Soapbox

Surely by heaviest this thread actually means densest.

As we are packing the entire contents of a sack within a predetermined volume (that of the contents asuming some compression straps) the density is what troubles us not the weight.

Eg. A 1 litre platypus of water is less massive than most sleeping bags, it therefore has greater mass than the sleeping bag, however, it will have a far lower volume (even with the bag compressed) and will thus be less dense.

You should clearly pack the water closer to your back than the sleeping bag, I put the water in the platy to avoid accessibility agruments.

I know how to make myself unpopular....

if it has a lower volume and we presume you are suggesting it has the same (or similar) weight surely it is MORE dense...

Density = Mass divided by Volume. Therefore 1 item with the same mass as another but smaller volume is MORE dense.

Obviously 1 kg of water is more dense than 1 kg of water.

When I read the above I thought "keep your head down son" as pedantry often has a habit of back-firing.

Compass in a sack pocket.

I would have thought that it would be good practice to have your compass around you neck or at least on your person! What happens if you are crossing a river you stumble and fall and you lose your pack as a result! ohh your means of navigation has just gone off down stream!

I keep my 2litre platypus against my back in the internal pocket of my sack.

I cant figure out where else to put it because I am Dense.

I wear my compass around my neck like a PENDANT not a Pedant.

Silly people.

I'm dense.

I think packing a sack is a black art and everyone does it differntly.

I tend to chuck in the big stuff, then insert the smaller stuff into the gaps. This way ensures that the bigger stuff actually fits in. In addition, I find that the contents of the pack tend to move around less this way. Having things not move around increases my comfort.

I keep my compass, whistle and camera/binoculars at my front, not packed. Any survival bag goes in that pocket that every pack seems to have that's not exactly hard to reach but a pig to get normal things in and out of (like the one under the lid). My map floats about either on my person or attached to the side of the pack, somewhere reachable.

When packing, I always use velcro... amazing stuff.

I too hate it if stuff moves in my pack, I tend to lob as much as I can in Stuff Sacks, so I have one that carries waterproofs, gloves, hat etc. that sits on top of everything else, one for food, another for clothes and the rest is pretty bulky anyway. Means I can keep all the essentials close to the top of the bag but I just end up with a series of large items to put in and they don't go everywhere if I do want something out of the bottom.

If I find that my rucksack is packed unevenly I simply add rocks to balance it out.

An alternative method is just to throw out whatever items don't seem to fit and go shopping for shiny new stuff.

In the Scouts I was taught that the best way to pack a rucksac was light kit at the bottom, medium weight in the middle and heavy items at the top. It's a method that has worked well for me as I find that packing heavy items close to the base gives me terrible back ache!!!!! Getting old I think!

I think spelling is a black art and everywon does it differantly.;0p

No, no, no...

You pack the Light stuff in the bottom, medium stuff above it, and all the really heavy stuff in your mate's 'sac when he's not looking :-p

The badge to the right is testimony enough to my ongoing denseness (density seemed wrong in this context).

It weighs heavily on me.

I THINK DAVID BULL IS TALKING IT IF HE IS SERIOUS IF HE ACTUALLY DOES USE ROCKS NORMAL PEOPLE WILL PULL THE APPROPRIATE STRAP,I HAVE TOLD LOTS OF YOUNG PEOPLE DOING THEIR DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD TO LOOK AT THIS SITE FOR HELP BUT NOT IF DAVE BULL PUTS STUPID COMMENTS ON IT

Shouting just does not help.

Young people who actually think that they should pack rocks in their sacs are clearly so dense that they should go in tdave's mate's sac.

The original article suggests that side pockets are "best suited" for "polystyrene foam beads". Does want to shout about that as well ?

Still, shouting at the thread means that two years after someone last posted on it, he did wake it up...