As long as it is your own thread, you can ask and write in it what you want.
In foreign threads it isn't always appreciated if you go off thread.
After you got now sleeping bag and rucksack it's sensible to continue here with the question what to pack into the rucksack in which way. It will help later others to organise the own equipment.
Ortlieb makes superior drybags in Germany.
They are very long lasting.
I own a lot of Ortlieb products that are decades old and look as good as new.
Most equally old civil equipment I owned did fall in pieces after approximately 20 years or faster. Ortlieb bags last. Some of them I use since 30 years. I never have seen Ortlieb products that degraded by aging. I did see only large dry bags that got holes at the bottom because people did throw them out of the canoe onto stones instead of treating them carefully.
The bags aren't glued together or sewn and sealed with a tape as usual. These bags are welded together! That's why the "seams" do not open.
Until last year they offered the lightweight dry bags PS10 in olive green too. It is still possible to find them on the market.
Currently they are regularly offered in bright grey and black and a few bright colours.
I avoid bright colours even for my dry bags but if canoeing on streams it might be sensible to choose dry bags in bright colours because like this one has a chance to find them later after capsizing...
You have several options to organize the rucksack.
1.) At first you can try out if you are able to stuff the sleeping bag into the bottom compartment. Usually there is between the bottom compartment and the upper main compartment a divider with a draw string closure, similar to the snow collar on top. Like this the bottom compartment can work like a compression bag.
You shouldn't roll the sleeping bag up.
It would break the filling where you fold it before rolling it. Just stuff it!
If in conjunction with a bivvy bag you start with the foot part of course.
Perhaps your sleeping bag in its bivvy bag fits by accident exactly into the bottom compartment. They are theoretically constructed like this, and because your both items are NATO equipment perhaps it fits well.
2.) You put something else into the bottom compartment and put the sleeping bag (in its bivvy bag) into the main compartment. On top of it you put a dry bag that contains your spare clothing and additional warm layers. This dry bag has the size of a comfortable pillow and you use it like this. In this use it is important, that your head is on the fleece jacket or padded jacket, because it is far softer than cotton. You need to think about your pillow function when you pack your spare clothing into this dry bag!
You could use for example an Ortlieb dry bag PS10 in the size of 7 litres as a pillow. That's a good size as a pillow.
They exist with a valve too. You fill them first, close them and press out the air afterwards. Of course the valve doesn't point to your head if you use it as a pillow...
The British army roll mat you attach under the flap of the rucksack for example.
3.) You put at first the roll mat into the main compartment and it opens like a barrel. You stuff into this barrel your sleeping bag. And perhaps a dry bag like a cork on top.
What's the best for you, you need to try out yourself. But it is very handy to pack the spare-clothing-pillow-dry-bag on top of the sleeping bag. Because like this you can reach during the day an additional warm layer if needed, but if you want to sleep, your bedding is stored in only one compartment. In a second little dry bag you could store here additional a knitted cap to use it during the night, perhaps additional base layers as warm pyjamas and a pair of sleeping socks.
(A plushie you don't need to carry because you have a real dog and your wife.)
More handy is to carry the roll mat under the flap, because you put it on the ground before pillow and sleeping bag. And in the morning you put first sleeping bag and pillow into the rucksack and attach then the roll mat.
But you can manage of course to carry the sleeping bag in the sleeping-mat-barrel. It's less handy but very common too.
There are of course more options how to organise the rucksack, but I recommend to try at first to do it in one of these three ways.
The kitchen I would try to carry in one of the side pouches, the water in the other or both.
Food I would carry perhaps in an additional olive green dry bag on top in the main compartment (next to the shoulders) and hang it over night mouse proof into a tree.
Mice can destroy rucksacks and tents if you keep your food in it. And they are silent and very fast. They are only looking so cute, because they are highly professional gangsters. The cute look is just a professional camouflage. They are waiting for you and already develop plans how they will bite through your tent and rucksack. So, hang your food in an olive green, dark grey or black dry bag into a tree, high enough, that the fox and boar can't reach it. Take a length of 10 m x 2,5 mm quality cordage from the boat shop with you, throw it with a stone over a branch, pull the food dry bag up and attach the cord to the trunk!
The rainsuit I would carry in the outer flap pocket of this rucksack.
Little items I would carry in the lower or inner flap pocket if existing.
Tent and axe you could perhaps carry in between of the large side pouches and main pack, for this you have the little lower side pouches. If your tent doesn't fit completely like this, you could perhaps just carry the poles like this in the extra pole bag. And put the tent with the dog equipment into the bottom compartment.
I wouldn't carry an axe around for hiking tours but it could be attached outside or carried inside the main compartment in a corner next to the back, metal upwards, balanced with the water bottles. A folding bow saw like Agawa Canyon Boreal 21 I would carry outside, between side pouch and main compartment, a little folding saw like Bahco Laplander in a side pouch.
Or however. It needs to fit and you should keep the functional groups together and easily accessible. But that's more or less, how it can be done.
In the beginning you can use a large garbage bag as rucksack liner. If you twist it before you close the rucksack that's also waterproof, but of course not so long lasting as a professional dry bag.
Endicotts sells pretty waterproof insertion bags for the sidepouches cheap. If even the large insertion bag of the British army Rucksack is an option for you, you have to ask the Brits here onboard or try it out in the shop. It must fit exactly or be slightly larger, but not smaller than the rucksack.
They have draw string closures. The Ortlieb bags instead are totally water proof. That's sensible if you use tarp or poncho and bivvy bag. With the tent you probably don't need Ortlieb dry bags and garbage bags are good enough.
In foreign threads it isn't always appreciated if you go off thread.
After you got now sleeping bag and rucksack it's sensible to continue here with the question what to pack into the rucksack in which way. It will help later others to organise the own equipment.
Ortlieb makes superior drybags in Germany.
They are very long lasting.
I own a lot of Ortlieb products that are decades old and look as good as new.
Most equally old civil equipment I owned did fall in pieces after approximately 20 years or faster. Ortlieb bags last. Some of them I use since 30 years. I never have seen Ortlieb products that degraded by aging. I did see only large dry bags that got holes at the bottom because people did throw them out of the canoe onto stones instead of treating them carefully.
The bags aren't glued together or sewn and sealed with a tape as usual. These bags are welded together! That's why the "seams" do not open.
Until last year they offered the lightweight dry bags PS10 in olive green too. It is still possible to find them on the market.
Currently they are regularly offered in bright grey and black and a few bright colours.
I avoid bright colours even for my dry bags but if canoeing on streams it might be sensible to choose dry bags in bright colours because like this one has a chance to find them later after capsizing...
You have several options to organize the rucksack.
1.) At first you can try out if you are able to stuff the sleeping bag into the bottom compartment. Usually there is between the bottom compartment and the upper main compartment a divider with a draw string closure, similar to the snow collar on top. Like this the bottom compartment can work like a compression bag.
You shouldn't roll the sleeping bag up.
It would break the filling where you fold it before rolling it. Just stuff it!
If in conjunction with a bivvy bag you start with the foot part of course.
Perhaps your sleeping bag in its bivvy bag fits by accident exactly into the bottom compartment. They are theoretically constructed like this, and because your both items are NATO equipment perhaps it fits well.
2.) You put something else into the bottom compartment and put the sleeping bag (in its bivvy bag) into the main compartment. On top of it you put a dry bag that contains your spare clothing and additional warm layers. This dry bag has the size of a comfortable pillow and you use it like this. In this use it is important, that your head is on the fleece jacket or padded jacket, because it is far softer than cotton. You need to think about your pillow function when you pack your spare clothing into this dry bag!
You could use for example an Ortlieb dry bag PS10 in the size of 7 litres as a pillow. That's a good size as a pillow.
They exist with a valve too. You fill them first, close them and press out the air afterwards. Of course the valve doesn't point to your head if you use it as a pillow...
The British army roll mat you attach under the flap of the rucksack for example.
3.) You put at first the roll mat into the main compartment and it opens like a barrel. You stuff into this barrel your sleeping bag. And perhaps a dry bag like a cork on top.
What's the best for you, you need to try out yourself. But it is very handy to pack the spare-clothing-pillow-dry-bag on top of the sleeping bag. Because like this you can reach during the day an additional warm layer if needed, but if you want to sleep, your bedding is stored in only one compartment. In a second little dry bag you could store here additional a knitted cap to use it during the night, perhaps additional base layers as warm pyjamas and a pair of sleeping socks.
(A plushie you don't need to carry because you have a real dog and your wife.)
More handy is to carry the roll mat under the flap, because you put it on the ground before pillow and sleeping bag. And in the morning you put first sleeping bag and pillow into the rucksack and attach then the roll mat.
But you can manage of course to carry the sleeping bag in the sleeping-mat-barrel. It's less handy but very common too.
There are of course more options how to organise the rucksack, but I recommend to try at first to do it in one of these three ways.
The kitchen I would try to carry in one of the side pouches, the water in the other or both.
Food I would carry perhaps in an additional olive green dry bag on top in the main compartment (next to the shoulders) and hang it over night mouse proof into a tree.
Mice can destroy rucksacks and tents if you keep your food in it. And they are silent and very fast. They are only looking so cute, because they are highly professional gangsters. The cute look is just a professional camouflage. They are waiting for you and already develop plans how they will bite through your tent and rucksack. So, hang your food in an olive green, dark grey or black dry bag into a tree, high enough, that the fox and boar can't reach it. Take a length of 10 m x 2,5 mm quality cordage from the boat shop with you, throw it with a stone over a branch, pull the food dry bag up and attach the cord to the trunk!
The rainsuit I would carry in the outer flap pocket of this rucksack.
Little items I would carry in the lower or inner flap pocket if existing.
Tent and axe you could perhaps carry in between of the large side pouches and main pack, for this you have the little lower side pouches. If your tent doesn't fit completely like this, you could perhaps just carry the poles like this in the extra pole bag. And put the tent with the dog equipment into the bottom compartment.
I wouldn't carry an axe around for hiking tours but it could be attached outside or carried inside the main compartment in a corner next to the back, metal upwards, balanced with the water bottles. A folding bow saw like Agawa Canyon Boreal 21 I would carry outside, between side pouch and main compartment, a little folding saw like Bahco Laplander in a side pouch.
Or however. It needs to fit and you should keep the functional groups together and easily accessible. But that's more or less, how it can be done.
In the beginning you can use a large garbage bag as rucksack liner. If you twist it before you close the rucksack that's also waterproof, but of course not so long lasting as a professional dry bag.
Endicotts sells pretty waterproof insertion bags for the sidepouches cheap. If even the large insertion bag of the British army Rucksack is an option for you, you have to ask the Brits here onboard or try it out in the shop. It must fit exactly or be slightly larger, but not smaller than the rucksack.
They have draw string closures. The Ortlieb bags instead are totally water proof. That's sensible if you use tarp or poncho and bivvy bag. With the tent you probably don't need Ortlieb dry bags and garbage bags are good enough.
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