Idea of the century...compressed tent storage! Am I giving it away?

[FlashPan]

Hey all,

Just had a light bulb moment about the size of a packed tent.

Am looking at my tent in its British Army compression sack and always think that it coulbe be compressed more.

It then hit me...some sort of man powered vacum pump and bag!

So my thoughts have driven me so far to those plastic bags you can hook up to a vacum cleaner to suck out the air. In "the field" you would use a foot or hand pump..sort of a reverse of the type you use to blow up a kiddies paddling pool.

Thoughts on this? To big/bulky to carry the bits? already out there? just a naf idea!

Or am if off to the dragons den?

Cheers

 

[mick91]

Ice tried it with a sleeping bag and it worked very well to be honest (until I piereced the bag) a lot of airbed pumps have a reverse too. Poles would be an issue youd have to carry them elsewhere mind. But good shout flashpan. Dewi and johnie might have input here, johnie and I have got behind many a hairbrained scheme and Dewi has too since I joined the forum! Think I've got one of those bags kicking around might give it a shot

 

[Jackdaw]

Not sure you would gain enough space to compensate for that taken up with the vacuum pump. I'm also not sure it would work on anything that didn't already have a lot of air in it such as a synthetic sleeping bag. I say synthetic as you would not want to use such as system on down as you could collapse it entirely. I would stick to fighting your kit back into the bergan at the end of the weekend away like the rest of us.

 

[jandude]

You can buy vacuum storage bags that don't need a pump. Just roll tightly to get the air out.

I bought some from Lakeland Plastics a few years ago. Used them on occasion, when they've been very good. The outlet valve is a tube moulded in at the opposite end to the zip. Simple yet clever. But the contents don't get lighter!

Edit: As above, some things don't confess very much, although fleece does.

Try Lakeland or hardware/homeware stores to buy them.

 

[Goatboy]

Eagle Creek® were the first company (I think) to bring out the roll up vacuum bags about 15 - 20 years ago. Brilliant things, not only compressing stuff but making sure things were water tight too. Used them a lot on bigger trips in the past.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[Old Bones]

If your packing down and then compressing a wet tent, your not allowing it to dry out, which will cause mildew/stink if your not careful. Most people tend to pack a tent in a stuff bag, with the poles seperate, and you can normally squeeze the fabric a bit tighter anyway. Alpkit used to do a bag with a wider mouth which meant it was easier to get the tent in, but you could then close it up to compact it.

Other problem, as has been pointed out, is where do you put the pump? If the weight/bulk of the pump outweighs the saving in bulk of the tent, its not really worth doing.

I have always wondered about the airblade type tents - how do you get them packed?

 

[hammy]

I say synthetic as you would not want to use such as system on down as you could collapse it entirely.

Sorry to correct you but the reverse is true.
Synthetic gets damaged over time due to repeat compressions. True down on the other hand can actually gain loft due to repeat compressions. (True down as opposed to feathers)
Hence good down sleeping bags can last a good 15 years.
Again sorry to derail this thread.

 

[Macaroon]

You can buy vacuum storage bags that don't need a pump. Just roll tightly to get the air out.

I bought some from Lakeland Plastics a few years ago. Used them on occasion, when they've been very good. The outlet valve is a tube moulded in at the opposite end to the zip. Simple yet clever. But the contents don't get lighter!

Edit: As above, some things don't confess very much, although fleece does.

Try Lakeland or hardware/homeware stores to buy them.

Just keep compressing them hard; they'll soon spill the beans!!!

 

[Andy BB]

Sorry to correct you but the reverse is true.
Synthetic gets damaged over time due to repeat compressions. True down on the other hand can actually gain loft due to repeat compressions. (True down as opposed to feathers)
Hence good down sleeping bags can last a good 15 years.
Again sorry to derail this thread.

Yet you will not find a single manufacturer of down bags to recommend keeping their bags compressed between uses. (and only one synthetic bag manufacturer, as it happens ) So either there are no modern down bags genuinely filled with down, or even those who actually produce genuine down (as opposed to down/feathers) actually believes down will survive prolonged compression.

 

[dewi]

I read the OP with the voice of Brian Blessed and oh my, it was good! lol

Compressing the size isn't going to alter the weight.. but I appreciate the tighter you get your kit, the more you can fit in your bag. It's a good idea, but it involves carry a pump of some sort, which adds weight and ironically.... mass.

What you gain on the swings, you lose on the roundabouts to coin a phrase from my younger years.

 

[mick91]

I read the OP with the voice of Brian Blessed and oh my, it was good! lol

Compressing the size isn't going to alter the weight..

I too read it in the time of Brian blessed, it was fantastic. I honestly think he should release a series of audio books I'd buy them.

Actually, it would. Assuming you can achieve total vacuum itd save around 0.001225 g/cm3 in weight.... But then you're adding a bag and pump so my point is totally moot as they usually are I'll go stand back in my corner until someone needs a pedant who can't stay in topic

 

[dewi]

I should have said compressing the size isn't going to alter the weight unless you're a pedant lol

It's a great idea if you're going to transport a few hundred tents, because as you say, the fractional weight loss will add up, but for one tent... add the pump weight, it becomes a self-defeating exercise.

Now go stand in that corner Mick! And don't come back until you can out pedant a pedant!

 

[FlashPan]

Thanks for all the info chums...my idea was not for weight reduction but packability.

I get it that it's not great for a wet tent but I would have only employed such an idea for being out and about. All the kit would be unpacked/uncompressed once at home and/or somewhere to dry.

As for the pump was also thinking of the tubular type like you use to blow up balloons as that would be a lot smaller than a foot pump. (or even a small bike pump?)

I never thought about sleeping bags or actual clothes to compress (and keep dry)...will investigate further on that. I reckon you can use the £land vacuum bags for clothes and roll them up to get the air out. Sleeping bags a different matter.

Only issue I see right now is to find the bag with a small enough nosle and a pump that would fit. Lakeland has some food storage types but the are quite small.

Ohh....if you like Brians voice, you know you can take him on your travels.

http://www.tomtom.com/en_gb/shop/voices/brian-blessed/

I don't drive but still for a moment thought about buying this

So...maybe my idea was pie in the sky after all

I'll just head of to dragons den with my wind powered hair dryer idea then