View Full Version : Tip For Drying Down Bags
sleeman13
01-09-2009, 01:01
Just wondering if anyone had any tricks, tips, or techniques they used for drying out a down bag. I have one for my planned thru-hike and have no idea what the best way to dry it out is, were it to get wet.
Thanks.
Cool AT Breeze
01-09-2009, 01:06
Dryer on low with a few tennis balls.
You don't even have to have the tennis balls, they just speed things up. I doubt you will want to go find someplace to buy a sleeve of tennis balls on your hike.
sleeman13
01-09-2009, 01:14
Thanks for the advice. But I am actually looking for tips for drying it while I'm thru-hiking. Sorry I didn't specify.
RedneckRye
01-09-2009, 02:04
If you need to dry a down bag, put it into a dryer.
Once you get it wet, that is THE ONLY TIP.
If you don't have the common sense or a good shelter or a dry bag or trash bag for storage when it is in your pack to keep it dry (no matter what the Boy Scouts taught you, it really isn't that difficult), then maybe a synthetic bag is the better choice for you.
As someone who prefers to sleep out under the stars, I've learned that soaking out a down bag isn't quite as easy as you may have been lead to believe. Obviously, if it is raining, then sleeping out in it is a stupid idea (down or synthetic). If there is any cover - trees, shrubs, etc - between you and the sky, that will cut down on dew that accumulates on the shell of your bag. Any quality bag (Western Mountaineering, Marmot, Feathered Friends, so on...) will have a very good DWR coating on the micro fiber shell of the bag. I try to wipe any dew accumulation off of my bag with a cotton bandanna before I stuff it, if the sun is out when I stop for lunch I pull the bag out and let it bake. I also toss my bag into the dryer at every laundromat stop, if only for a cycle or two at mid range heat to dry it out and fully fluff it up.
Down takes a bit more thought and common sense to maintain, but is is far superior in comfort, durability, stuffed size, and weight.
RedneckRye
01-09-2009, 02:07
Thanks for the advice. But I am actually looking for tips for drying it while I'm thru-hiking. Sorry I didn't specify.
By the way, you'll see plenty of laundromats while you are thru-hike.
Have fun out there, wish it was me.
garlic08
01-09-2009, 09:42
Basically what you're hearing so far is that the best way to dry out a down bag is to never let it get wet. It's not that hard to do, but if you're in doubt about your ability to do that, start out with synthetic. The only way to dry out a really soaked down bag is with a mechanical heat source. A full day of sunlight or a fire won't do it.
It's like the best advice I've heard for staying warm is to never get cold in the first place.
mountain squid
01-09-2009, 09:55
Drying a down bag takes a very long time. Start early in the day and have alot of quarters...
Consider taking a silk liner to help keep your bag clean.
See you on the trail,
mt squid
"The best way to dry your bag is not to get it wet..."
Reminds me of the Irish joke about giving directions " If I were going there, I would not be starting from here"
If you take all the right precautions, as suggested above, but somehow you still manage to get it wet , most likely it will not be soaked (as when you wash it) but just have some wet patches. Sun and wind will be your friends, so you could hike with the bag strapped on the outside (if the terrain allows for that) and/or just drape it over bushes during a break. Note that most bags have a black inner to facilitate the drying process. Turn the black side to the sun.
Some hikers with 5 minutes to spare will also air their bag at lunch break to get rid of some moisture (and smell)
Franco
Slo-go'en
01-09-2009, 21:18
If your tent leaks and you wake up in a puddle of water, your in deep do-do. If can avoid doing that, it really does help to air it out/ put it in the sun as often as possible just to get rid of dampness, which will accumulate over the course of a few days or a week. Also put it in a drier every chance you get.
I finally got tired of pampering my down bag and replaced it with a synthetic. Sure its a little more bulky and a little heavier, but more worry free too. (but don't want to wake up laying in a puddle with it either)
If your tent leaks and you wake up in a puddle of water, your in deep do-do. If can avoid doing that, it really does help to air it out/ put it in the sun as often as possible just to get rid of dampness, which will accumulate over the course of a few days or a week. Also put it in a drier every chance you get.
I finally got tired of pampering my down bag and replaced it with a synthetic. Sure its a little more bulky and a little heavier, but more worry free too. (but don't want to wake up laying in a puddle with it either)
I like synthetics also after having some wet down in the past. Not that I am a PETA supporter, but for those who are may want to see their take on down:
http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_display.asp?ID=121
Cool AT Breeze
01-09-2009, 23:45
I've hiked for two years, about 1500 miles with a down bag, never got it what I would call wet. I use a Tarp Tent Contrail so yes it has been damp but never an issue. I cowboy camp quite a bit and had to throw my tent up a few times in the middle of the night. So my bag has been sprinkled on while the tent is going up also. Still not an issue. Dry by morning. I do air my bag out in the sun every chance I get.
Feral Bill
01-10-2009, 04:01
My son and I got our down bags fairly damp, to the border of wet, on the Wonderland Trail a few years ago. ( The designated campsite flooded.) Next day the torrential rain stopped and we made a lot of progress hanging the wet foot ends out of our packs as we walked. With a couple of days of air drying like that they were fine. That's the only time in 40 years I've had the problem, though.