Zip lock bags vs dry bags vs stuff sacks

[Becky 59]

I have seen several questions about organizing stuff in your pack, but haven't seen anyone talk about using zip lock bags. Any input? My Camino starts in May

 

[Former member 49149]

Packpack packing Is title of a recent thread where the ziplock bags are mentioned.

 

[Becky 59]

Thanks!

 

[edandjoan]

We use ziplock bags. My husband puts his stuff in his and then sits on it to get the air out and then in the pack it goes. We each take two. One for underwear and socks, and the other for our shirt.

 

[ScaryB4Coffee]

Thanks!

I organized all my items in ziplocks- I felt so smart. Then someone complained they were noisy, packing them early morning. I’m getting zippered little laundry bags for the next trip. I’ll have to be slow with the zipper but there won’t be noisy plastic.

 

[rappahannock_rev]

Remember the scene in The Way where Tom drops his bag into the river? Well, you cross a small bridge as you approach Eunate from the north - and there back in 2012 I managed somehow to drop my bag into the Rio Robo! But thanks to all the ziplock bags I'd used to pack/package things, nothing important was damaged. Accept no substitutes!

 

[Becky 59]

Remember the scene in The Way where Tom drops his bag into the river? Well, you cross a small bridge as you approach Eunate from the north - and there back in 2012 I managed somehow to drop my bag into the Rio Robo! But thanks to all the ziplock bags I'd used to pack/package things, nothing important was damaged. Accept no substitutes!

LOL, how could you do that?! I remember watching that scene the first time and thinking what a bad idea it was to put a pack in such a precarious spot! I can't wait to see the real river when I do my Camino. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Sailor]

On my side of the house, ziplocks of various sizes for important documents and for my euros.
-- ziplock with euros for the day kept on the upper left pocket of my pants.
-- ziplock with credit cards in zippered lower left pocket of my pants.
-- ziplock with reserve euros in zippered right front pocket of my pants.
-- ziplock with passport and credencial de peregrino in the waist pack.
-- ziplock with Brierley guide and cell phone in the waist pack.
-- ziplock with tape, toilet paper, and other first aid items in the waist pack.
Plus, large ziplock for items pending washing at the bottom of the backpack. All the clean gear inside the backpack is placed in small color-coded nylon laundry bags which can be purchased at the local Walmart. Confusing? Not at all, after the first day all this becomes routine, and you are able to find your stuff in a New York Second. Good luck with your packing, y que la luz de Dios alumbre su camino.

 

[rappahannock_rev]

LOL, how could you do that?! I remember watching that scene the first time and thinking what a bad idea it was to put a pack in such a precarious spot! I can't wait to see the real river when I do my Camino. Thanks for sharing.

"Real river?" If you're hoping to see where Tom dropped his bag into the river, then I have bad news for you, Becky. That scene, I've been told, was not actually filmed on the Camino, but was filmed at a river crossing some miles away to the north.

The Rio Robo, where I dropped mine, is on the Camino and is easily found, but is far less dramatic. In fact, where I live we wouldn't call it a river at all....

 

[Kiwi-family]

Re ziplock bags and noise in the morning- take your gear into the hallway or common area or bathroom and you won’t disturb anyone. If you have everything in yourpack before you go to bed you can slip out of your sleeping bag, sling it over your shoulder, Pick up your pack and sneak out silently. Just remember to steal back into the room to remove the albergue-issued sheet and pillowcase.

 

[Stroller]

Ziplocks keep stuff dry and organised but are noisy and cheap.
Dry sacks keep stuff dry and organised, are quiet, are more durable but more expensive.
Stuff sacks keep stuff organised, not dry are cheap.

I use a mix of dry sacks and ziplocks and pack everything except my sleeping bag at night.

 

[t2andreo]

For all of the above reasons, ziplock bags excel at many uses. They are ubiquitous, inexpensive and recyclable.

I use them exclusively to organize everything in my rucksack. Being able to see the contents helps a lot. Keeping everything dry means no rucksack liner is needed. At an albergue, being able to carry your valuables into the shower stall with you is also a sage idea.

You can easily compress clothing to take up less volume if you use these bags. Nylon kit bags do not enable this.

Hope this helps.

 

[J Willhaus]

I used a dry bag for my clothes. Compresses when you sit on it then close the fold down top. Quieter than plastic bags. We had a 3 gallon zip lock for our daily food supplies. Also used smaller ones for our credential or other items such as emergency toilet supplies. A small zip lock makes it easy to keep trash or used TP separate until you can just discard the bag in a trash bin. I did go with a few extra bags and found I used them all during our 45 days of walking. The zip locks on some bags last longer than others and all will eventually fail.

 

[bmcbride]

I used ziploc bags, and a dry sac, for both my Caminos. Electronics and documents went into the dry sac. Clothing (so that I could see the contents) into ziplocs. Both Caminos ended in rain coming into Santiago - the first time (wind-driven sideways rain) I was drenched and so was my entire backpack. The ziploc bags and dry sac kept all of those things dry. I cannot recommend them enough. Re: the noise. I have all my gear ready to go for the morning, and take my backpack out into the common area to finish packing.

 

[lt56ny]

I use a good ziplock as my toiletries bag. A sandwich bag for my soap and carry extra big ziplocks and some sandwich bags. They always come in handy. I use the small mesh laundry bags to organize everything

 

[J F Gregory]

I use nylon stuff sacks and put them in a trash compacter bag just roll it up, it does not leak. I use zip lock bags for my toiletry kit and my waist pack for my wallet and passport.

 

[Marbe2]

We use zip locks. Some stores carry a 2.5 gallon bags in the USA. one bag is used for the rain jacket, one for shirts and another for pants. In addition I use one for cup, utensils, electric coil, medical supplies and equipment and then one for food supples. I carry additional bags and when they get too raunchy I replace them. Unfortunately, I can not find similar bags n the markets here.

 

[Becky 59]

On my side of the house, ziplocks of various sizes for important documents and for my euros.
-- ziplock with euros for the day kept on the upper left pocket of my pants.
-- ziplock with credit cards in zippered lower left pocket of my pants.
-- ziplock with reserve euros in zippered right front pocket of my pants.
-- ziplock with passport and credencial de peregrino in the waist pack.
-- ziplock with Brierley guide and cell phone in the waist pack.
-- ziplock with tape, toilet paper, and other first aid items in the waist pack.
Plus, large ziplock for items pending washing at the bottom of the backpack. All the clean gear inside the backpack is placed in small color-coded nylon laundry bags which can be purchased at the local Walmart. Confusing? Not at all, after the first day all this becomes routine, and you are able to find your stuff in a New York Second. Good luck with your packing, y que la luz de Dios alumbre su camino.

After looking at your list of multiple pockets, right and left and upper and lower, I can only conclude you are wearing men's pants. Women's pants don't usually have nearly that many pockets (which I think is sexist and discrimitatory to women). So, do any women out there have good suggestions for money belts or yoga belts to wear under women's clothing that don't require beltloops?

 

[Becky 59]

"Real river?" If you're hoping to see where Tom dropped his bag into the river, then I have bad news for you, Becky. That scene, I've been told, was not actually filmed on the Camino, but was filmed at a river crossing some miles away to the north.

The Rio Robo, where I dropped mine, is on the Camino and is easily found, but is far less dramatic. In fact, where I live we wouldn't call it a river at all....

View attachment 39856

Um, yeah, I would agree about the "river". I admire your courage for posting this!! I'm disappointed about "Tom"'s river, but hey, that's Hollywood. It did make for a great scene in the movie. I'm looking foward to my Camino in May, hopefully avoiding any dunkings in "rivers", lol.

 

[Anamiri]

I'm a fan of the ziplock bag, in a few different sizes.

 

[Jodean]

I used little mesh bags, 4 for a 1$ at the dollar store. They keep things organized, I can see my stuff, they are quiet and because I use a poncho that fits over my pack, everything stays dry. Use one plastic bag for toiletries.

 

[Marcus-UK]

I found that ziploc bags were not particularly robust. But they were useful for small ready use stuff; snacks, documents, spare cash etc. I found that the plastic builders rubble sacks were as good as dry sacks (with a plastic clip) and weighed a fraction of good quality dry bags. I kept my cell phone in a waterproof cell phone case from my days working on international disaster recovery projects. Mine is big enough for passports, cash and credit cards as well and is on a neck lanyard. The minimum bugout requirements:-{
e.g.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/waterproof-case-cell-phone/s?tag=casaivar-21

 

[Suzanne H]

[QUOTE"]do any women out there have good suggestions for money belts or yoga belts to wear under women's clothing that don't require beltloops?[/QUOTE]

Hey Becky ~I used a money belt for one week and tired of dealing with the sweaty mess at the end of each day so bought a small hip pack (aka fanny pack) to keep my necessities organized. I will seek clothing with more concealed pockets next Camino, but will also use the waist pack again—super convenient for staying organized. And yes to both zip locks and waterproof stuff sacks. Buen Camino!

 

[Redvespablur]

we had a very lightweight dry sack that we used for our rucksacks when checking on plane that we repurposed to line the inside of backpack. Also plenty of ziplocks to keep socks, undies, shirts, iPhones etc sorted and dry.

 

[MarkN]

I used and recommend the sea to summit dry sacks. I've used them for years on camping and canoe trips and they worked great on the Camino. More expensive than Ziploc for sure but they last a long time. I'm pretty sure I got mine on sale at MEC (local outdoor shop) long ago.

 

[McGraneC]

I carried 1 stuff sack for clean clothes, another for dirty and a ziplock for documentation. I had a washbag for a toothbrush, toothpaste and a hotel bottle of shower gel. Light shoes in the bottom of my backpack along with a light rain jacket. I walked in June and when it did rain, I didn't bother with the jacket, just wore a pair of running shorts and a t shirt. You can only get so wet The rest of my pack was for stuff my girls couldn't fit in their own packs.

 

[Tia Valeria]

After looking at your list of multiple pockets, right and left and upper and lower, I can only conclude you are wearing men's pants. Women's pants don't usually have nearly that many pockets (which I think is sexist and discrimitatory to women). So, do any women out there have good suggestions for money belts or yoga belts to wear under women's clothing that don't require beltloops?

Here womens pants are often hipster style and as you say they also lack pockets. I have found it easier to walk in the men's style with a belt. Plenty of pockets and mine have zips/velcro on 3 of them. I use a money belt for security and put my passport and money in thin plastic bags (the sort that magazines etc come in) so that they are dry even if I sweat.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

...or you can save your money and just use grocery-store produce and carrier bags. They cost nothing, they recycle, and they make delightful noises at 5 a.m.

 

[Former member 49149]

...or you can save your money and just use grocery-store produce and carrier bags. They cost nothing, they recycle, and they make delightful noises at 5 a.m.

 

[Kanga]

@Becky 59 I wear Macabi skirts with the most fantastic deep pockets, including a hidden security pocket with a zip that opens up - very clever. The pockets take my passport, wallet, smartphone, tissues, lip gloss (ok, ok, ok - lip sunscreen!). So everything that I need to keep secure is on me all the time.

 

[Becky 59]

Wow,

@Becky 59 I wear Macabi skirts with the most fantastic deep pockets, including a hidden security pocket with a zip that opens up - very clever. The pockets take my passport, wallet, smartphone, tissues, lip gloss (ok, ok, ok - lip sunscreen!). So everything that I need to keep secure is on me all the time.

I just looked at their website, and I am sold! I am surprised I haven't run into these before, and very glad you mentioned them, thanks so much! I'm a little worried though, it looks like many of the wearers are doing 3rd world country trips, but I will have 3-4 weeks of other Europe travel before and after the Camino, will I look too touristy? (do you think?)

 

[Kanga]

I wore mine on a Baltic cruise. With a fairly fitted black top, pretty walking sandals and a bit of jewellery. My preference are the slightly narrower skirts (the slim-line). I've got two of the short skirts but filling the pockets distorts the shape and they don't look so good - so they are sitting in the cupboard.

 

[David Tallan]

I used large, heavy duty ziplock bags for clothing and a smaller ziplock bag for passport and credencial. I had no problem with the durability of the large bags but the small one fell completely apart. I had each set of clothes that I wasn't wearing in its own ziplock bag. That way I could take it to the shower with me and have dry clothes to change into afterwards. The dirty clothes then went into the bag that the clean clothes had come out of for later washing. Also, if there was any bedbug exposure, I would have complete set(s) of clothing that I knew were safe. I never had a problem with the noise of ziplock bags, either used by others or hearing any complaints myself (although I didn't tend to mess with them in the dorm in the morning). It was the plastic shopping bags that I found really made the noise. Proper waterproof stuff sacks may be quieter and more durable. But ziplocks were enough for me and I liked the transparency that let me see what was inside.

 

[Viva Terlingua]

On my side of the house, ziplocks of various sizes for important documents and for my euros.
-- ziplock with euros for the day kept on the upper left pocket of my pants.
-- ziplock with credit cards in zippered lower left pocket of my pants.
-- ziplock with reserve euros in zippered right front pocket of my pants.
-- ziplock with passport and credencial de peregrino in the waist pack.
-- ziplock with Brierley guide and cell phone in the waist pack.
-- ziplock with tape, toilet paper, and other first aid items in the waist pack.
Plus, large ziplock for items pending washing at the bottom of the backpack. All the clean gear inside the backpack is placed in small color-coded nylon laundry bags which can be purchased at the local Walmart. Confusing? Not at all, after the first day all this becomes routine, and you are able to find your stuff in a New York Second. Good luck with your packing, y que la luz de Dios alumbre su camino.

Why do you need to keep your euros and credit cards dry?

 

[Viva Terlingua]

[QUOTE"]do any women out there have good suggestions for money belts or yoga belts to wear under women's clothing that don't require beltloops?

Hey Becky ~I used a money belt for one week and tired of dealing with the sweaty mess at the end of each day so bought a small hip pack (aka fanny pack) to keep my necessities organized. I will seek clothing with more concealed pockets next Camino, but will also use the waist pack again—super convenient for staying organized. And yes to both zip locks and waterproof stuff sacks. Buen Camino![/QUOTE]

Take a look at the Osprey Grab Bag. It attaches to your back pack straps and can also be used as a hip pack. Very handy.

 

[Oxford Alice]

I'm a fan of zip-locks, and also use those tiny ones that spare buttons come in when you buy a blouse or dress. I push my medications out of their blister packs and put them in one of those, also use them for my sewing kit, ear plugs, anything really small. I put my Lush bar shampoo, which is roughly the shape of a hockey puck and also serves as body wash, in a snack-size zip-lock; when it gets gooey inside I use what has accumulated inside the bag when hand-washing my clothes. I might need counselling.

 

[Sailor]

Why do you need to keep your euros and credit cards dry?

Great question! Answer, because I like to keep everything dry and organized. To all caminantes, no pares de caminar, la luz de Dios alumbra su camino.

 

[Becky 59]

Hey Becky ~I used a money belt for one week and tired of dealing with the sweaty mess at the end of each day so bought a small hip pack (aka fanny pack) to keep my necessities organized. I will seek clothing with more concealed pockets next Camino, but will also use the waist pack again—super convenient for staying organized. And yes to both zip locks and waterproof stuff sacks. Buen Camino!

Take a look at the Osprey Grab Bag. It attaches to your back pack straps and can also be used as a hip pack. Very handy.[/QUOTE]
That looks good! It's currently out of stock but I'm on the "notify" list.

 

[Willigsu]

If anyone ended up getting the osprey grab bag please explain how to attach to the back pack straps in front. I’ve watched the you tube video about 20 times and still can’t figure it out. (And I was an engineer at one point of my life!)

 

[Ferenjinan]

sounds a bit sweaty, all those bags!

 

[Wandershot]

I used zip loc bags for my electronics, food and diary. But for my clothes, I'm very fond of the Sea-to-Summit drybag. It's made of a very thin material, is water proof (although perhaps not river proof) AND it compresses down, so you get the best of both. And it won't make that annoying crinkling noise at 6am.

 

[Ferenjinan]

Unfortunately, I can not find similar bags n the markets here.[/QUOTE]


That's too bad, I was hoping to pick up a few 'over there'. It's been a couple of years since I was in the States and got a supply of zip locks. They get washed and washed, over and over and used until in tatters. No good for water proofing anything in m pack. Will just have to try not to drop it in any rivers.

 

[Lurch]

From experience, if you use ziplocks, don’t buy the store brand. Name brand ones are much stronger. Also for holding toilet paper, used type, take a roll of the doggy cleanup bags from a pet store. Zips OK for the unused ones, I guess. The thought of squatting in a field and leaving it there just confounds me.

 

[Renee Fuller]

[QUOTE"]do any women out there have good suggestions for money belts or yoga belts to wear under women's clothing that don't require beltloops?

Hey Becky ~I used a money belt for one week and tired of dealing with the sweaty mess at the end of each day so bought a small hip pack (aka fanny pack) to keep my necessities organized. I will seek clothing with more concealed pockets next Camino, but will also use the waist pack again—super convenient for staying organized. And yes to both zip locks and waterproof stuff sacks. Buen Camino![/QUOTE]
I sewed a pocket into the front of my pants to keep my passport, credit cards and money. i used the same fabric as the money belts and it was comfortable and very secure.

 

[chinacat]

Hey Becky ~I used a money belt for one week and tired of dealing with the sweaty mess at the end of each day so bought a small hip pack (aka fanny pack) to keep my necessities organized. I will seek clothing with more concealed pockets next Camino, but will also use the waist pack again—super convenient for staying organized. And yes to both zip locks and waterproof stuff sacks. Buen Camino!

I sewed a pocket into the front of my pants to keep my passport, credit cards and money. i used the same fabric as the money belts and it was comfortable and very secure.[/QUOTE]

Likewise
I assume you mean on the inside ...
I sew those pockets into any pair of trousers that don’t have their own at the front.
I’m a bit mystified by trousers without pockets .... they’d never make mens’ trousers without them!

 

[twh]

Becky,
Some pre-made zippered pockets at the bottom of this comment. I had a friend sew one of these into each pair of pants I brought. I also used all 3 items originally talked about in this thread: zip locks (to keep smaller things dry), compression bags (2 - one for clean clothes, one for dirty clothes), dry bag - mostly as a tote to put everything into when going to the shower (could also be used as a carry-on for the plane like someone else mentioned). I did have a fanny pack worn in front for phone, day money, tour book, small note book, pen, small video camera, napkins, coins etc... In general, to the people generating the noise, I think early starters (people getting up before 6:00) should try to pre-pack the night before so they can pretty much walk away from the sleeping area with their packs to the lobby and then do final packing and noise making there. And, in general, those who are sensitive to bag crinkle noises in the morning, or snoring at night should wear ear plugs. Everybody should take responsibility for their production of noise (talking, laughing, packing) and their sensitivity to noise (ear plugs) if you plan to sleep in group settings...otherwise you may need a private room. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00N51DGHA/?tag=casaivar02-20

 

[Lindy Lou]

I organized all my items in ziplocks- I felt so smart. Then someone complained they were noisy, packing them early morning. I’m getting zippered little laundry bags for the next trip. I’ll have to be slow with the zipper but there won’t be noisy plastic.

Ikea sell a pack of extremely light weight packs really cheap.