View Full Version : Clumpy down?
sethd513
08-29-2015, 09:16
I feel like our two down bags ( a 550 and 800 ) aren't filling up the baffles as well as they should be. They have only been hanging out for a few days as they have been In a stuff sack or compression sack while not on the trail. Hind site is always 20/20. Anything I can do to help fill these back up or do they just need time to expand. The 550 seems better then the 800 and its the less expensive of the two.
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I feel like our two down bags ( a 550 and 800 ) aren't filling up the baffles as well as they should be. They have only been hanging out for a few days as they have been In a stuff sack or compression sack while not on the trail. Hind site is always 20/20. Anything I can do to help fill these back up or do they just need time to expand. The 550 seems better then the 800 and its the less expensive of the two...
Is the down actually clumpy, or just not fully expanded? If there are clumps, I'd spend some time breaking up the clumps by hand. Either way, I'd shake the bags good and give them a few more days and see how they are looking. If they haven't fluffed up completely I'd run them in a commercial drier set to the coolest setting for fifteen minutes or so. If that doesn't do it I'd add some tennis balls and run it again for a while.
If the down is dirty from use and body oils, I'd wash the bag first following the manufacturer's instructions.
sethd513
08-29-2015, 11:18
I'm going to say not fully expanded. It doesn't seem like there is enough to to fill the baffles though. The 550 is 80% goosedown and the 800 is 90% duck down. I'll give it a week and hope that it fills. Or I have a good reason for an EE quilt [emoji3]
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Traveler
08-29-2015, 12:30
What a great trail name! Clumpy Down.
shelterbuilder
08-29-2015, 21:56
Take the bags to your local Laundromat and one by one, run them through the dryer on no heat with a couple of tennis balls! The tennis balls will gently knock the clumps apart, and will generate a slight static charge as they rub against the nylon fabric. The charge will act to further separate the clumps. (I used to do this with an old sneaker instead of a tennis ball, because the noise used to annoy the heck out of the Laundromat's owner....) And don't store the bags in the stuff sacks - store them flat on the floor so that the down can loft up as much as possible.
If after a few vigorous shakes and a few hours you bags are not lofting you have a pretty good indication that there is body oil/sweat in them
In other words what normal people call dirty.
sethd513
08-30-2015, 09:23
We started using bag liners after a few times sleeping in them but I have had them for a while. Mine seems to have filled up but after a few days and some good shakes. Her 800 though is more on the clumpy side. They don't smell bad and I'd rather not wash them if I don't have to. I have to use a commercial front load? Can't use the lg down stairs?
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MuddyWaters
08-30-2015, 11:20
Do you have hours or days to wait to loft in the field?
Do yourself a favor and properly wash your bags. Clean down lofts faster and higher. Use down wash, a bathtub, and do at least 3 good rinses. Today's high efficiency washers don't get soap out. Horribly inferior to hand.
Seriously, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse till water is cold and clear
My bags are kept loose in big plastic tubs . I see the notable difference between clean and dirty on stored loft. Dirty may loft good out of dryer, but sinks/collapses onitself in the tub. Clean doesnt, its level with top of tub,.
Down needs washing in as little as 7 nights of use, less in warm sweaty conditions. By 3weeks, its serious loft reduction, drying doesn't fix.
sethd513
08-30-2015, 19:45
Do you have hours or days to wait to loft in the field?
Do yourself a favor and properly wash your bags. Clean down lofts faster and higher. Use down wash, a bathtub, and do at least 3 good rinses. Today's high efficiency washers don't get soap out. Horribly inferior to hand.
Seriously, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse till water is cold and clear
My bags are kept loose in big plastic tubs . I see the notable difference between clean and dirty on stored loft. Dirty may loft good out of dryer, but sinks/collapses onitself in the tub. Clean doesnt, its level with top of tub,.
Down needs washing in as little as 7 nights of use, less in warm sweaty conditions. By 3weeks, its serious loft reduction, drying doesn't fix.
Fair enough. It's time to wash them asap. Thanks for the input that's what I needed to hear
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shelterbuilder
08-30-2015, 22:46
If you wash it, then be VERY CAREFUL to squeeze out as much water as you can, and then lift it from underneath (to support it). If you try to lift it from the top, you run the risk of ripping out the internal baffles that hold the down in place. Once these baffles are ripped, the bag is useless, since the down won't stay where it's supposed to stay. You can use a commercial front loader, but spend the extra money to run it through a second time with no soap. This will give you several extra "rinses". Again, when you dry it, use the tennis balls to break up the down clumps - and use a very low heat setting.
sethd513
08-31-2015, 16:26
I'm assuming using a minimal amount of soap in a commercial washer will help with the complete rinse? Still necessary to rince twice? Then dry low heat?
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MuddyWaters
08-31-2015, 17:57
I'm assuming using a minimal amount of soap in a commercial washer will help with the complete rinse? Still necessary to rince twice? Then dry low heat?
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dont be lazy.
You have to use down soap, use the recommended amount.
Machines suck. Seriously, tight down-proof fabrics that are DWR coated become air-tight when wet.
Its a chore even getting the bag wetted out
I have seen bags in a washer just sit there like a big balloon while the washer agitates
There is very little movement of water thru these fabrics, the washing is poor, the rinsing is laughable.
I have re-rinsed bags by hand that were machine rinsed 3 times, and seen noticeable improvements.
Again, todays washers are high efficiency. They attempt to wash using almost NO water. It simply doesnt work. It doesnt even work for normal clothes, it surely doesnt work for bags.
All you need is a bathtub.
sethd513
08-31-2015, 20:37
All I have are claw foots not plastic tubs.
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Franco knows this because it's the same clumping that occurs in his adult diapers, this is why he is always so salty
I'm assuming using a minimal amount of soap in a commercial washer will help with the complete rinse? Still necessary to rince twice? Then dry low heat?
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Western Mountaineering has full instructions on their website.
Tip: place the bag in a stuff sack to wet it out. Wash in your clean bathtub. Or send them off to Rainy Pass in Washington. Details online. They are approved by all the big bag companies.
Wayne
Sent from somewhere around here.
Take the bags to your local Laundromat and one by one, run them through the dryer on no heat with a couple of tennis balls! The tennis balls will gently knock the clumps apart, and will generate a slight static charge as they rub against the nylon fabric. The charge will act to further separate the clumps. (I used to do this with an old sneaker instead of a tennis ball, because the noise used to annoy the heck out of the Laundromat's owner....) And don't store the bags in the stuff sacks - store them flat on the floor so that the down can loft up as much as possible.
LMAO!
I used to get the same response at the laundromat back in my college/ski bum days in Vermont. The laundromat owner was also my landlord, so I had to dry my sneaks on the radiator, and use some tennis balls to fluff up my bag. I still have the internal frame pack, and the bag, in the attic somewhere. I will have to take a photo for nostalgia purposes.