Really basic down bag question

[chaco727]

For my entire life, I've always used synthic sleeping bags. However, I bought a down bag for my upcoming thru-hike attempt. So I'm a little stumped (aka, no experience with down whatsoever) about the bag and the drysack. Do you roll down bags up and then put them in the drysack, or just start at one end and literally stuff the bag into the drysack?

Like I said, it's a real basic question, but any advice would be welcome!

[George]

just stuff it, rolling does not work

[Buffalo Skipper]

You are going to get a variety of answers here. Some will stuff it into a dry sack. Others will stuff it into it's own sack then place the stuffed bag into a trash bag or other waterproof vessel. Some hikers do like to stuff it loosly into their pack so that it fills the empty spaces better, thereby having less wasted space. I could be wrong, but most will probably stuff and not roll.

With a new pack and bag, I recently decided I tried to different ways to see what worked for me. Stuffing it loosely did not seem to work well for me. I have a slightly large stuff sack, so that it does not completely compress the down. I placed this in my pack, which is lined with a trash compactor bag. This was what I found most convenient.

Try different ways and see what works for you. I have in the past been careless with my waterproof packing and prep and once ended up with a damp bag. I survived, but have been more cautious and mindful since then.

[hikerboy57]

same like a tent, you stuff it.when you take it out of the sack, just shake it from the feet side, and lay it flat so it will uncompress and get the loft back.recommend not using a waterproof sack as the bag will retain whatever moisture was in it before you stuff it.

[bigcranky]

Stuff it in the dry sack. It'll be fine.

Store it uncompressed, either in the mesh bag that came for that purpose, or under your bed. (But not if you have cats.)

[Slo-go'en]

What always amazes me is when you get a new sleeping bag, it comes rolled up into the stuff sack, but once you take it out, there seems like no way will it ever fit again! Of course, the manufacture has a special machine which rolls it up, forces all the air out and compacts it so it will fit into the tiny little stuff sack they give you.

And of course, the reason the sack is called a "stuff sack" is because you have to stuff the bag into it to make it fit. For waterproofing, I just put a small plastic bag inside the stuff sack to line it.

Down bags take a little more care than synthetic on the trail. Take every chance you get to air out the bag in the noon day sun and to put it in the drier for a few minutes every time you get to town.

[bigcranky]

I've never bought a good sleeping bag that came packed in its stuff sack. Ouch, not a good idea. All the bags I see in the local outfitters and even REI are stored in their storage sacks. Of course, with synthetics the fill is often compressed when it's shipped from the manufacturer to the maker of the bag, so there's some loft lost there, but that won't matter anywhere near as much with down.

In general I like to buy a roll-top silnylon dry bag that's larger than the stuff sack that comes with the bag. Keeps the bag dry, and it's easier to get in the sack and fit inside my pack. (My winter bag is the exception -- without a compression stuff sack, it would take up the entire pack. But it's very good down, and lofts up like a champ every time.)

[dab48eu]

I also stuff my down sleeping bag and lay it out early in my tent or the shelter in order to have time to rebuild it's loft. I have always stuffed my tent until about three years ago; an article re care of tents in Backpackers Magazine Gear Edition stated that a tent should always be rolled and placed into its sack and not stuffed. So now I stuff my sleeping bag and roll my tent and/or tarp.

[Tinker]

For my entire life, I've always used synthic sleeping bags. However, I bought a down bag for my upcoming thru-hike attempt. So I'm a little stumped (aka, no experience with down whatsoever) about the bag and the drysack. Do you roll down bags up and then put them in the drysack, or just start at one end and literally stuff the bag into the drysack?

Like I said, it's a real basic question, but any advice would be welcome!

If you buy your bag from a walk-in store, try to buy the display bag. It will have spent less time in its stuffsack and the down should be in better shape. Some stores use the storage bags, not the stuffsacks, to store their backstock product in. If you know that they do this you can buy your new bag with confidence, knowing that it hasn't been squashed for months on end.
I, personally, stuff my bag into a trash can liner at the bottom of my pack, along with my night wear, down garments, and clean socks. Then I compress the bag, squeezing as much air out as I can with my upper body weight. Then I twist the top of the trash can liner so that the down won't expand and suck air back into the bag. Finally, I tuck the twisted end of the bag back between the bag and the inside of the pack so that it can't untwist, sucking air in and using up more pack space than it should. My windshirt and "rest stop insulation" go in a waterproof bag on top of that one, sometimes in the same type of trash can liner, sometimes in a silnylon stuffsack (depends on how much I have - more in cold weather when I tend to use the trash can liner). On top of that goes my food bag and cookset, and on top of that goes my raingear. Other things get stuffed in whatever spaces I can find between the bags. That's what works for me with my frameless pack.

[chaco727]

Thanks for the replys everyone. I figured stuffing it would be better, but wasn't sure since it did come rolled up when I got it. And I was worried about messing up the zipper by stuffing/compressing it, but I guess it should be ok.

[Spokes]

A trash compactor bag is cheaper and works just as well. I stuffed my bag and dry clothes in side then rolled it down. Other stuff like food bag, etc on top of that. Good to go and never had a lick of problems.

[texas&fla]

interesting reply about not stuffing the tent. i have asked a tent maker and made a point to research different sites. They are usually very clear that stuffing is better for the tent. go figure..

[Wise Old Owl]

Ok clothes and bag inside a garbage bag? That"s not compression. It works but somewhat ineffective. I like the idea and practice using my bag and dumped the compression bag it came in and switched it to a granite gear. slightly larger and still the size of a grapefruit, it works. The garbage bag is still the liner.

[SassyWindsor]

I use 2 dry-bags, one for bag and sleepwear, the other for all other stuff I don't won't to get wet, clothing, kitchen/food and other gear. Everything else gets wet. Pack also becomes a PFD. In rain I will drape an emergency blanket/poncho over pack to help keep down the weight from soaking water.

[Tipi Walter]

Here's a tip---Most down bags come with a substandard stuff sack and one that is usually too small, even Western Mteering fails on this one. I always ditch this sac and go with a sea to summit roll-closed 35 liter sac. This works well for my -15F rated Puma down bag. It's always good to keep tight stuffing and compression of a down bag to a minimum, thereby increasing day in and day out loft during long winter trips.

[10-K]

I figured out the size I wanted (bigger than the one the bag came with) and had Joe at Zpacks make me a custom sized cuben sack for it.

I have another cuben sack for my clothes and these go inside a trash compactor bag which is rolled closed after these 2 bags are inside it.

[m_factor]

10-K and Tipi Walter touched on a good point. Rather than using a compression sack for your sleeping bag, use a bag that is bigger and allows your bag to loft more. This doesn't mean that you'll have less room in your pack, it just means that when you need the space, your other gear will help compress the bag. When your food sack is near empty and you have extra space in your pack, it'll allow your bag to stay lofted more and extend the life of your bag.

For what it's worth, I find using slightly larger stuff sacks for malleable gear works better than those that are just big enough for whatever you're stuffing. Stuff sacks that are stuffed too tight don't mold well together and end up leaving gaps in your pack. While you can always try to fill those spaces with other items, using slightly larger sacks allows you to have more control over how to fill your backpack. The softer stuff sacks will mold together better and leave fewer gaps in your pack.

As for stuffing versus rolling your sleeping bag, stuff it - gently. Rolling is more likely to stress and perhaps rip the internal baffles of a sleeping bag. For tents, I would go with the manufacturer's recommendation. I think most of the lightweight silnylon tents do fine stuffed. Others may be easier to handle folded and/or rolled. There are no baffles in a tent so there's no concern about ripping the material.

Keep in mind that if you do choose to use a compression sack, you'll probably be significantly shortening the life of your sleeping bag. I wouldn't recommend it for two reasons: the more you compress the down, the less it will loft and therefor won't stay as warm as long as if you didn't compress it; and, if you think your bag rated to x degrees doesn't perform well, you'll be more likely to get an even warmer and bulkier bag the next time around which will require either more compression (vicious cycle) or a larger backpack.

Pleasant dreams.