in
my pack again, but I still hesitate to put a wet tent, in a wet tent
bag, inside my sack, even though I've wrapped my other kit in
(allegedly) waterproof stuffsacks.

Test the stuffsacks to see if they are waterproof, though personally I
favour a big waterproof internal liner. Anything inside it will be dry,
anything outside doesn't matter.

Quoted message said:

Also, the only way that I can fit my Akto into my sack is vertically,

Only if you put the pole in with the rest of the tent. A pole on its
own will easily slip down the side of the rest of your gear so you can
still stow it inside the pack, but packing it in the middle of the fly
and inner just makes everything harder. Without the pole to give shape
and rigidity to the rest you can pack it in any which way you want, and
an Akto even with both bits linked should stuff easily into any
available cranny.

And don't forget on a really disgustingly wet day you can take the inner
down inside rather than keep it linked and have everything but the fly,
pole and pegs packed before you strike camp (this also gives you far
more space to get into your waterproofs etc.). An Akto fly alone will
easily stuff into a very small space, then slot the pole down the side
of the pack and you're ready to go inside a minute.

But the key point in tent packing for me is to not put everything in one
big bag.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 20:56:56 +0100, Judith
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

I pack my Akto inside my rucksack and, as you say, I always want it to
be the last thing to go into the sack if the weather is bad.

My sleeping bag is always put in the bottom section of my pack.

Same here.

Quoted message said:

My
water/stove/fuel/some food are usually in the pockets.

Same here, except fot the pot, which won't fit and so goes into the
main sack.

Quoted message said:

My dry clothes
are in a plastic bag. If it is bucketing down with rain then I will
be wearing my waterproofs! This means that it is quite easy to slide
the packed Akto down the side of the clothes bag and any other things
that I have already put in the sack.

Hmmm.... Perhaps I've just assumed that it would be difficult to do.
That might be because on the PW walk my sack was so full that packing
it became an art form. Last w/e, though, there was much less stuff in
the bag.

Quoted message said:

I do tend to use plastic bags to individually pack items. Not
everything goes in its own bag, but I find that a single rucksack
liner just doesn't work for me - I always get something wet unless I
wrap it in plastic.

Me too. I used to use a pile of supermarket bags, but I've recently
started using small waterproof bags: one for my sleeping bag, another
for my clothes etc.

Quoted message said:

I am confident that anything I take out of my
pack, in order to re-pack before setting off on the walk, will stay
dry. However, I do worry that I'll leave something essential lying on
the floor so I do have a routine for ensuring I have picked everything
up.

This works for me ....... but stand by for opposing views!

I think I may have been adopting too picky an approach. When I first
got a down bag I was terrified of getting it in the slightest bit
damp, and I think that's why I've not liked the idea of the inside of
my sack getting wet, even if individual items (wrapped in bags) have
remained dry. I've been concerned that moisture from the outside of
the plastic bags might transfer itself to the sleeping bag. Thinking
about it, though, it's not difficult to give a wet bag a quick wipe
over with something like a travel towel.

Thanks for telling me how you pack your sack - I love reading about
how other people do this stuff! 🙂

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 21:49:30 +0100, "Paul Saunders"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

At least that's how I used to pack my tent. Lately, with my new tent
(Nallo 2) I tend to pack the entire tent into one bag and strap the
entire tent to the side of the rucksack.

My current rucksack doesn't have side straps: the pockets have taken
their place. Will you be able to do that with the Infinity? I can't
remember whether it has side straps.

Quoted message said:

My new gear tends to encourage packing the tent inside the rucksack.
Time will tell as to how well this works.

Ah. Maybe not, then.

Quoted message said:

With regard to rucksack liners, not everything has to be put inside the
liner. Why not put all the stuff you want to keep dry into the liner,
then fold it over, then pack wet stuff, like the tent, inside the
rucksack but outside of the liner.

That's a possibility too. Thanks for the idea 🙂

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 21:06:23 +0100, Ole Troan <[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

I pack the poles separately. the slide nicely in a corner even with a
full pack.

I could do that.

Quoted message said:

I pack the tent body on the top, either in the tent bag or
I just stuff it in as is. the Akto is quite long because of the
plastic supports at the end, so you might have to leave enough room
that you can stuff it in vertically.

That's what I've found - the little supports make it too wide to fit
into the top of my sack horizontally.

Thanks 🙂

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

On 26 Sep 2004 21:09:49 GMT, Jim Ford <[email hidden]>
wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

I fell in with a couple of chaps coming off Bynack Mor
last summer that had picked up some alloy poles in a bag that someone had
dropped. Fortunately by the time we got to Ryvoan, we met a party that had
been sent back to look for the poles.

Eeek! Nightmare... how lucky they were to get them back!

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

On Sun, 26 Sep 2004 22:10:07 +0100, Phil Cook
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Well I do try and break camp in the dry but if forced to do it in the
wet you have to put your gear somewhere dry whilst you break the tent.
I have two waterproof liners and one of these in combination with a
survival bag will keep the gear dry until I have the tent in the
rucksac and the other liner in place to protect the dry suff I will be
packing.

Another good idea, thanks - I'll bear it in mind.

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

On Mon, 27 Sep 2004 10:25:41 +0100, Peter Clinch
<[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Also, the only way that I can fit my Akto into my sack is vertically,

Only if you put the pole in with the rest of the tent.

Don't you find that the little supports make it too wide to put in
horizontally? Since I've been strapping it to the outside of the sack
I have put in the poles with the main tent, but I started out keeping
them separate.

Quoted message said:

A pole on its
own will easily slip down the side of the rest of your gear so you can
still stow it inside the pack, but packing it in the middle of the fly
and inner just makes everything harder. Without the pole to give shape
and rigidity to the rest you can pack it in any which way you want, and
an Akto even with both bits linked should stuff easily into any
available cranny.

Hmmm... perhaps I need to practise this in the garden!

Quoted message said:

And don't forget on a really disgustingly wet day you can take the inner
down inside rather than keep it linked and have everything but the fly,
pole and pegs packed before you strike camp (this also gives you far
more space to get into your waterproofs etc.). An Akto fly alone will
easily stuff into a very small space, then slot the pole down the side
of the pack and you're ready to go inside a minute.

That's extremely helpful - for some reason it hadn't occurred to me,
but I really like that idea! Even on a dry morning I usually find that
my outer is wet from condensation, and I don't like to have to wet the
inner by folding them both together, even though I know I can wipe it
down at the other end. I'll try it - thanks again 🙂

How much of a hassle is it taking the inner down? I've never tried.

Quoted message said:

But the key point in tent packing for me is to not put everything in one
big bag.

Thanks!

Best wishes,
--
Peewiglet

On Mon, 27 Sep 2004 18:50:26 +0100, Peewiglet <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Same here, except fot the pot, which won't fit and so goes into the
main sack.

Oh yes, the pan! I forgot about that. My pan (stuffed full of little
bags of coffee, dried milk, tea bags, oats, some soup and a lighter)
has to go in the main sack but the contents can't get wet with the lid
on.

I always feel quite satisfied and pleased with myself when everything
has gone back into the sack and it's nicely balanced and has nothing
hanging off the outside. I also tuck in all the straps so that I feel
tidy ..... even if I'm covered in mud and my hair is having a bad day!
(Mon - Sun usually).

Judith

"Peewiglet" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
SNIP

Quoted message said:

I don't want my tent to wet my other things,
and I don't want packing my sack to become a logistical problem due to
having to wait - in potentially v. wet conditions - until I've taken
the sack down. How do the rest of you backpackers do it?

First I pack my rucksack while in the tent and put it outside in/on a spare
binliner and check the tent is empty.
I then take the tent down and put it in the binliner and that in the bottom
pocket of my sack. This is shared with my sleepingbag and Thermarest
(together in another binliner) and the fuel bottle.
Fortunately I have a big bag and a small PA1M tent so it all squeezes in
nicely. All my clothes are in the main part of the sack in a proper liner
and the sidepockets hold things which can get wet like water bottles, mug,
packets of food etc, saying that I've not had any trouble with my bag
material leaking in the wet.

Nick

Peewiglet said:

My current rucksack doesn't have side straps: the pockets have taken
their place. Will you be able to do that with the Infinity? I can't
remember whether it has side straps.

Yes it does actually. Mainly intended as compression straps, but I've
just tried it and it turns out to be perfectly possible to pack the
Laser on the side of the rucksack, it even fits into the mesh pocket.

Unfortunately it is a bit lopsided now though. Given the smaller
lighter collection of gear that I'm now using I've ended up with a half
empty sack with a relatively large tent on the outside. Not a good
balance at all. I reckon if you wanted to really overload this sack and
you couldn't get the tent inside, you could indeed pack it outside, but
I don't think it's designed to carry that sort of weight.

Coming back to what Peter said though, there's no reason to pack the
whole tent together, if you split up the poles, the inner and the outer,
you could spread the tent all over and the balance would be much better.
It would be most useful to pack the soaking wet outer on the outside and
the rest inside.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My new gear tends to encourage packing the tent inside the rucksack.
Time will tell as to how well this works.

Ah. Maybe not, then.

Well you could, if you split it up. I wonder how waterproof this tent
bag is? If it holds the water in it could be okay to pack the whole lot
inside.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

Peewiglet said:

Even on a dry morning I usually find that
my outer is wet from condensation,

A good reason for camping facing east, so that the early morning sun
dries out the tent. Leave it open to dry out while you go out taking
photos of the sunrise.

Paul
--
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk

On 26/9/04 8:56 pm, in article [email hidden],

Judith said:

This works for me ....... but stand by for opposing views!

Agreed. I suppose you could try and attach the tent to the pack so that
some of the water drips out of the tent bag but that seems far too
complicated.

Have a look at a good dry sack/compression sack from somebody like Mountain
Equipment. These are very effective at both saving space and keeping
everything dry.

--
Andy Howell
Birmingham, UK

Peewiglet said:

Don't you find that the little supports make it too wide to put in
horizontally?

I don't actually have an Akto, and had forgotten about the polelettes as
I was generalising from a Spacepacker. Sorry!

Quoted message said:

How much of a hassle is it taking the inner down? I've never tried.

This time I'm generalising from my Tarra... things may not be the same,
but if they are then the inner and outer will be held together by
toggles and eyelets. All you have to do is unfasten these and the two
can be separated. Potentially worth doing every now and then to dry it
out indoors as well.
It's a little bit of a faff dis or re connecting the two, but the point
that you do it under cover in as much time as you want removes a lot of
the sting.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net [email hidden] http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/