View Full Version : Down sleeping bags--to compress or not?
Dirtygaiters
07-03-2007, 13:33
Does anybody have a real reason not to compress down sleeping bags?
I know it seems like a bad idea to crush those little feathers as tightly as they'll go, but does anybody have some concrete evidence to back up this fear? To me, this is the best place to ask this question since I'm sure lots of people here have thru hiked with down sleeping bags in compression sacks and then compared the loft after their trip (after washing the bag), with the loft before their trip.
So...what are you all's thoughts?
By all means..compress down bags. That is one of their great features..that they compress to a small size relative to sythetic bags.
I see no reason one shouldn't compress the heck out of a down bag while it is in your pack since it gets uncompressed at night. Now in long term storage..that is something else..and the reason they come with those large storage bags!
David
rusty075
07-03-2007, 16:08
I'm with David. Compress the bejessus out of while hiking, and then leave it uncompressed when at home. (I store mine laying flat under the bed) I quality down bag will lose very little loft from the daily squishing.
Besides the space savings in the pack, the other advantage of tightly compressing a down bag is that it makes it nearly waterproof. Even in a non-waterproof stuff sack a tightly packed down bag will survive a pretty good dunking without wicking up any water. I dropped my bag in the water while crossing a creek in Yellowstone once, and after floating downstream like a quarter mile the down bag was about the driest thing in there.
gold bond
07-03-2007, 18:08
I seem to lose feathers everytime I use mine is this normal? Not alot..one or two here and there.
Also I noticed my footbox did not seem to have the loft as much as normal. Someone told me to shake it out real good as a down bag needs that after every so often...any truth to all that?
I thought the conventional wisdom, and it seems to make perfect sense to me, is to compress the down only as much as necessary.
It is true that it will compress more compactly than synthetic, and last much longer, but it just doesn't make sense to over do it. That is one of the reasons people refrain from using a stuff sack many times when packing in an internal frame pack. Just stuff the sleeping bag into the bottom, filling all the little corners, then pack everything else, compressing the down only as much as necessary. This is what I do and it makes perfect sense. Any time you stress (over-compress) any material, you cause some damage, which will be cumulative over enough time.
I just remembered where I first heard not to compress down to it's max. It was on "Trailcast":
Trailcast 17 - Gary Schaezlein - Western Mountaineering (http://www.trailcast.org/programs/44)
http://www.trailcast.org/podcasts/trailcast-17-Jan-30-2006.mp3
Gary discusses this issue about 3/4 of the way through the interview.
Dirtygaiters
07-03-2007, 19:25
Lyle, my experience with down leakage leads me to believe that not all sleeping bags are created equal. My REI Kilo Plus bag would routinely leak 1-3 feathers per use, but I have since sold that bag (because I found out that REI's definition of 0 degree comfort means you're wearing all your warm clothing--including the stuff you left at home because you thought you had a 0 degree bag--inside the bag just to be warm at their temperature rating, but I digress..). Anyway, now I use Western Mountaineering Extremelite bags and they have way less down leakage. So...from my experience, down leakage depends on the fabric that your sleeping bag's manufacturer uses.
Yeah, if you listen to the entire podcast I referenced above, Gary discusses this topic too. He points out that their Extremelite bags actually leak more than their regular bags due to the fabric. I think he says that treating with DWR products will help with leaking down too.
shelterbuilder
07-03-2007, 19:48
When I bought my first down bag (30+ years ago), they told me that the down was not meant to be stored long-term under compression, but that it was perfectly alright to compress it during a trip, even a thru-hike. As for the the footbox problem, if your down is getting clumpy, it may be getting dirty as well. Take the bag to a laundrymat, wash it IN A FRONT-LOADING WASHER so the internal baffles won't get stressed. Use a good down soap (one that cleans the dirt without stripping the natural oils from the down). Lift the bag out, carefully supporting it from underneath to keep those internal baffles intact, and transfer it to a large dryer, along with a CLEAN sneaker, and dry it on low to medium heat for as long as it takes. The sneaker will break up the wet clumps of down, and it will also generate a static charge that will help to re-loft your down. (If you blow out a seam, scoop up all of the loose down, stuff it back into the hole, use nylon patch tape on the frayed edges of the fabric, and stitch the seam closed again.) I've washed my bag many times, and it comes back just like new.
Pop open a new can of cheap tennis balls and throw them in the dryer.
Cheap entertainment. (The dryer and the people that have that ? look.)
saimyoji
07-04-2007, 08:55
Pop open a new can of cheap tennis balls and throw them in the dryer.
Cheap entertainment. (The dryer and the people that have that ? look.)
That is...WITH your down bag right? :-? ;)
peter_pan
07-04-2007, 17:33
Actual down seldom leaks.... It is the small feathers with quills that poke out, then "leak".... BTW the lower the down quality, the more feather thus more leakage.... another benefit of higher quality down.
Pan
aaroniguana
07-04-2007, 17:49
You should always hire an Indonesian boy to clip your quills.
shelterbuilder
07-04-2007, 18:03
Pop open a new can of cheap tennis balls and throw them in the dryer.
Cheap entertainment. (The dryer and the people that have that ? look.)
Believe me, one sneaker clunking around in the dryer is entertaining enough for everyone!:D :D :D
That is...WITH your down bag right? :-? ;)
Oui. Now I want to go to the laundry with just a can of balls.
Works good on my delta bag.
shelterbuilder
07-04-2007, 21:24
Oui. Now I want to go to the laundry with just a can of balls.
Hey, if you want to toss your balls in a laundry dryer just for fun, have at it!:banana