Modular Packing in your Backpack

Recently, Brand Ambassador Andrew King stopped by the Sea to Summit offices in Boulder, a visit that included a question and answer session with the Sea to Summit crew.

Given that Andrew is constantly on the move, and that his bags may contain climbing, skiing, and ocean gear for the same trip, he was asked how he keeps order in his Duffle Bags.

“Simple”, he said. “I pack everything in color-coded stuff sacks and dry bags”.

In other words, create a Modular Packing System.  Packing and unpacking becomes logical, intuitive, and works regardless of gear, types of pursuits or of weather conditions.

This might seem pretty obvious, but there are still a surprising number of people who don’t practice modular packing.

When you pack for a trip, group your gear and clothing category and activity, then put every item into a dry sack or stuff sack. If you have a lot of gear, use color-coded dry bags or stuff sacks to keep order.

Then pack it into your backpack or duffle – the individual bags of gear allow you to stack items in a duffle or slide them into tight spaces in a backpack.

When you reach your destination – whether it’s a hotel, or a basecamp, or your evening campsite, you can quickly and easily find whatever you need. Plus all of the gear that needs to stay dry, stays dry.

So – why doesn’t everyone pack this way? In fairness, you might think that dry sacks are too heavy to be used in multiples inside a pack.

This is where featherweight Ultra-Sil Dry Bags and come in. The 13 Liter dry bag weighs a mere 1.7oz (47g), and the 8 Liter 1.4oz (39g). The slippery Ultra-Sil® fabric slides nicely into your pack; they’re translucent so you can see what’s inside, and you can pack and unpack in the rain or snow without your gear getting wet.

If you are packing compressible items such as a sleeping bag or insulated clothing, you have the choice of rugged and simple eVac Dry Bags, tough compressible eVac Compression Dry Bags , or ultra-light  Ultra-Sil Compression Dry Bags UL. Any air in the sack just squeezes out through the eVent fabric base.