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10 Best Sleeping Bag Stuff Sacks of 2023

10 Best Sleeping Bag Stuff Sacks

Stuff sacks are an essential piece of backpacking and camping gear that keep sleeping bags or quilts dry, organized, and compressed. However most of the manufacturer’s stuff sacks that come with sleeping bags or quilts are designed for uncompressed storage, not field use, and it’s often necessary to purchase a separate compression sack, roll-top stuff sack, or waterproof dry sack to serve these functions.

Here are the 10 best sleeping bag stuff sacks that we recommend and rely on to protect our backpacking quilts and sleeping bags. Why the variety? Different types of sleeping bags and quilts require different size sleeping bag stuff sacks. Be sure to read our sleeping bag stuff sack selection guide below.

1. Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Drysack

Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Drysack
The Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Drysack is the most popular roll-top stuff sack sold today and with good reason. They’re available in a wide range of sizes, multiple colors, and they’re made with PU-coated, siliconized 30-denier Cordura nylon which is lightweight and durable. The buckle on the roll-top is also removable with a multi-tool (screwdriver) and can be used to repair a backpack buckle if you break one on the trail, which is a nice extra. I’ve been using this model of stuff sack to pack my summer sleeping bags and quilts for close to a decade.

View at REI

2. Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Compression Sack

Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Compression Sack
The Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil Compression Sack is a surprisingly lightweight compression sack good for compressing larger sleeping bags or quilts. Its made with 30D diamond rip-stop siliconized Cordura nylon with a slippery exterior finish that makes it easy to pack. The interior bag closes with a drawstring, while four webbing straps provide the added mechanical advantage necessary to compress large synthetic insulation sleeping bags or down-filled winter bags. This stuff sack is also available in a wide range of sizes. This is the compression sack I use for my winter sleeping bags because it is so lightweight.

View at REI

3. Sea to Summit Evac Compression Dry Bag

S2S Evac Compression Dry Bag
The Sea to Summit Evac Compression Dry Bag is a roll-top and a compression sack, combining added water resistance with compression. It also has an air purge panel made with an eVent fabric base, so air can be forced out but can’t get back in. This is the stuff sack to get for longer trips where you want added moisture protection, but still want a compression capability to shrink a bulkier sleeping bag. This stuff sack is not designed for full submersion but is seam-taped, double-stitched, and effectively waterproof when used in a backpack. It’s also quite lightweight and available in multiple sizes.

View at REI

4. Hyperlite Mountain Gear Roll-Top Stuff Sacks

Hyperlite Mountain Gear roll-top stuff sack
Hyperlite Roll-Top Stuff Sacks are made with an ultralight material called Dyneema DCF that’s very strong and lightweight. While DCF is waterproof and these stuff sacks are highly water-resistant, they’re not intended for full immersion. As a company, Hyperlite overbuilds most of their gear, trading off weight for added durability. If you’re in the market for DCF stuff sacks you’ll find that they use heavier materials than most of their competitors and that their stuff sacks last far longer as a result. That’s certainly been my experience using them. These stuff sacks are available in multiple sizes but are all silver in color.

View at Hyperlite

5. REI Lightweight Compression Sack

REI Lightweight Compression Sack
The REI Lightweight Compression Sack is a good value and gets the job done, but it’s not as lightweight, water-resistant, durable, or as compressible as the Sea-to-Summit Compression Sacks above. This REI compression sack is made with ripstop nylon finished with a DWR coating, which will help repel moisture when the still sack is new but will rub off with use. The inside bag closes with a drawstring, while three webbing straps are provided to compress the stuff sack. This compression sack is available in multiple sizes and two colors. It’s a good choice for compressing high-volume synthetic sleeping bags and for less frequent use.

View at REI

6. Outdoor Products 3-Pack All Purpose Dry Sacks

Outdoor Products All Purpose Dry Sacks
Outdoor Products Roll-Top Dry Sacks are high quality, but inexpensive. Sold as a set of three (8L, 4L, and 2L), the 8L size is ideal for a 20 degree down sleeping bag, while the smaller sizes are good for toiletries and first aid kits. PU-coated for water resistance, mine are over 10 years old and are still in top condition. Read our review.

View at Amazon

7. Sealine BlockerLite Dry Sack

Sealine Blocker Drysack
SealLine is the brand to buy if you need a roll dry sack or compressing sack that is fully waterproof and can withstand immersion. Their BlockerLite roll-top dry sacks are made with lightweight 20D silicone and polyurethane-coated nylon and have fully welded seams that are both stronger and more durable than sewn-and-taped seams. This roll-top dry-sack is good for compressing down-filled sleeping bags and quilts, where low gear weight is more important than abrasion resistance, for example, when the stuff sack is packed inside a backpack.

View at Amazon

8. Hyperlight Mountain Gear Packing Pods

Hyperlite Mountain Gear Packing Pods
Hyperlite Mountain Gear’s Packing Pods are kidney-shaped stuff sacks designed to use all of the space in a backpack and eliminate the voids that are leftover if you pack with conventional cylindrical-shaped stuff sacks. They’re made with an ultralight waterproof fabric called Dyneema DCF and have an attached top flap that lets you view their contents but zipper closed for moisture protection.  All of Hyperlite’s Packing Pods are silver-colored. Read our review.

View at Hyperlite

9. Six Moon Designs Packing Pods

Six Moon Designs Packing Pods
Six Moon Designs (SMD) Packing Pods are significantly less expensive than Hyperlite’s Packing Pods because they’re made with siliconized nylon and not Dyneema DCF. They’re also available in multiple colors making them useful for color-coding your gear. SMD’s Packing Pods are sold in economical 3-packs. With 7L of capacity, they’re large enough to hold most summer-weight down sleeping bags or backpacking quilts. Read our Review.

View at Six Moons

10. SealLine Discovery View Dry Bag

Sealline Discover Dry Bag
The SealLine Discovery View Dry Bag is the stuff sack you want for extremely wet trips like packrafting, canyoneering, canoeing, or kayaking. While it is almost twice as heavy as regular backpacking and camping stuff sacks, it has fully welded seams which are much stronger and more waterproof than those that are seam-taped like the stuff sacks listed above. The Discovery is a roll-top stuff sack with a purge valve, so you can vacate all the air inside. Its translucent sides also make it easy to see what’s inside.

View at REI

Sleeping Bag Stuff Sack Guide

There are all kinds of tradeoffs to be made when choosing a sleeping bag stuff sack, which we detail below.

Types of Stuff Sacks

There are basically three kinds of stuff sacks appropriate for packing sleeping bags and backpacking quilts.

  1. Roll-top Dry Bags
  2. Compression Sacks
  3. Purgeable Stuff Sacks, either roll-top or compression

Roll-top Dry Bags are best for lightweight sleeping bags and quilts, usually, down-insulated, that are easy to compress with little effort. A roll-top closure is more durable than a zipper and the rolling process makes it very difficult for water to pass through the top of the stuff sack.

Compression Sacks are best for larger and bigger sleeping bags and quilts, such as winter sleeping bags or sleeping bags and quilts insulated with synthetic insulation which is harder to compress. Compression sacks have buckles and webbing straps that help you make the size of the stuff sack smaller, so it takes up less room in your backpack. Compression sacks with four webbing straps are easier to use and compress better than those with three webbing straps.

Purgeable Stuff Sacks have purge values or breathable fabric panels that vent air from the stuff sack when it is compressed, but don’t let it back in. They can be roll-tops or compression sacks. They’re useful when you feed to get the maximum compression possible by forcing all of the air out of your sleeping bag and preventing its return.

How to Size a Sleeping Bag Stuff Sack

What is the best size stuff sack for a sleeping bag or quilt? Sleeping bags and quilts that have synthetic insulation usually require large stuff sacks than those insulated with down, which compresses more easily. The volumes required for quilts will be at the lower end of the range because they don’t come with a hood and take up slightly less volume than sleeping bags.

Insulation TypeTemperature RatingRecommended Stuff Sack Volume
Down40 F / 4 C6-8 liters
Down20 F / -7 C8-12 liters
Down0 F / -18 C14-20 liters
Down20 Below F / 29 Below C20-30 liters
Synthetic40 F / 4 C9-13 liters
Synthetic20 F / -7 C16-20 liters
Synthetic0 F / -18 C25-35 liters

In most cases, you’ll want to get a sleeping bag stuff sack that is just large enough to close easily, but not capture too much excess air, which will increase the packing space it requires. If the stuff sack has a roll-top closure, you’ll also want enough slack fabric on top so you can roll the stuff sack three times to close it. This is the ideal number of turns to prevent water from leaking through the top opening.

Water Resistance Vs Waterproofness

Most backpacking and camping stuff sacks are water-resistant and not fully waterproof for immersion underwater. If they have zippers or seam-taped seams, water can leak through them. They will still protect your sleeping bag from moisture, but your best bet is to pack them inside a backpack that is lined with a plastic bag or covered with a rain cover to prevent rain from reaching them. Fully waterproof stuff sacks intended for rafting, kayaking, or canoeing have welded seams that don’t leak when immersed and are usually made with tougher materials.

Color Coding

Multi-colored stuff sacks can make it much easier to organize your gear and find it inside a backpack. Transparent fabrics or panels can serve a similar function, allowing you to see the contents so you know what they contain.

Stuff Sack Weight

While stuff sacks can make it much easier to organize and locate your gear in a backpack, they can add significant extra weight to your gear list if you go overboard with them. Be sure to compare the weights of different options. For example, Dyneema DCF stuff sacks vs those made with PU-coated nylon. In some instances, there’s less of a weight difference than you might expect, but there is a huge price difference!

Durability vs Weight

There’s usually a tradeoff between durability and weight when it comes to stuff sacks that’s worth considering when selecting a sleeping bag stuff sack or dry bag. If you plan to store your sleeping bag inside another bag like a backpack, there’s often less of a need for a heavy-duty, abrasion-resistant, or waterproof sleeping bag stuff sack when a lighter weight one will function just as well.

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