Compression Sacks: The Case For And Against

by Ryan Vagabundo

If you're looking to get a lot of stuff into limited space in a backpack or suitcase, you might think that some compression sacks are a no-brainer investment.

HOWEVER! Hang around backpacking circles, and you'll find they are actually a pretty frequent source of argument.

In case you're totally new, "compression" or "stuff" sacks are drawstring bags that are usually made of a synthetic water-repelling material. You put bulky but compressible stuff in, like your clothes or a sleeping bag, then yank the drawstring to push all the air out. The bulky stuff is now compressed to its minimum possible size.

Sounds great for certain things, but there are some significant drawbacks to consider. Ultimately, whether or not to use compression sacks really depends on your personal circumstances.

Let's break it all down in detail in today's article.

THE CASE FOR COMPRESSION SACKS

• Obviously, the compression. A big sleeping bag that was all over the place is now in a manageable cylinder that you can slide smoothly in and out of a bag.

• Convenience. Do you need to frequently get specific things out of your bag? Instead of pawing through a messy mess of junk, you can just slide a few bags out to get to what you want.

• Waterproofing gear that is essential to keep you warm, like clothing or a sleeping bag (however, this can be done without the compression feature in a number of other ways such as the humble high-quality trash bag)

• Can use them as a pillow on buses, trains and such as well as when camping.

THE CASE AGAINST COMPRESSION SACKS

• They don't necessarily actually maximize your space usage. Anything that isn't rigid will tend to fill all available space if you just stuff everything in, and in some cases the bulky cylinders might actually reduce your overall space.

• Can cause lumps that stick into your back with a backpack, or make it hard to close the lid of a suitcase.

• They can damage certain materials with enough time and hard compression. For example, they're known for eventually ripping the baffles of down sleeping bags and can also break down feathers which reduces the insulation. Synthetic insulation can break down after repeated compression too.

• Both synthetic and down insulation are impacted strongly by "loft", which can take up to a few hours to restore after being compressed in a sack.

As far as non-wilderness travel goes, I generally like to have at least one cylindrical stuff sack that I throw t-shirts, underwear and socks into ... stuff I don't care about getting wrinkled and that has a fairly limited life cycle anyway. That one can stay outside attached to my backpack (loosely compressed) and be used as a pillow on bus and train trips and such.

And if you're looking to maximize space in a suitcase, you might consider the "rectangular" or "cube" variants of compression sacks. These can stack well in a suitcase and are great time-savers for those trips where you have a series of one-night stays somewhere and don't want to have to unpack everything at each place you stay, just pull out the sacks that have your essentials for the night and then replace them when it's time to pack out.