light packing

[distro]

ok, so all that im packing is enough shit to put in one backpack. a regular backpack. now what im finding tricky is how to attach my sleeping bag to this thing. any ideas?

 

[Wolfeyes]

Para cord (550 cord, parachute cord, etc) works great and in a pinch, you've got strong, lightweight cordage handy. Small bungee cords also work pretty good, but prone to stretching.

As to exactly how to attach it, that all depends on what's comfortable, and what kind of tie-off points you have handy. I'll see if I can drum up some pics of how I used to attach my bedroll when I was still using a school-type book bag.

 

[BUMJUG]

i have found that if your using a regular small backpack using a LARGE caribiner on the bottom of each strap works really well....get two big ones and simply clip it on the bottom of that shit.....if i had two at my disposal i would post a picture....

 

[tumtum]

The caribiner idea sounds pretty good. Depending on how big your sleeping bag is though, I'd want it to be on there tighter and more secure. If for some reason you have to run you don't want it to be bouncing around. The way I'd probably do it is tie it vertically around the middle of your backpack with a piece of cord of bungie.

And like Wider said, having a pack that you can put your bag in is really nice, makes for a quick escape if you need to. Last summer I hopped with my bag in a sack strapped to the bottom of my pack, and even though it worked it kind of sucked. There was one situation where I thought I would have to ditch it because it took too long to get it put together. Though the bag that I had was big and not meant to compress or anything.

 

[Angela]

Bungee cords! They are great all purpose things to have. I've attached my fiddle and sleeping bag with them before. Some people will say that you'll get stuck on shit carrying stuff this way but I've found that it's less cumbersome than carrying a larger pack, especially the external frame packs that won't fit through places a 400 lb person could fit through.

 

[Magma]

I usually try to put everything inside my pack. I have an old swiss mountaineers pack and that works great. But I have had to travel with just a jansport and a sleeping bag when I was younger and I also agree, it sucks. Just get a bigger pack and save yourself the trouble. You don't want to be a hurry with your sleeping bag hanging off the back of your pack, always worrying that its going to slip off.

-Jack