What do you pack your clothing in?

[naudan]

Hi guys..

New to the forum. I have been car camping for awhile, so space has never been a big deal for me.

However, I am now starting up motorcycle camping, so had to get all new gear (smaller stuff).

For car camping, I can usually bring a giant duffle bag with clothing and such for a week long camping trip, which is great. However, I will now be doing 2-3 night trips and need to compress my clothing into small areas.

What does everyone use? Is there any secrets? I have seen the Gobi Hoboroll which looks awesome, but seems a bit expensive for a stuff/compression sack with slots in it.

Does anyone have any alternatives that they use, or know of something that is out there? Would love some insight!

[naudan]

Re: What do you pack your clothing in?

Hog - I appreciate the feedback. I am going to go for more "synthetic" type clothing to save space, but I am really wondering what people use to store their clothing. Are people mainly using stuffsacks? Again, maybe this question is more for hiker campers as space is important.

[terasec]

Re: What do you pack your clothing in?

packing is an art in itself,

quick look at that hobo roll,
looks like its open on 2 ends, and meant to be packed in another bag like a backpack,
for that you can take any item like a sleeping pad and roll items in it.
might as well be tossed loose in the bag, seperate bag for used clothes,
how you load your motorcycle and type of camping you will be doing will determine your bag(s)
instead of focusing on how you will pack your clothes within a bag i would focus on selecting clothes carefully.
for pants i like lightweight hiking pants,
pack easily, dry quickly,
i also have pants with removeable legs that convert to shorts, quite versatile.
i try to limit my use of jeans, as heavy and bulky to pack,
and for type of terrain i hike they get wet and heavy.
especially from morning dew walking through grass.
and welcome to the forum

[tplife]

Re: What do you pack your clothing in?

I found a Jeep brand medium-sized ballistic nylon zippered bag that's rectangular and fits nicely on my 2-up luggage rack on my Road King. It also is perfect for a 3-day in 'Vegas. Discount joints like a Ross or such are a good place to find a similar bag at a rock-bottom price, I probably paid less than $10 for the thing and it's darn near indestructible...Hogsnapper, I married a girl like that - she also took her size-zero dresses through carry-on to St. Croix and Puerto Rico, and saved us $50/trip...but I'm the one always having to check her cosmetics inside my big EagleCreek bag under the plane...

[05Kingquad700]

Re: What do you pack your clothing in?

I don't know what your sleeping arrangements are, but hammock camping is great for motorcycles. You can get an eno hammock and make a cheap underquilt using a surplus poncho liner for pretty cheap. What kind of bike are you riding?

[Mike]

Re: What do you pack your clothing in?

I like to use vacuum travel bags. These are the roll-up kind that you squeeze the air out of rather than the kind that need a vacuum cleaner. These bags condense the size of your clothes, keeps them clean, and keeps them dry.

You can get four big vacuum travel bags at Walmart or Target or others for about $10. The Walmart bags are only good for two or three trips if you are really careful with them. ie, they are poor quality.

If you find some of the "Made in Japan" vacuum travel bags at a travel store or luggage store, get them. The Japanese bags last. The Walmart Chinese bags don't last.

[Bigdog57]

Re: What do you pack your clothing in?

I have been motorcycle camping fro a few years - since 2006. Been on multistate trips, usually gone for about four/five days. I built a larger cargo rack for my DS bike (Kawasaki KLR650) and use a large softside gear bag for most camping needs. Heavier items down in the sidebags/boxes. I carry a spare pare of pants and two or three shirts. Undies, socks and T-shirt for each day. All get folded flat and stored in plastic ziploc bags, and layered in the topcase. A towel & washcloth too. Light camp shoes bagged and stashed inside. I found that my one or two man tent can be stashed inside too. The big bags I use (got one in camo, one in red and one in black/grey) have several outside pockets for smaller items. Strapped onto the cargo rack, with a small camp pillow plastic-wrapped and stuffed onto the front of the topbox makes a good backrest while riding. I usually have my GI foam pad and folding campchair either under the topbox or on top, whichever seems to work best - both work okay. Sleepingbag or Blanket and airmatress (rolled inside) in a rainproof bag on top. I make sure my toolroll is accessible without having to unload everything! Carry a spare quart of oil, as a day of 75/80MPH does burn some oil in many bikes.
I carry two GI canteens of water, a GI stainless steel Canteen Cup for cooking, and other smaller camping gear in tank bags. The tankbags can protect the legs from colder winds somewhat too. I have a self-made handlebar mount for my GPS, for navigation - I do carry maps but the GPS is a great way to help stay on course without having to stop and wrestle with a map.
Camp stove (a smaller propane cannister type), food and other camping specific stuff goes into the side bags. I carry a Belgian military surplus folding 'sink' of rubberized fabric for dish washing needs. Folds flat or use as a 'carry all' in the sidebag. A mini-LED lantern fits in there too.
I take it easy - the load does raise CG somewhat, so laying her down in turns becomes chancy. Stopping distance can be increased too.

When I first began MC camping I carried way too much stuff! By the second year I had winnowed the load down considerably. You quickly learn what is useful and what isn't.

Ready to roll, for a weekend of camping!

[Logtec]

Re: What do you pack your clothing in?

For backpacking mostly I pack my cloths in a waterproof stuff sack(which which i let breath at camp and it doubles as my pillow at night)
i wear: socks, underwear, shorts/pants and a T-shirt +/- a sweater.
i pack: 1 small camp tower, 1 pair of socks, 1 underwear, 1 pair of pants/shorts or bathing suit bottoms, 1 tshirt, 1 hoodie for cool nights if im not wearing one and a hat.
I swim in or wash/rinse my dirty cloths, then change into my clean dry cloths while they others are drying.
This cuts down on size, bulk and a lil weight in my pack. Besides when backpacking, there is no need to dress to impress, you are supposed to come home all dirty, smelly and in need of a shower.

[Joyous56]

Re: What do you pack your clothing in?

Bigdog, I am so impressed with your efficient packing strategy! You seem to have everything you need, including a camp chair! I'm in awe of your prowess.

[sarahspins]

Re: What do you pack your clothing in?

Are people mainly using stuffsacks? Again, maybe this question is more for hiker campers as space is important.

I like packing cubes and I use a fair amount of ziplock bags too... my problem with packing is not only space, but organizing, since it's usually 4 or 5 of us together, packing cubes make it easy to keep everyone's stuff from getting mixed up, and ziplock bags make it easy to find socks and undies without having to paw through everything. I drive a small car and see myself as more of a "minimalist" car camper - we don't bring lots of gear, we definitely don't bring more than we need, and everything has to be packed compactly, clothing included.

Last summer we were on the road for 3 weeks with only 3 days of clothing, which had to handle anything from desert to high mountains (we relied on layers when it got cold). We did some hand washing along the way, but did stop and do laundry when we were all "out" of clean clothes (unless we happened to be staying somewhere with facilities, then we sometimes did laundry sooner just so we didn't worry about it in another day or two). The only thing I found myself needing along the way was more socks, which I did end up buying.

[Bigdog57]

Re: What do you pack your clothing in?

Bigdog, I am so impressed with your efficient packing strategy! You seem to have everything you need, including a camp chair! I'm in awe of your prowess.

Thanks! My first couple trips, I carried 'everything', and used little. My first self-made cargo rack actually broke enroute to Tennesee! Almost a show-stopper, but I trussed it up and pressed on. That led to my current heavy-duty plastic (large cuttingboard with aluminum angle) unit. Over that first year I really pared the load down. Extreme simplicity is my byword! I also have a new drybag for clothing - I found that my 'waterproof nylon' bags weren't..... rainproof that is! So anything that needs to be dry is in ziplock bags or the drybag.
I have packing to a science - I enjoy buying a cartload of stuff at the grocery store, and the baggergirls always wonder how I will get it onto a motorcycle! They expect to see me with a huge Harley or Goldbling bike - but I zip out my collapsible top bag, and soon all the groceries are bagged and out of view!
Having the Grand Caravan now though, I am getting spoiled! I can carry enough to be truly comfy traveling and camping. And the bike rides in it's trailer. Then I can enjoy camping and bike riding without being tired from the ride up!

[renodesertfox]

Re: What do you pack your clothing in?

Like HS we use medium sized dry sacks - Sea to Summit Dry Bags. We only carry one change of clothes & wash them often. Sox - three or four pair each. If it's cold weather there is always a sweater & long-handle underwear too either thin weight, medium weight or thick weight. One might think we would carry more cuz we're jeep campers. We aren't out to impress anyone just to enjoy the outdoors and each other. We also take one set of night wear and if the weather is great then I hang them outside each morning for that fresh air feel. Since we are Grand Cherokee Jeep campers we take a ton of other stuff to make our campout and food, top-of-the-line enjoyable & our palate's gourmet! Makes me wanna go camping right now!