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View Full Version : Do you own a down bag...help please?



Cooldays
02-28-2010, 18:22
I really like to buy high quality things once rather than rebuying and rebuying so I bought a montbull super stretch #1. I took it out this weekend and was toasty warm in the low twenties so I had to take off my thermals. It was cold enough that our drinking water was freezing before we even went to sleep.

I loved it! It was warm and comfortable!

But...in the am i opened my bag to a small cloud of feathers. I searched the bag carefully and don't find tears but find the feathers pocking through the material and seams. Should I be worried? Is this supposed to happen the first times you use it? Do I have a defective bag and should I replace it?

The second night I tried not to move around much or "stretch" too much and in the am there were many fewer feathers (maybe about 10 to 15) but it still seems uncomfortable to have to worry and baby top of the line gear.

Should I be worried? I just can't see this lasting the 10 years everyone led me to expect it should.

Cooldays

Roughin' It
02-28-2010, 18:28
I have owned a nice Marmot down bag for about a year now, and every time i take it out of it's storage sack, there are a few small feathers here and there that pop out. I don't think there has ever been a time that i didn't notice any feathers loose. From what people told me, it was the norm to have that happen, since the down feathers are so small, they are bound to work their way through the fabric. It is going to happen, so i try not to worry about it.
As far as long term use goes, there have been no noticeable changes for about a year now, which i am happy with so far.

Wise Old Owl
02-28-2010, 18:29
A few feathers is to be expected, but invert it and check all the sew seams.

SGT Rock
02-28-2010, 18:34
If you have ever stuffed one of these things, you realize that a few feathers is like a spit in the ocean.

Red Hat
02-28-2010, 18:36
yep, even my Western Mountaineering leaks a few feathers... but talk about warm!

Egads
02-28-2010, 19:11
I really like to buy high quality things once rather than rebuying and rebuying so I bought a montbull super stretch #1. I took it out this weekend and was toasty warm in the low twenties so I had to take off my thermals. It was cold enough that our drinking water was freezing before we even went to sleep.

I loved it! It was warm and comfortable!

But...in the am i opened my bag to a small cloud of feathers. I searched the bag carefully and don't find tears but find the feathers pocking through the material and seams. Should I be worried? Is this supposed to happen the first times you use it? Do I have a defective bag and should I replace it?

The second night I tried not to move around much or "stretch" too much and in the am there were many fewer feathers (maybe about 10 to 15) but it still seems uncomfortable to have to worry and baby top of the line gear.

Should I be worried? I just can't see this lasting the 10 years everyone led me to expect it should.

Cooldays

leakage of one or two is the norm, not ten to fifteen

Tipi Walter
02-28-2010, 19:18
yep, even my Western Mountaineering leaks a few feathers... but talk about warm!

I get sort of rectal when it comes to trying to get all the half-out feathers pulled back into my WM bag. Each feather is worth about a dollar.

Cooldays
02-28-2010, 19:28
The first night it was a cloud. I mean like 40 or 50. the second night many fewer.

gumball
02-28-2010, 19:32
That seems a bit excessive and I, too, would invert and check each seam. A call to the manufacturer might also be in order.

Toolshed
02-28-2010, 19:43
Ditto - I have 5 down bags and one is the MB SS#2. In my 20+ year old bags I get a 4-5 plumes now each time I use them. As for the 2 year old MBSS 1 or 2 plumes is the norm and I always try to push them back in also (If they are half out). I agree with others - check the bag and call either the outfitter from where you purchased or MontBell US Rep for guidance.

garlic08
02-28-2010, 21:21
That sounds like way too much to me. I've owned one cheap and one expensive bag, and neither has leaked anything like that--maybe one feather every couple of nights. I would be concerned.

Stir Fry
02-28-2010, 21:25
If you have ever stuffed one of these things, you realize that a few feathers is like a spit in the ocean.
What he said. I have made my own down gear, under quilt, vest, quilt, and pants. There must be a 1000 pieces og down in an Oz. so a fue lost do not add up to mush.

skinewmexico
02-28-2010, 21:48
I get sort of rectal when it comes to trying to get all the half-out feathers pulled back into my WM bag. Each feather is worth about a dollar.

I'm with you there. I used to pull them out, now I pull them back in (isn't that what WM recommends?).

To the OP..........that may have just been residual down from the manufacturing process. If it slows way down, don't worry about it.

kanga
02-28-2010, 22:18
40-50 feathers? screw that, i'd worry about it. especially with a bag that expensive. i have both the montbell #0 and #3 and i've never had more than 3 or 4 feathers come out at a use. had you really played with the bag before using it or was that the first real time you'd shaken it out? if you'd opened it all the way before and the feathers weren't there then, well i'd get in touch with montbell and have them fix the problem. that bag's a big investment and i'd expect it to be right.

skinewmexico
02-28-2010, 23:20
I bet the bag is fine. Although this would be a good place to throw in one of those "should have bought a made in the USA Western Mountaineering" comments. Of course, I would never do that.

Appalachian Tater
02-28-2010, 23:33
Probably will shed a little more at first rather than later and the stretch part doesn't help. If it continues to shed at that rate and you can't identify any flaws or gaps contact the manufacturer. You will always have a stray plume or two on occasion but it shouldn't be a steady, heavy flow. Be aware as SGT ROCK has pointed out that there are gajillions of the little suckers in a bag and that even losing a few hundred is not a big deal. It also seems that the better manufacturers may very slightly overstuff to allow for some loss while still maintaining the rating. For a bag or jacket enclosure to be completely downproof, it would have to be pretty heavy. Most of the weight savings in nice down bags has come from using lighter material and zippers. There's not much that can be done to make down lighter except using a higher grade and the very lightest stuff like eiderdown is quite expensive.

ed bell
02-28-2010, 23:44
I would suspect a busted stitch or a tear in the shell.The down will work it's way through the shell from time to time, but it shouldn't be an alarming amount. Check the bag inside and out again and make sure to pound on it to ID any openings in the seams or rips in the shell.

buz
03-01-2010, 09:49
I own a MB #2 ss, and it never leaked 40 or 50 feathers, let alone 15. I have about 60 nights in mine, and I honestly never see a feather. You got some good suggestions, maybe try and inside out the bag, and fluff it around, many times, looking for the source, if there is one. Lots of seams in these bags, certainly possible some could be miss sewn.

Good luck.

Colter
03-01-2010, 16:26
First of all as Sgt Rock was saying, there are a whole lot of feathers/down in a sleeping bag or jacket. I've got a down sleeping bag over 20 years old that seems to lose a few pieces of down every time I use it, and it still has good loft. My Montbell down jacket loses a few pieces of down here and there, and it's as fluffy and warm as ever. Most down that these items lose seems to come through when the quill of a feather manages to hit between the stitches just right so it sneaks through. And, like I said, it hasn't added up to anything significant even after a couple of decades.

I'd just keep an eye on it. If it were me and it was losing 3 or four "feathers" per usage, I'd ignore it. Life is short and there are lots more important things to worry about. If it's losing more than that I'd study the bag carefully to see if I could determine where it was leaking, and why.

Montbell makes quality gear. If it turns out there's a flaw, I would think they'd fix it for free.

gunner76
03-01-2010, 20:59
Maybe the bag is molting ?

Don H
03-01-2010, 22:07
I've got an REI bag that has a bad seam with down leaking from it, I intend to seam seal it. I always try to pull the down back into the bag, pulling out can create a small hole in the fabric that allows other down clusters to escape.