I just wanted to share a little idea that I have been using for a long time now. This is not you average piece of backpacking gear. It's very cheap and is readily available from most all grocery stores.

So what I use is the Reynolds Turkey Size Oven Bags. They come two to a box. At only a half oz. each, and $4.00 they make for a great multi use item.




I use them as a pack liner for my Osprey Hornet 32 and 46. You can use them just as they come or add a piece of self stick Velcro and you have a great very tough 1/2 oz. roll top bag. Use the smaller ones for great stuff sack's, just add Velcro. Use them straight out of the box as a sit pad for around the camp or on the trail. Cut open one side seam and the bottom on two of them and add a piece of tenacious tape to join the two together and you have a very tough 1 oz. ground cloth. I use the ground cloth for camp while I cook or just to lounge around on. They last a long time and are tough for the cost and weight.

Anyway just wanted to share one of the many tricks in my bag.

I shared a camp site once with some Boy Scouts training for Philmont. They were using turkey bags to line their cooking pots. Once the macaroni and cheese for 12 was consumed, all they had to do was squeeze out the last cheese for the last hungry boy and they had a clean pot and a soiled plastic bag for the trash.

Nothing new, people use them for many yrs.

Makes a cheap food bag if something happens to your more durable one. Many a thru hiker has used one for that after having a bear or rodent destroy another, or just plain forgetting it (hard to believe someone would leave their food hanging and hike off, but they do)

I think Id know if 50% of my pack was missing. People obviously are carrying a lot if they dont notice their food bag isnt in pack.

Edited by livingontheroad on 10/05/2012 06:35:36 MDT.

I love this site. I learn something new daily. I had never thought of using a turkey roasting bag as either a pack liner or a pot liner. Thanks.

Often times versions of some cooking bags have small vent holes to allow excess steam to escape. These holes can create a mess if your unaware.

I've been using the roasting bag as a stuff sack for my sleeping bag (WM Summerlite) and sometimes my clothes bag. It weighs next to nothing, stuffs well and is waterproof. My only complaint is that it's noisy, especially when breaking camp early morning; it wakes everyone up.

While I appreciate the dual use of a plastic bag to line a pot, the impact to the environment from one plastic bag as it slowly disintegrates (not biodegrades, just breaks down into tiny particles of plastic) in my mind more than outweighs the personal annoyance I get from having to scrub a pot. For a real eye opening look at what all our plastic-loving ways is getting us, check out this 3 part documentary:

http://www.vice.com/toxic/toxic-garbage-island-1-of-3

Disregard that it's from Vice magazine, bastion of hipster douchebaggery. Regardless of that, when I saw this I swore off plastic everywhere I could or started reusing.

I reduced my usage of plastic bags after I realized how many I was using on long hikes.

I do most of my kayaking on the ocean. After years of seeing a lot of plastic bags in the water and on the shoreline every time I went for a paddle, it kind of made me more conscious of the issue.