Mini Zippered Stuff Sacks
Granite Gear Air Zippditty
$30, 2.5 oz. (set of 4)
Sizes: 0.6L, 1L, 1.7L, and 2.4L
granitegear.com
I’m a little anal-retentive about keeping my backpack organized so that I can put my hands on what I without digging around. And being a writer and photographer, I tend to carry a lot of small items that are easily buried inside a pack pocket, like a digital voice recorder and memory cards. So I like to keep things compartmentalized without adding more than a few ounces in stuff sack weight. These sacks made of transparent, 30D siliconized nylon, with water-resistant zippers, are an organizer’s dream. The largest, at 2.4 liters, holds a couple extra pairs of socks and underwear, while the smaller sizes are perfect for butane lighters, pens and notebook, maps I don’t need that day, spare batteries, toiletries, etc. The sacks keep everything protected from wetness short of a full immersion in water, and the zippers run the length of each sack, giving you instant access to all contents without having to dig around. Besides the full set of four, they are also sold in sets of a pair of each size for $15 to $21.
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—Michael Lanza
Great find! I started using Sea to Summit compression sacks this year to organize my pack a bit. All of my shelter and bedding goes into one and is compressed to take much less space. A second compression sack works great for the other clothes. Now my main compartment is just two compression sacks.
I think I’ll have to consider this for the other stuff that finds it way into my pack.