A few years back, I experimented with building and using some traditional equipment.... a couple "side opening" duffle bags (like Warren Miller used), as well as some waxed muslin bags for things like dried fruit, bannock mix, and sugar. I also made up a couple pot sacks for my various cooking pots out of a heavier duck, which I then treated with a paraffin/beeswax mixture.
The waxed muslin bags work well enough... I'd probably try to find something 'finer', like a more expensive cotton (think 400+ threadcount bedsheet) for the sugar and bannock mix. For other stuff, they're good. You will probably end up re-waxing them after washing them between trips. I also tried using them with a thin plastic produce bag lining them, to add some 'body' to just the plastic bag, yet keep it lighter while looking more traditional... that worked far better.
The pot sacks are superb, and it must be a long, hard, trip before I leave them home and wrap my pots in a Walmart bag... they are heavier, but so worth it: keeps my stuff together (pot, spoon, alcohol fuel bottle, with room for any dry tinder I happen to find, like birchbark or whatever), keeps the soot away from my other gear, and flattened out, makes a great clean space to set things on while cooking (lighter, spices, spoon, teabag, mug, ingredient bag, what have you.)
But I've reverted to my 'normal' method for food carriage... heavy ziplocks for bannock mix, a plastic container that bouillon cubes come in for my sugar, and just a sandwich bag for the dried fruit component of my lunch (which goes inside a zip lock.) The muslin bags were just too much trouble when they needed cleaning and rewaxing. For coffee, it's probably worth it, but I bring tea to the woods (goes further, per oz.)
