View Full Version : how do you store your tent/sleeping bag and such ?
fivefour
05-15-2006, 12:19
i keep all of my tents and sleeping bags out of the stuff sack and hanging in the closet but i am running out of room. IF i am sure that this gear is TOTALLY dry, is it safe to store it in stuff sacks ?
I would not store my bag in a stuff sack. My reading is that down for sure will permanetly loose loft. I thing the same is true for synthetics, but to a lesser extent. For the tent, I doubt that it would make any difference how it is stored.
BTW, "running out of space"--you must have a lot of stuff.
I have never had a problem with a tent in a stuff sack. But you definitely must not stuff a bag for a long period of time. I ruined a good bag this way before I knew better, it is synthetic and down is even worse. If you don't have enough room to hang the bag you can lay it flat under a bed. Just don't compress the filling for a long time period.
Hikes in Rain
05-15-2006, 14:26
Another vote for never leaving a sleeping bag compressed. I used to do the under bed thing, where they made snug places for the cats to sleep, but currently have them folded once in the new multi-tiered shelving unit I installed in a guest room closet. (Wife gripes about the space taken either way.)
Running out of space? Has nothing to do with amount of gear/junk/stuff. Nor the amount of room. People and their possessions are like gas: they expand to fill the available space.
Toolshed
05-15-2006, 17:09
6 bags hang in guest bedroom closet - All down, from 20D to -25d. 3 More are in large cotton bags in the floor of the closet - All 35D or warmer (all down) which are much less bulky.
Sleeping bags take priority in my house :)
fivefour
05-16-2006, 10:13
haha ... looks like the guest closet gets it from everyone. that is where i am trying to make room. i hung everything i could last night and put the cheap loner tent in it's stuff sack. that is enough room for now. what is the longest yall think a bag should stay in a stuff sack? or a down jacket for that matter ? i know when i am packing for a trip 2 weeks away, i will just keep them stuffed. should i be concerned about short lengths of time such as this ?
haha ... looks like the guest closet gets it from everyone. that is where i am trying to make room. i hung everything i could last night and put the cheap loner tent in it's stuff sack. that is enough room for now. what is the longest yall think a bag should stay in a stuff sack? or a down jacket for that matter ? i know when i am packing for a trip 2 weeks away, i will just keep them stuffed. should i be concerned about short lengths of time such as this ?
I don't think there is a limit on storing tents. Seems like REI keeps all of their stock in sacks. For anything insulated (especially down), I keep it loosly stored, either on a hanger or in a breathable bag, but definitely not compressed or stuffed.
icemanat95
05-16-2006, 10:52
Down handles long-term compression MUCH better than synthetics, but you still can't store down in it's stuff sack forever. But for short trips you cans tore down bags in a compression stuff sack, which you really cannot do with a synthetic bag or you'll crimp the living daylights out of the insulation and immediately reduce loft permanently.
My Cat's Meow sleeping bag was sent home from Pearisburg, VA or thereabouts. My parents had instructions to remove it from the stuff sack, wash it at a laundromat and then leave it out in my closet or wherever until I sent for it again. They ignored this. When I got the bag back in Vermont a few months later, the bag had permanently lost a lot of loft. It had gone from a reliable 15 degree bag to a 35 degree bag. I threw it away this past fall, as the smell wouldn't come out of it and I had other bags that filled that particular gap for less weight.
Beware of buying old-style bags. Many of those sleeping bags have been stored in their stuff-sacks in the warehouse for months on end. They probably will NOT perform at their designed temperature rating as a result.
Long term storage of tents is not so tricky. They can safely go into their stuff sacks so long as they go in BONE DRY. If they go in wet or damp you may end up with serious mildew issues.
fivefour
05-16-2006, 11:16
i thought down would lose loft more quickly than synthetics. but it makes sense that the fill would "bend" more easily.
icemanat95
05-16-2006, 13:10
No, Down bags historically have lasted 2-3 times as long as synthetics. A regularly used synthetic will only hold its loft for a couple of years, a down bag can last longer than ten given similar care and handling conditions.
Sleeping bags - turn inside out hand hang from an open door
hammock - put in mesh "laundry" bag and stick into a corner
pads - unrolled valves if any opened, stored under the bed
tarp - dry for a couple days indoors and stuff into stuff sack
stakes - leave in an opened bag on the shelf
cooking stuff - unnest everything and put on shelf
water bottles - open, stored on shelf next to bottle tops
water filter - disassembled stored on shelf to keep filter dry
Just Jeff
05-16-2006, 13:56
I got one of those snap-together PVC laundry things with the three mesh bags to keep my lofting stuff in. Then I got another. Then I put the rest in a big cotton bag and lay it on top of those.
After every trip, I hang everything up to dry and then pack my tarps and hammocks in stuff sacks.
Footslogger
05-16-2006, 13:59
Sleeping bags go in one of those huge cotton storage bags (come with most of the bags nowadays)
Tents I stuff loosely in a large silnylon stuff sack.
No definite routine or time frame but "whenever I think about it" (which can be a couple weeks or a couple months) I get out the bags/tents and fluff them out - sometimes outside - and then put them back in their respective bags for storage. This is really only an issue in the Winter though because most of our gear gets pretty regular use in the warmer months.
'Slogger
fivefour
05-16-2006, 14:25
:-? the PVC laundry thing is a good idea.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
05-16-2006, 15:26
My insulated sleeping mats are under a bed with valves open. My bags and quilts are folded loosely and in large cotton bags. My tents and tarps are in the bags I use to carry them when hiking. All clothing with loft is hanging up.
Don't store any insulated garment - including sleeping bag - compressed. The safest way to store a sleeping bag - if you don't have cats or dogs - is to put it in duvet and use it like a comforter. Things deteriorate in storage, and like to be used.
yeah thats what i do with my two (soon to be three) is make my bed up all nice and then use one of them like a quilt on top so when i wake up the next morning I don't have to make my bed. but other than that hammock is dried and stored in its stuff sack along with tarps down jacket is hanging up in my closet water filter is dried and then put in my backpack (in winter I air dry it at least once a month Just to be sure)
happy trails
But have any of you tent stuffers noticed on sil-nylon, crinkles in the fabric? Almost like how plastic looks when you bend it a few times?
I store my Cloudburst rolled and the fabric looks like new after two years. My Virga was stuffed (not in a real tight sack mind you) and it has creases and crinkles all over it. Made me a firm believer in roll and store. I do make sure its not rolled the same way each time.
bags in storage cotton sacks and in a 55 gal tote with Damp-rid containers to the side. Humidity stays around 20%. No mildew would ever grow in there.
mike
I throw them loosely in large cardboard boxes in a closet on the 2nd floor where it's always dry. The heaviest items, packs, go on the bottom, with tents and tarps on top of them. Sleeping bags go on top of all of this, and sleeping pads are stored, valves open (Thermarests) on their sides against the wall, held in place by the sleeping bags. Stoves, headlamps, knives, pots and pans, etc. get their own box.