Homemade Haul Bag

A "haul bag" refers to any sack or bag that you use to carry your rock climbing equipment and other supplies. It's generally made of a tough material and is often awkward because of the weight of the contents. You can buy a haul bag from an outdoor sports retailer, or you can make one out of items you have around your house to save a great deal of money.

  1. Ideal Material

    • You might think that a smoother material, such as nylon, might slide along the surface of the rock or glacier that you are climbing; however, there is no material smooth enough to avoid friction with the side of a mountain or a glacier. Instead of texture, go for toughness. Old sugar sacks or burlap bags have the durability to climb with you.

    Creative Tactics

    • When durable bags haven't been handy, some climbers have used doubled-up hammocks as haul bags. While hammocks have a lot of gaps in them, by doubling them up you half the size of the gaps, and most of your equipment is too large to squeeze out these smaller holes.

    How to Haul a Haul Bag

    • As heavy as a haul bag can be, it can be extremely difficult to get it up the side of a sheer wall with you. Luckily, your body weight and pulleys can do the trick. By clipping your harness to a rope on the other side of a pulley from the bag and sitting down, you can bring the bag up. Bring the slack through the pulley and repeat until the bag is at the desired height.

    Packing Tips

    • Use your sleeping pad as an interior layer that goes around the inside of your haul bag. Split your essentials, such as food, into two different sets of bags, and put the set you'll need later in your trip way down into the bag; put the first set closer to the top. For the rest of your items, such as clothes, water bottles, and cans, pack them in the reverse order that you'll want to get them out, so you don't have to rustle through your bag in the dark.