They are relatively bulky. There's no good way around that besides using only the portion of the bag you will need.
This is one way to do it. When he's finished that is a pretty tight/small looking pack down. The only down side I can see to his method is one where you're not using the bivy to protect the other non-waterproof components of the bag. While hiking a few miles in a good downpour, you're likely to pull a huge bag of soaked cloth out when that's likely the last thing you need. Also, you could trap a lot of air by just throwing it in there if you're not careful.
It's really a matter of preference. Personally, I like leaving all the bags together for convenience. I have a necessity/survival frame of mind with this sort of thing so whatever I can do to take more work out of the equation so I can focus on other more important things, I like. For the MSS, I leave all the bags together and attached to one another in their appropriate configuration. It's a bit more bulky, but the weight aspect I'm accustomed to, and as far as size goes I'm a minimal packer anyhow. This is the largest item in my pack and one I may not use a lot of the time. So, it goes on the bottom and I end up with extra room to stuff more things in the pack while I'm out if I needed to (scavenging).
To pack mine, I spread it out nice and flat in front of me. I make sure there are no large areas of excessive bunched up material. Then, as you look at the bag from a bit of distance you'll notice it's not perfectly square/rectangular. It's sort of triangular shaped with the narrow end at the feet/bottom of the bag. To start, I'll leave all zippers opened because some of these bags (particularly the bivy) are good at trapping air which takes up more room . I'll then fold the angled side of the bag over in such a way that makes the bag square/rectangular. Then the whole bag will be one long squared up strip where no part of it is wider than the feet/bottom of the bag.
I'll make sure I do this without trapping a lot of extra air and work any air out before proceeding to the next step.
Then, starting at the feet, grab the end of the bag and begin to roll it up TIGHTLY. Start with as small/tight of a roll as you can and keep it tightly compressed throughout the entire process of rolling it. You'll mostly use your hands to roll the material and keep pressure in the areas you need to remove air, while also applying downward pressure to keep what you've already rolled compressed. The more effort you spend here, the less it will require to not only get it in the stuff sack, but also compressing it. Of course, while you're rolling it you'll want to make sure you're trapping as little air as possible and keeping the folded edge squared up. By starting at the feet, most air should escape the open area at the end pretty easily on it's own as you roll it.
Then it's simply a matter of taking your tightly rolled MSS, stuffing it in the sack and compressing it. The guy in the video had a good method to compression. It may be easier for sort of sit on the bag while cinching it down for some, rather than trying to use your arms. Be careful though, it's more difficult to keep it straight and square by doing that too. Just do a little on each strap at a time like in the video.
This is one way to do it. When he's finished that is a pretty tight/small looking pack down. The only down side I can see to his method is one where you're not using the bivy to protect the other non-waterproof components of the bag. While hiking a few miles in a good downpour, you're likely to pull a huge bag of soaked cloth out when that's likely the last thing you need. Also, you could trap a lot of air by just throwing it in there if you're not careful.
It's really a matter of preference. Personally, I like leaving all the bags together for convenience. I have a necessity/survival frame of mind with this sort of thing so whatever I can do to take more work out of the equation so I can focus on other more important things, I like. For the MSS, I leave all the bags together and attached to one another in their appropriate configuration. It's a bit more bulky, but the weight aspect I'm accustomed to, and as far as size goes I'm a minimal packer anyhow. This is the largest item in my pack and one I may not use a lot of the time. So, it goes on the bottom and I end up with extra room to stuff more things in the pack while I'm out if I needed to (scavenging).
To pack mine, I spread it out nice and flat in front of me. I make sure there are no large areas of excessive bunched up material. Then, as you look at the bag from a bit of distance you'll notice it's not perfectly square/rectangular. It's sort of triangular shaped with the narrow end at the feet/bottom of the bag. To start, I'll leave all zippers opened because some of these bags (particularly the bivy) are good at trapping air which takes up more room . I'll then fold the angled side of the bag over in such a way that makes the bag square/rectangular. Then the whole bag will be one long squared up strip where no part of it is wider than the feet/bottom of the bag.
I'll make sure I do this without trapping a lot of extra air and work any air out before proceeding to the next step.
Then, starting at the feet, grab the end of the bag and begin to roll it up TIGHTLY. Start with as small/tight of a roll as you can and keep it tightly compressed throughout the entire process of rolling it. You'll mostly use your hands to roll the material and keep pressure in the areas you need to remove air, while also applying downward pressure to keep what you've already rolled compressed. The more effort you spend here, the less it will require to not only get it in the stuff sack, but also compressing it. Of course, while you're rolling it you'll want to make sure you're trapping as little air as possible and keeping the folded edge squared up. By starting at the feet, most air should escape the open area at the end pretty easily on it's own as you roll it.
Then it's simply a matter of taking your tightly rolled MSS, stuffing it in the sack and compressing it. The guy in the video had a good method to compression. It may be easier for sort of sit on the bag while cinching it down for some, rather than trying to use your arms. Be careful though, it's more difficult to keep it straight and square by doing that too. Just do a little on each strap at a time like in the video.
