How do you pack your clothes for the BWCA? Do you put them in ziplocks? Do you put them in a compression bags and then a waterproof bag? Also what knot is your go to knot for your trip? I’m learning quite a few knots... The truckers hitch knot has me a little confused so that knot is my main focus for now lol. 34 more days till our BWCA trip! I’m super excited!!

My clothes and personal gear/goodies go in a Sea-to-Summit eVent bag.

Knot-wise, you'll cover a LOT of ground if you have a truckers' hitch and bowline down.

I use two dry bags for clothes. One is dedicated to the dry set of clothes. The other is dedicated for whatever part of the wet set I may not be wearing during the day.

Knots - I know many, but ParkerMag is spot on with knowing the truckers hitch and bowline. I would add the alpine butterfly and the high strength tie off next.
Learning to make a carabiner clutch can be useful as well.

Anyone that goes with us gets a 10L dry bag for clothing sans rain gear. Keeps stuff dry and controls how much stuff everyone is packing. I put a few trash bags in the gear to separate really dirty clothes.

Only 32 days here =)

“My clothes... go in a Sea-to-Summit eVent bag.”
+1
I use a medium and my wife and kids use small event compression bags. We use them for our sleeping bags as well...large or medium depending on size/bulk of the sleeping bag.

Knots:
Bowline, Truckers Hitch and a quick-release Sheet Bend and you should be good to go.

I have the bowline down just not the truckers hitch yet.

bct: "I use two dry bags for clothes. One is dedicated to the dry set of clothes. The other is dedicated for whatever part of the wet set I may not be wearing during the day.


Knots - I know many, but ParkerMag is spot on with knowing the truckers hitch and bowline. I would add the alpine butterfly and the high strength tie off next.
Learning to make a carabiner clutch can be useful as well. "

I will also try those knots as well thank you!!

tombo131: "Anyone that goes with us gets a 10L dry bag for clothing sans rain gear. Keeps stuff dry and controls how much stuff everyone is packing. I put a few trash bags in the gear to separate really dirty clothes.

Only 32 days here =)"

That’s awesome! Are you all ready to go?

That Shug guy who a lot of people watch for hammock info is good at showing how to tie knots. Check out his Youtube stuff. A timber hitch, truckers hitch and prusik will be very handy with a tarp

Stephmed: "

tombo131: "Anyone that goes with us gets a 10L dry bag for clothing sans rain gear. Keeps stuff dry and controls how much stuff everyone is packing. I put a few trash bags in the gear to separate really dirty clothes.


Only 32 days here =)"

That’s awesome! Are you all ready to go? "

Mentally? Yeah! Actually packed and ready, heck no =)

Going in at EP 14 on Sunday the 10th. Let's cross our fingers for clear skies and tight lines that week.

tombo131: "

Stephmed: "

tombo131: "Anyone that goes with us gets a 10L dry bag for clothing sans rain gear. Keeps stuff dry and controls how much stuff everyone is packing. I put a few trash bags in the gear to separate really dirty clothes.



Only 32 days here =)"

That’s awesome! Are you all ready to go? "

Mentally? Yeah! Actually packed and ready, heck no =)


Going in at EP 14 on Sunday the 10th. Let's cross our fingers for clear skies and tight lines that week."

We are going in the same entry point! We go out on June 11th.

If you have trouble with a truckers hitch, look at a tautline hitch knot. Easier to tie, and can be used to tighten/tension a line on tents, tarps, etc..

I also put my clothes and sleeping bag in the Sea-to-Summit eVent compression dry sacks.

Knots: bowline, tautline hitch, trucker's hitch, Siberian hitch for anchor end of tarp (tautline or trucker's for other), prussic for attaching tarp ends to ridgeline.

For clothes, I have used 2.5 gallon Ziploc bags, which work really well, and you can see the contents. Now I use the Sea to Summit eVent compression bags for clothes and sleeping bag. I also use Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil dry sacks (which come in various sizes) for the non-compressible gear.

Bring enough line for a clothesline. Be sure to keep your sleeping pad dry too. It’s a lot easier to keep things dry than it is to dry them when it’s raining!

Basic knots:

Bowline
Use whenever you need a loop that won’t slip (get smaller) under load
+ Attach a guy line to a tent (or rainfly) without crushing the tent’s nylon loop
+ Form a loop through the side straps of a pack to hang your pack away from critters

Sheet Bend
Use whenever you need to tie two lines together to make one longer line. It works well even when used on two lines of different diameter.

Taut-Line Hitch
Use when you need an adjustable knot to make a line tight
+ Ideal as an adjustable knot for guy lines on your tent or rainfly

Two Half Hitches
Use when you need to tie a rope to something
+ Tie a rope to a tree or canoe
+ Secure a Trucker’s Hitch after you have pulled the line tight

These four basic knots should be all you need to get started, IMO. If you’re setting up a tarp with a ridgeline, the specialized knots below are a big help. See animatedknots.com for great instructions.

Specialized knots (optional):

Trucker’s Hitch
Use when you need an especially tight line
+ Tie a canoe to a roof rack
+ Make a ridge line for a tarp

Double Fisherman’s and Klemheist
Use when you need an adjustable knot to tie the ends of your tarp to a ridgeline
+ Use the Double Fisherman’s knot to create a loop
+ Use the Klemheist to turn the loop into an adjustable knot that will hold on a ridgeline
Klemheist is a slip and grip knot that some say holds better than a Prusik

Siberian Hitch
A quick release hitch to use instead of Two Half Hitches, to tie a line to a tree

Feel free to contact me if you’re still stuck on the Trucker’s Hitch. Animated Knots could use an extra picture to make it clearer.

I second the Siberian hitch. Quick to learn and easy to use. I use the siberian hitch to tie end of line to tree first and then truckers hitch to tighten. Both are quick release knots, making life easy to adjust or take down quickly. These are by far the knots I use most in BW. I usually hang two tarps, CCS Lean 2+ and clothes line all with these knots.

ultra sil dry bag. bowline, taut line, siberian and automatic truckers hitch.

ParkerMag: "...

Knot-wise, you'll cover a LOT of ground if you have a truckers' hitch and bowline down."

I strongly agree. I love knots and tie down a lot of things. These two knots cover 95% of my usage.

My clothes go in ziplocs - works well.

johndku: "If you have trouble with a truckers hitch, look at a tautline hitch know. Easier to tie, and can be used to tighten/tension a line on tents, tarps, etc.."

Agreed. Tautline hitch is easy and effective. As mentioned the bowline is useful too.

My clothes go in an ordinary nylon stuff sack. I'm not even sure if it's waterproof, but it goes inside my pack liner which is, and I've never had any wet clothes yet.

Knot wise, I'm in the minority but I don't like truckers hitches and never use them. I do use bow lines all the time, and taut line hitches (or a slip version of it) constantly, Once in a while I use a square knot or a water knot, and a clove hitch is good if you are into the PCT method of hanging a bear bag. I dint know hammock knots.

Save yourself pack space and use a compression sack for clothes. It will reduce bulk by 50%. As far as knots the previous posts covered that well except I would recommend learning a Prussic knot to string a taunt ridge line on a tarp.

My tip for rope is do not take nylon cord (I.e. paracord) way too much stretch. Take double braided polyester, spectra and/or dyneema. Very low stretch, very high strength and very low relaxation/ elongation.

ParkerMag: "My clothes and personal gear/goodies go in a Sea-to-Summit eVent bag.

I have three of these and really like them. One for my underquilt, one for my sleeping bag and one for my clothes.

As for knots, I use those Nite Ize figure 9 cord tighteners. No need to remember or learn knots. I use them on tarps, tents, clothes lines, anchor ropes, just about everything.

I have used compression sacks for years inside my commercial grade trash bag/pack liner. Never an issue. The pack liner usually gets a few trips in before a small hole(s) develop. Put it in the water twice, always non strap side down in the canoe and never a problem with the inside getting wet (CCS Hybrid Packs).

This past year, I have gone to a couple of Gossamer Gear pack liners https://www.gossamergear.com/collections/accessories/products/pack-liner.

This seems to work well for me as I have lightened my load. I no longer need the compression sacks or plastic pack liner. Plenty of room in the pioneer for two of these as I load them; sleeping gear/clothes in one- food and other items in the other.

My kids like the sea to summit bags ultralight dray bags. Light but I think lighter in durability as well.. Time will tell.

Knots have been covered well.


John

You can buy a little set of plastic cards from Pro-Knot that show you how to tie 20 knots. I practice and practice at home but when I get in the woods my memory goes blank. These plastic cards are bound together, are waterproof and I have a set connected to my tarp and another set to my Lean. They are the size of a credit card an weigh almost nothing. I bought mine a Cabela's but they are also available from Amazon. I'm going to go on-line right now and buy a set for each of my usual tripping partners.

johndku: "If you have trouble with a truckers hitch, look at a tautline hitch know. Easier to tie, and can be used to tighten/tension a line on tents, tarps, etc.."

That's what I use, because no matter how many times I learned the truckers hitch I always forget it.. can't beat the tautline for simplicity, might be my favorite.

My clothes go into a Watershed duffel and are hand carried outside of my main pack. In the other hand another watershed duffel carries all my cooking gear. Different colors, always readily accessible sitting next to my tent or under a tarp.

Better than a compression sack as I don't have to dig around to find what i want. The duffel opens lengthwise and all is revealed basically at a glance. Nice! Throw in that they are completely watertight and such that when you carry them they don't hang low. They are the cats meow on a portage, in camp or in the boat. In the boat I like that they are separate and I can adjust the trim by moving the bags around.

Watershed duffels

We use 10 or 15 liter dry bags lined with a kitchen size trash bag for our clothes. We gave another one for our synthetic insulation jackets. As for knots we use a quick release Sheet Bend and also a Truckers Hitch a lot. Also two Half Hitches.

I REALLY like the new Seal Line Compression Blocker Dry Sacks. I wish I would have found them before investing in other Sea to Summit and Outdoor Research dry compression bags. The Sea to Summit just end up being like basketballs with a lot of wasted space around them. The Outdoor Research Dry Compression bags, while a little more packable as longer tubes instead of ball shaped, they have a sticky inside that makes it hard to press stuff into them.

The Seal Line ones have a block-ish shape that packs better.

As an alternative to knots for some purposes, the Nite Ize Figure 9 Carabiners are pretty slick.

I use bowline for making loops, clove hitch for attaching ridge line to a tree, truckers (or truckie) hitch for tensioning a ridge line to the other tree, taut line for tensioning a rope from tarp to a stake, prusik for an adjustable sliding loop on the ridge line and attach to tarp with carabiners, sheet bend for non-permanently attaching two ropes together.

Relatively easy to learn and I use them all frequently.

Stephmed: "How do you pack your clothes for the BWCA? Do you put them in ziplocks? Do you put them in a compression bags and then a waterproof bag? Also what knot is your go to knot for your trip? I’m learning quite a few knots... The truckers hitch knot has me a little confused so that knot is my main focus for now lol. 34 more days till our BWCA trip! I’m super excited!! "

I use a 2.5 gallon ziplock for dirty/wet clothes. I use two dry bags for clean. One small 1 liter for socks and towels (dry). A 10 liter for all else.

I go in on EP25 on June 18th. Only thing left to pack is clothes! lol I am waiting to do a permethrin soak 2 weeks before. I can't wait....clock is moving way to slow.

Northwoodsman: "You can buy a little set of plastic cards from Pro-Knot that show you how to tie 20 knots. I practice and practice at home but when I get in the woods my memory goes blank. These plastic cards are bound together, are waterproof and I have a set connected to my tarp and another set to my Lean. They are the size of a credit card an weigh almost nothing. I bought mine a Cabela's but they are also available from Amazon. I'm going to go on-line right now and buy a set for each of my usual tripping partners."

+1
I have an awful memory...

Northwoodsman: "You can buy a little set of plastic cards from Pro-Knot that show you how to tie 20 knots. I practice and practice at home but when I get in the woods my memory goes blank. These plastic cards are bound together, are waterproof and I have a set connected to my tarp and another set to my Lean. They are the size of a credit card an weigh almost nothing. I bought mine a Cabela's but they are also available from Amazon. I'm going to go on-line right now and buy a set for each of my usual tripping partners."

+2 This card set also good for helping kids or inexperienced tripping partners learn to tie knots as well rather than stand around watching you do all the work :-)

Another alternative is the Grog Knots app on the iPhone. I plan to leave the Pro Knots cards at home this year and get more value out of the iPhone which I bring anyway for pictures and Gaia Maps/GPS type stuff.

or as an old sailor once taught me: if you can't tie a knot just tie a lot...

Knots are for nerds.

Figure 9

tarnkt: "Knots are for nerds.


Figure 9 "

No way Jose'

Thank you everyone for some more knots to work on!! We have 8 knots down working on a few more to figure out which knots work best for us. We are going to use a compression bag for our clothes instead of ziplocking individual items. Seems like we already saved a lot of room. Again thank you everyone for all the advice.

Check out this youtube vid! Mind blown. Never seen a bowline tied like this. Great tips for setting up a ridgeline tarp. Will use for sure my next trip.
With any knot, you really need to practice the knot. Just seeing someone do it is not enough.

https://youtu.be/FnlaQHIoCs8

tarnkt: "Knots are for nerds.


Figure 9 "

YES!

These things are awesome.

I've got some of the small plastic figure 9's that came with a Kelty tarp, I believe. They are nice, but a truckers hitch and a taut line are very easy to tie and replaces them in most cases for me. Am I a nerd for enjoying knowing some knots???? maybe, but I'm a happy nerd when stringing up a tarp....no place I'd rather be than setting up camp in the BW!

I am also practicing my knots, great suggestions by all. I have 2 lengths of 2 different types of rope & practice knots when I have down time. I am all packed up & ready to go, just have to permethrin my clothes. Rainy weather here has me putting it off for a dry day. Heading up & in next week.

I like Eagle Creek pack-it specter cubes, I have them in 3 sizes-sm, med & lg. I've found they lay nice & flat, have a handle to move them around. Good for taking them in & out of my GG pack (lined with a garbage bag) or in the tent, weigh next to nothing & hold a good amount in a nice shape. They are slippery, but that makes them easy to slide in a pack. Not waterproof. I find stuff that is cranked down tends to make unusable space. I put my dirty/wet items, mostly socks, in a ziplock then in a little stuff sack.

Eagle Creek Packit-specter cube set