Stuff Sacks

Featured review by Bentbrook

Just the right size (.6L) for the little odds and ends you want to keep in one place when hiking, camping, backpacking, or any other outdoor activity. Well-made bags in high visibility colors, great for small first aid kits, fire starting kits, snacks, electronics, and more. A perfect way to bring some order to your backcountry existence.

Multi-use Organization for the Outdoor Enthusiast As any outdoor enthusiast knows, organization can save time, prevent loss, and bring peace of mind to one's outdoor experiences. Pieces of kit lost in the depths of a pack or scattered in the pack's "brain" only bring frustration. Where is the other battery? Where did my pocket knife go? Didn't I have another Clif bar? These are questions I've asked myself many a time. Despite knowing the value of organization, I have at times hesitated to purchase gear for organization, relying instead on plastic bags or skipping it altogether in the name of saving weight or spending my money on other, more essential items.

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Reviewed by Adrian Redgwell

Want to have the best organized pack, ability to unpack fast, pack fast in any weather condition, then these pods are for you. Organization is so good that I only have four items in my bag. Crazy eh?

Ease of Use: After time, you will figure out what works in each pod.  For my large pod, I have my pillow, liner, bag, pad, sleeping clothes and spare clothes. The smaller pod holds all my other loose gear, but I also have my spare socks and fleece in this pod. Features: Waterproof material with tapered zipper. No chance of water seepage. Construction & Durability: 100% waterproof Dyneema Composite Fabric (formerly Cuben Fiber) and a water resistant zipper, they help weatherproof your pack system.

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Reviewed by LoneStranger

Six Moon Designs Pack Pods are lightweight, rectangular pouches designed to make maximum use of pack space. Zip lid allows easy access to contents for eyes and hands. Great for organizing and controlling all sorts of gear.

A simple product that makes a lot of sense, the SMD Pack Pod is intended to match the shape of your pack, letting you make full use of limited space. It provides some water resistance, but isn't meant to be a dry bag. Specs: Measures 12" x 8" x 4" (30x20x10cm) Weight 1oz/28g claimed, 29g on my scale Volume 430ci/7L Ease of Use: Being a piece of lightweight nylon with only stitching and a zipper for support the Pack Pods feel as though they might be hard to cram stuff into. Once I started using them I found that wasn't the case at all.

Read more: Six Moon Designs Packing Pods review (1)

Reviewed by BigRed

A very effective inflation system for BA mattresses that doubles as a roomy dry bag. Requires good technique, especially inside a tent. Not really compatible with other mattress brands.

Big Agnes’ demo video of the Pumphouse Ultra makes using it look easy-peasy, of course, and I suppose it is if you have your mattress laid out on a table with all the room in the world to do your business. Ditto any of the several friendly review videos of the Pumphouse, typically conducted with the mattress on a verdant green lawn or at least dry ground, or in one case in a living room. But I haven’t found any that show what it’s like to use inside a tent (at least until I made my own).

Read more: Big Agnes Pumphouse Ultra review (1)

Reviewed by Avid Hiker

Good basic stuff sack, great price, could use a flap and instructions.

These are still on sale at REI as of November 4th, 2020. I bought two of the Durable ones and one of the Lightweight ones. The prices were: $7.93 for the 30 liter orange one, $6.93 for the 20 liter blue one, and $8.93 for the 15 liter lighter weight blue one. The main reason was to—finally—have a stuffsack with a handle on the bottom for my large 0 degree REI Volcano sleeping bag. Given how big the bag is and how tightly it fit into the sack provided, the lack of something to grab onto to while pulling the bag out was a constant frustration.  Another reason was to have a sack big enough that it wasn't a struggle to get the bag in.

Read more: REI Durable Stuff Sack review (1)

Reviewed by Horn Rimmed Hiker

These three little bags have been my hiking companions for as long as I've been a backpacker and not only look as good as the day I bought them, but function as well, too. Lighter, and a LOT more water-resistant than mesh stuff sacks, these little bags are terrific little organizers. Soft to the touch and whisper-quiet, they sit well in a pack and make it very easy to pack other items around them. For as banal of gear as stuff sacks are, I have no shame admitting these ditty bags are EASILY some of my favorite pieces of gear.

Outdoor Research Ultralight Ditty Sacks (Set of 3) I've had this set of stuff sacks ever since I started backpacking. Since then, I've either upgraded or substituted damn near every item in my rig. Not only have I kept these with me, but they look as good as the day I bought them, and perform the same. COST $28 from REI. Is thirty bucks steep for a set of three bags? I'd be lying if I said it wasn't. Did I possess the sewing skills and material knowledge to make my own? No way in heck. At the end of the day, they were made by Outdoor Research (whose products carry their "Infinite" Lifetime Guarantee) AND they were purchased under my REI Membership, which pretty much allows me to return them, no-questions-asked, should something go awry.

Read more: Outdoor Research Ultralight Ditty Sacks review (1)

Reviewed by Arine Benschop

Pack in. Pack out. Any responsible outdoor person does it. But nobody likes a bulky, smelly trash bag that may get pierced inside their backpacks. I decided it was time to figure out something better: combine 1 4-liter dry sack, 1 small trash bag, 1 small roll of tape. Enough for two persons on a 6-day trek.

What you need While preparing for walking the Overland Track with my daughter last November, I found myself trying to choose between a relatively heavy, large, and durable trash bag and a super light, smaller and flimsy one. From experience I knew that both very soon would make for a bulky bag in my backpack and that I would be worried about them leaking smells at the best and moisture at the worst. I decided that there should be a better solution. Surfing on the internet I found the Sea to Summit Trash Dry Sack, but with 100 g that definitely was too much for a gram-saver like me.

Read more: DIY: My Own Trash Bag Solution review (1)

Reviewed by Twig

There's not a whole lot to be said about a simple DCF zip pouch. But for the amount of use I've gotten from mine, it deserves a moment in the spotlight. My zip pouch has traveled the world with me, dutifully containing some of my most important items and documents. It's lightweight, durable, simple, and good at being the one place to put the small stuff I can't afford to lose.

Background: Just before I traveled overseas to begin my thru-hike of New Zealand's Te Araroa, I decided to add a small Dyneema (DCF) zippered pouch to my kit. I specifically needed something to keep my passport dry and secure while I walked, biked, and paddled the length of the country for 2,000 miles. My backpack lacked an internal zippered pocket, plus I also thought it prudent to be able keep my valuables closer at hand when staying in hostels and campgrounds. The Zpacks Passport Zip pouch, after 5 years and 12,000 miles of foot travel This humble little pouch not only survived my overseas adventures, it went on to serve as my wallet and small-stuffs keeper for all my thru-hikes.

Read more: Zpacks Passport Zip Pouch review (1)

Reviewed by David Link

Super light and sturdy ditty sacks, do the job!

In stark contrast to the way I live at home and work, I am an organization freak when it comes to backpacking. I like everything tidy and easy to find. These mesh sacks come in a set of three different sizes. The largest I use for my kitchen setup (stove, fuel, pot, mug, spoon, lighter); the mid-size houses my water purification setup; and the smallest my catch all for small stuff (compass, knife, headlamp, backup lighter, etc). I like the mesh so that anything inside which might be damp from cooking or water treatment will dry out in a hurry.

Read more: Outdoor Research Mesh Ditty Sacks review (1)

Reviewed by SCollinsHill

This makes life in my Vapor Trail great! I imagine the shape would fit most GG packs and a ton of others. It stores food, clothes, tent and misc. gear equally well. Lightweight and durable, I got the small halfway through my thru-hike and wished I had started with it.

I got the small Pack Stuffer halfway through my 2012 PCT thru-hike and immediately wished I had carried it from the beginning. I use a Granite Gear Vapor Trail, which I also love and, like advertized, the Pack Stuffer fits perfectly anywhere in my pack. I used it mostly for food and it held four days worth fairly comfortably. When not hiking I put my tent in it (Big Agnes Fly Creek 2) sans poles, and there is room to spare. It has held up extremely well even after three months of daily, thru-hike use. One could bear hang it easily I imagine thanks to the loops. I never used it while I was carrying a bear can, but only because I was beyond the Sierras, I imagine it would work fine either above or below the can.

Read more: Granite Gear Pack Stuffer review (1)