{"id":1908,"date":"2019-09-30T17:55:21","date_gmt":"2019-09-30T22:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carcampingtips.com\/?p=1908"},"modified":"2022-03-03T06:01:57","modified_gmt":"2022-03-03T12:01:57","slug":"what-to-use-as-a-rock-sack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/what-to-use-as-a-rock-sack\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Use As a Rock Sack: DIY, Pre-made, Alternatives"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Hanging up your food to avoid bears and other critters is tantamount to keeping these animals away from you and your campsite.  It&#8217;s also nice to have food for the rest of your trip!  Using a rock sack to counterbalance your food is a common technique in the PCT hang method (the name coined from a popular food-hanging method used on the Pacific Coast Trail).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"601\" src=\"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/bear_bags_bear_pole-1024x601.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1928\" srcset=\"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/bear_bags_bear_pole-1024x601.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/bear_bags_bear_pole-768x451.jpg 768w, https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/bear_bags_bear_pole.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>What can be used as a rock sack? <strong>The following are different materials that can be used as rock sacks:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Hang Kits with Rock Bag<\/strong>  <\/li><li><strong>Mesh produce bags<\/strong> <\/li><li><strong>DIY lightweight cloth bags<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Lightweight drawstring bags<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Tent Stake Bag<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>Sleeping Bag Stuff Sack<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>The Food Bag<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rock Sack Options<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>You don&#8217;t need to have the most technologically advanced fabric in order to make an effective rock sack.  You just want to have a lightweight bag that can sustain the weight of a couple rocks to allow you to throw the bag over a tree branch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Bear Bagging Kits with Rock Sack<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There is not a ton of gear that you need to hang a bear bag.  The convenient bear hanging system includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>A dry bag that can hold all your food and smelly toiletries that can be rained on without soaking your food<\/li><li>A Carabiner to clip on to your dry bag and loop the rope through  <\/li><li>Rope\/Paracord<\/li><li>A rock sack<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don&#8217;t want to worry about packing these, <strong>you can opt to get a bear bagging system with everything included<\/strong>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Selkirk puts together one and sells it on Amazon,for a reasonable price.  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Selkirk-Design-Ultralight-Hanging-System\/dp\/B07P5TW74Q\" data-lasso-id=\"1104\">Check it out here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mesh Produce Bags<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We just purchased some of these bags to try and avoid using so many plastic bags for our produce.  These are made from a very fine mesh that is strong enough to hold a few pounds of tomatoes, so these will work well for holding a few rocks.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mesh is fine enough where it won&#8217;t catch on large twigs, and because it&#8217;s mesh, this is one of the more lightweight options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would say, though, that these bags are so lightweight, that I&#8217;d worry that they are a little fragile and may eventually tear from the experience of  being thrown several times with rocks in them.  (I&#8217;m talking about someone else, you&#8217;ll get it over that branch on the first try, right?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mesh Gear Carrying Bags<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Our lives are surrounded by containers.  I&#8217;m sure you&#8217;ve purchased something that came in a bag that you weren&#8217;t expecting!  What happens to all these bags?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Well, they all end up in your garage somewhere or in landfills.  But, you can put these bags to good use!  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you bought a small item that came in a lightweight, durable bag, you can use this as a rock sack.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">DIY Lightweight Cloth Bags<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Another popular option is to make your own small rock sack.  You don&#8217;t have to make a very big bag at all.  In fact, a piece of fabric 3 x 3 inches is all you need to create a big enough rock sack to use.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since I am not actually very good at crafts, I&#8217;m just going to share a video:<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube\"><div class=\"lyte-wrapper fourthree\" title=\"DIY DRAWSTRING BAGS | abetweene\" style=\"width:420px;max-width:100%;margin:5px auto;\"><div class=\"lyMe\" id=\"WYL_R7Vxuah3Pnk\" itemprop=\"video\" itemscope itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/VideoObject\"><div><meta itemprop=\"thumbnailUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FR7Vxuah3Pnk%2Fhqdefault.jpg\" \/><meta itemprop=\"embedURL\" content=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/R7Vxuah3Pnk\" \/><meta itemprop=\"duration\" content=\"PT4M9S\" \/><meta itemprop=\"uploadDate\" content=\"2016-03-30T04:14:17Z\" \/><\/div><div id=\"lyte_R7Vxuah3Pnk\" data-src=\"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FR7Vxuah3Pnk%2Fhqdefault.jpg\" class=\"pL\"><div class=\"tC\"><div class=\"tT\" itemprop=\"name\">DIY DRAWSTRING BAGS | abetweene<\/div><\/div><div class=\"play\"><\/div><div class=\"ctrl\"><div class=\"Lctrl\"><\/div><div class=\"Rctrl\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><noscript><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/R7Vxuah3Pnk\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-youtube-lyte\/lyteCache.php?origThumbUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FR7Vxuah3Pnk%2F0.jpg\" alt=\"DIY DRAWSTRING BAGS | abetweene\" width=\"420\" height=\"295\" \/><\/a><\/noscript><meta itemprop=\"description\" content=\"DIY drawstring bags? Its not magic, it&#039;s easy! you\u2019ll need: - muslin or printed cotton if your choosing - sewing machine or needle - matching thread - cord or string the dimensions of my finalized bags are 4.5\u201d X 5.5\u201d remember to add 1\/4\u201d seam allowance for your side seams, and 1\/2\u201d for the tunnel ____________________ STALK ME B L O G http:\/\/abetweene.com I N S T A G R A M instagram.com\/abetweene T W I T T E R http:\/\/twitter.com\/abetweene F A C E B O O K facebok.com\/abetweenee TUMBLR http:\/\/tumblr.abetweene.com ___________________ + not a sponsored video\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"lL\" style=\"max-width:100%;width:420px;margin:5px auto;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/R7Vxuah3Pnk\" target=\"_blank\">Watch this video on YouTube<\/a>.<\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>She uses Muslin to make her bag, but you can use any kind of fabric you have handy even though some may be easier to work with than others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is probably the coolest way to make a rock bag since you can apply your own personal brand to the bag.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lightweight Drawstring Bags<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember that free drawstring bag that you got as free swag from that booth you got at a career fair a dozen years ago?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I keep all of those.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These versatile bags are lightweight (usually the free ones aren&#8217;t ultralight) and can be used in dozens of ways.  Putting a few rocks in them for throwing over a tree branch is just one of the options.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tent Stake Bag<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You may not think of it, but you have bags that come with your tent that are not being used when your tent is in use.  <em>Usually<\/em> you are trying to hang up your food when your tent is pitched, so this may be an easy and viable option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One downside to using this method is that rocks can damage your bag&#8211;if you want your tent stake bag pristine, you might want to try something else.  If you don&#8217;t care, then this works great!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sleeping Bag Stuff Sack<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Again, since your tent is pitched you probably have your sleeping bag unpacked as well&#8211;you can use this sack that will be unused throughout the night as a rock sack as well.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The downside to this option is that these stuff sacks sometimes have straps made for compressing the bag which can catch on twigs on the way down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Food Bag<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don&#8217;t have a nice dry bag to hang your food in and instead have another type of bag or sack, and if you don&#8217;t mind putting your food in the same bag that you just put a few rocks in, then you may be able to skip using another bag for your rock sack altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">No Rock Sack At All<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;ve done this method a couple times with&#8230; really not very impressive results.  Tying a rope to a rock seems like a great idea, and if you&#8217;re good with your knots this can work.  But rocks fall a lot less predictably than a rock sack, so it really is worth your time and effort to use some sort of sack to help you in this process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Heavy Does a Rock Sack Need to Be?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Your rock sack doesn&#8217;t need to hold much.  In fact, <strong>1 lb of rock <\/strong>will do just fine for what you need.  I wouldn&#8217;t throw anything more than <strong>1.5 lbs of rock.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although it depends on the type of rock, 1 lb of rock roughly translates to about the size of your fist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Kind of Knots do I Need to Know to Use a Rock Sack?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When tying your rope that you will be using to hang your food, you can use a myriad of knots, but all you really need to use is a simple <strong>slip knot.<\/strong>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a slip knot, you can put the loop that slip not creates on the top of the bag if it doesn&#8217;t have a drawstring, or you can loop the slip knot through the drawstrings if you do have them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The PCT Method<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The PCT method is one of the many methods used for &#8220;bear bagging&#8221;, or hanging up your food in such a way to be difficult to be reached by bears.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From my research of the topic, I learned that the PCT method has had criticism, and some national parks disallow it.  <strong>Always check the rules of the park you are visiting so you can abide by its rules.  <\/strong>The rules are there for a reason and they will list the safest known methods of storing your food for that particular park.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The PCT method is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>Tie the standing end of your rope to a tree trunk so you don&#8217;t lose your length of rope when you throw your rock sack<\/li><li>Tie your rope to your rock sack using a slip knot.  <\/li><li>Put 1 lb of rock into your rock sack<\/li><li>Throw the rock sack over a tree branch, you are trying to maximize the distance from the food to the tree trunk.  (Some charts will show 10 feet as a minimum to the tree trunk, and 20 above the ground)<\/li><li>Repeat as necessary since you probably won&#8217;t toss it perfectly the first time<\/li><li>Once the rock sack is over the branch, allow the rock sack to come back to the ground  <\/li><li>Untie the rope from the rock sack<\/li><li>Tie the rope to a carabiner<\/li><li>Attach the carabiner to the food bag, and put the standing end of the rope through the carabiner<\/li><li>Pull the rope so the food bag is pulled up adjacent to the tree branch<\/li><li>Tie a toggle (a thumb-width stick will do) to the rope.  Allow the food bag to come back until it hits the toggle.  <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>You should now have a food bag that is suspended in the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Alternatives to the PCT method<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As I mentioned, the PCT method has been criticized for not being effective, especially deep in bear country.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;d like to learn about more methods for keeping out bears such as about bear lockers and more info about the below, <a href=\"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/can-a-bear-break-a-car-window\/\" data-lasso-id=\"1105\">check out our article about keeping bears away from your campsite<\/a>, your car, and your food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bear Canisters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Bear canisters are like safes made relatively easy for humans to open but very difficult for bears to crack open.  These are proven effective in 99% of cases, although there are rumors of bears getting into these.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Odor-proof Bags<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Another option is an odor-proof bag.  These essentially prevent odors from escaping which is the primary reason for moving your food away from you and your campsite.  This isn&#8217;t exactly an alternative, and is actually a good idea to use if you are planning on hanging your food (to prevent the smell of food from attracting the bears at all)  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hanging up your food to avoid bears and other critters is tantamount to keeping these animals away from you and your campsite. It&#8217;s also nice to have food for the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1928,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":32,"label":"Safety"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/bear_bags_bear_pole-1024x601.jpg",640,376,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Peter","author_link":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/author\/outsidedecider\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":32,"name":"Safety","slug":"safety","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":32,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":24,"count":8,"filter":"raw","term_order":"3","cat_ID":32,"category_count":8,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Safety","category_nicename":"safety","category_parent":24}],"tag_info":false,"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1908"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1908"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7790,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1908\/revisions\/7790"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}