How to Attach a Sleeping Bag to a Backpack? 9 Easy Steps

Camping is an adventurous and relaxing outdoor activity. When you’re going to your camping site, Then How to Attach a Sleeping Bag to a Backpack? almost all the materials are stored in your backpack. And you probably find no space to keep your sleeping bag inside the backpack. Then what to do?

As you can’t skip taking the Sleeping bag, so must think of other ways of carrying it with you. Well, the most useful and widely used way is to attach the sleeping bag to the outside of the backpack.

It will save you lots of space to place your precious things inside the backpack. And it also helps to maintain the weight load on your back.

But the question arises, how to attach a sleeping bag to a backpack? Plenty of ways are there to do this trick. Well, to teach you well, we’ve designed this guide comprising ways to attach a sleeping bag to a backpack and how you can keep your sleeping bag dry while storing it outside.

Stick with us to learn more!

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How to Attach a Sleeping Bag to a backpack Perfectly to Attach it!

Grounded in fact, rolling the sleeping bag is an essential skill to be acquired by any camper. Although you can differently attach the sleeping bag to the backpack, you just need to roll it to do the trick.

Practically, perfectly folding the sleeping bag to make it extremely compact and round isn’t that easy. You need to follow the below-mentioned steps to make your job easy.

1- Lay it flat on a dry surface

First of all, lay the sleeping bag flat on the clean and dry surface.

2- Flatten it completely

You need to remove the excess air by perfectly flattening the sleeping bag. This air won’t allow you to ideally roll it.

You can do it by just sweeping your arm across the bag and repeating the process until you get a completely flat sleeping bag.

3- Zip up the bag

After removing the excess air, you need to zip up the bag. This is because the unzipped bag can create problems while rolling. Moreover, the air will continue to go inside and interrupts the compact folding process.

4- Push large pockets out via head

Make sure to keep any large pockets outside as these air pockets won’t allow the smooth rolling of your sleeping bag.

5- Fold it in half lengthwise

Firstly, make sure that edges are lined up. Then start folding it from one side over in a way that it lines up with the zipper.

6- Start rolling upward from the feet

Here, you need to use both hands to tightly roll up the bag. Try to knead it with your hands to remove any air.

7- Squeeze it with your knees to keep it tight

As you need the compact and fully tight folded sleeping bag. So, you can do it rightly by sitting on the bag with your knees to get the tight roll and to push out any remaining air. You will be surprised that this process frees up extra 4-5 inches to roll it up more tightly and it also helps to move out more air.

8- Use the attached straps to complete rolling

Almost all sleeping bags come with straps that cinch around the rolled bag and helps to keep it in the exact rolled position. You need to close the straps a bit far away from the edges to keep the sleeping bag perfectly in a tight position. But if your sleeping bag doesn’t have any straps, you can improvise it using the belt, rubber bands, or rope.

9- Keep the bag dry

As you’re going to attach your sleeping bag with the backpack, you must keep in mind that it could get wet. But the wet sleeping bags aren’t comfortable at all, and also, they can be dangerous as water wicks away heat very quickly.

We highly recommend keeping your sleeping bag in a waterproof bag. But if your sleeping bag doesn’t come with a waterproof cover, you can use a plastic bag for this purpose.

Finally, your sleeping bag is now ready to get attached to the backpack.

Ways to Attach a Sleeping Bag to a Backpack

As a matter of fact, attaching the sleeping bag to a backpack isn’t that easy. You must follow a particular method with some skills to take better advantage out of your sleeping bag.

To assist you in this regard, we are going to describe some useful ways to attach a sleeping bag to a backpack. You can do it by

1- Using dedicated Straps and Loops

Most backpacks have incorporated loops on the backside, they are specifically added to attach things. And all the sleeping bags must have straps that assist in convenient carry.

Keep in mind that if your backpack doesn’t contain any loops or straps, you can add them by yourself or just skip this method.

The good news is that it’s really easy and straightforward to attach your sleeping bag with a backpack by following this method. All you need to do is to slide the straps through the loops and tighten them. And now your backpack and sleeping bag are ready to go with you.

Hold in there, if you don’t securely fasten the loops, your sleeping bag may swing and can disturb you while traveling. So, this method isn’t for everyone.

2- Using the Compression Buckle

Out in the open, some backpacks have built-in compression buckles on the back panel. Although most recent models don’t have this feature, you can find it on some older backpacks.

You might wonder that if you’re holding such a backpack, then why you didn’t utilize this opportunity before.

As a matter of fact, these compression buckles are innovatively added to make your backpacks more secure. Actually, when you fill your backpack to its full capacity, these compression buckles could be used to tighten the bag and to secure any gaps.

You can find compression buckles on the sides of backpacks and you can smartly use them to attach your sleeping bag.

Out of other methods, we liked this one because the buckles are widely spaced and hence proved ideal to secure a sleeping bag without any swinging. Moreover, these buckles are excellent to evenly distribute the weight of your sleeping bag.

3- Using Internal Frame

If you are holding an internal frame backpack, then attaching the sleeping bag with it is quite easier and more fun. Actually, the internal backpacks have one long compartment with the tightening straps on the bottom.

Stunningly, you can attach your sleeping bag to the top of your backpack by using the same provided strings. All you need to do is to put the sleeping bag on the top and tighten it perfectly.

The incorporated lid with attached strings is excellent to bear the load of even heavier sleeping bags.

The good thing about this method is that you will find it really easy to carry your sleeping bag along with the backpack without putting much burden on your back.

Hold in there, a flaw is there in this method. A gap will be created between the lid and your pack which is prone to moisture. But you can do the trick by using the Nylon cover to ensure that the gap isn’t prone to weather conditions.

But lots of people claim that bags with internal frames quite complicated as they make a cylindrical chamber in which you continue to pile stuff on top of each other. And when you need to find small things like a toothbrush, you will find it difficult. As this takes lots of time, so users mostly get frustrated.

4- Using External Frame

Grounded in fact, the backpacks with an external frame have a tie point at the bottom. We find the external frame excellent to support and maintain the solid structure.

You can smartly use these tie points on the bottom of packs to do the trick for you. Interestingly, the straps are incorporated at these tying points.

Actually, they are there to maintain the perfect shape and balance of your backpack. But you can excellently use them to hold your sleeping bag.

People are loving this method as the straps are good enough to perfectly attach the sleeping bag. So, you don’t need to be worried about back pain or overburden.

5- Building your very Own Tying System

On the clear ground, you can perfectly attach the sleeping bag with the backpack only when it has straps. But what if your sleeping bag doesn’t come with any strap? Will you never be able to attach your sleeping bag with your backpack?

You can solve this problem by building your own support system. To do the trick, you need elastic rope or twine and some buckles.

All you need to do is to wrap the pieces of twine or rope around the sleeping bag and make sure that they are tight and strong enough to hold your sleeping bag. And use the other two pieces to attach from the loop on the backpack to the sleeping bag.

But make sure that everything is right, check twice the strength of straps and how tightly your sleeping bag is bounded to the backpack. If something went wrong, the sleeping bag could break away. The good thing is that if everything is nice and tight, then you wouldn’t encounter any problem.

6- Wrapping it on your Backpack

On the clear ground, the most common way of attaching a sleeping bag with the backpack is from outside. Most travelers love to mount the sleeping bag on the top of the backpack, which seems the most convenient and secure way.

Although by doing so, you might be able to conveniently carry your sleeping bag with the backpack. But keep in mind that this could go wrong as your sleeping bag might get damp in wet or rainy weather.

For comfortable sleep you must have a dry sleeping bag, so keep that thing in mind before going for this method.

7- Pack your Sleeping Bag inside Backpack

To get on with perfection, packing your sleeping bag inside your backpack is the most trustworthy and effortless way towards your camping site.

As the sleeping bag attached outside the backpack may get damped or wet, so it might put you in some serious tension. Besides this, a wet sleeping bag is almost useless for any adventure and even it can be dangerous.

The good thing about placing the sleeping bag inside the backpack is that it frees the space to attach any wet camping gear on the outside. As we know that even hanging the sleeping bag close to the wet items can make it damp, so it will be completely safe inside.

But where to place the sleeping bag inside the backpack? As sleeping bags are heavier and need more space, so should place them at the bottom of the backpack for perfect packing. Moreover, by doing so the weight of your backpack will be perfectly balanced and you will find it easy on your back.

Well, most people love to keep their footwear at the bottom side of a backpack, but we recommend you to give that place to your sleeping bag. You must keep your footwear out and leave the dry space for the sleeping bag. As it’s really important to keep it dry!

Is it worthy to Attach a Sleeping bag to a Backpack?

On the moral high ground, the short answer to this question is “YES”. There are multiple reasons for this. Firstly, you can save ample space inside the bag to store your other stuff.

This means if you have the skills to attach your sleeping back outside the backpack, they will have enough space to store your essential camping gear inside.

Another reason is that the hanging perfectly bounded sleeping bag can be useful for excellent weight distribution. As we know that heavy load focused on one part of your back can cause severe back strain compared to evenly distributed weight.

Moreover, most campers and hikers carry their sleeping bags on the outside of backpacks to valuable space inside, so it’s not a bad idea to do the same.

But keep in mind that the sleeping back stored outside the backpack is more prone to weather conditions and it can get damp in the cold or rainy weather.

So, make sure to take proper measures before adopting this method. But you can learn how to keep your sleeping bag dry in all conditions. Let’s see how!

How to keep your Sleeping bag dry while storing it outside the backpack?

As you are planning to attach your sleeping bag with the backpack, you must know that how you can keep it dry.

Remember, the wet or damped sleeping bags will take away your comfy sleep and can even make you sick. In order to get the dry sleeping bag at all times, you must take some measures.

Firstly, make sure that the sleeping bag is completely dry before folding and packing it. Consider removing all the excess area for perfect storage.

If your bag is even slightly damp, don’t pack it until it’s completely dry. The reason is that when you pack a damped sleeping bag, it doesn’t lose dampness while traveling as it’s tightly packed.

Furthermore, to keep it dry even in wet conditions, you must back it in two-layer protection. Place your sleeping bag in a thick water-resistant bag.

Then wrap it again in the sleeping bag original carrying sack. Finally, tighten it with the incorporated or added strap to make it air-tight and completely safe from water.

Final Verdicts

For any planned camping adventure, you need to take your sleeping bag along with other necessary camping gear. So, placing the sleeping bag inside the backpack is not suitable as you need to store sensitive materials inside.

That’s why people prefer to keep sleeping bags on the outside of the backpack. But the question is, how to attach a sleeping bag to a backpack? Well, our whole guide is the answer to this question.

Read it well to know how to attach and keep your sleeping bag dry!