Very cool stuff here---starting at page 11---
https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/abd...hl1_405433.pdf
Great idea to overstuff some older down item!
As you are mentioning a vacuum for managing down, I remember well that in the old days it was common practice to improve quilts by stuffing additional downs into them, either reusing other surplus quilt's down, or buying new ones.
This was a special feature of our household vac back then, that the vane (the impeller) was a "straight through" design and the airflow didn't go through the motor, so we could really use the vac to suc and blow down from one quilt to the other.
Just wondering if this vac (which I still have) would work with the more narrow and confined baffles of a garment or sleeping bag?
When I made my DIY quilt I scavenged the down from an old comforter picked up at a yard sale. I did the scavenging and stuffing inside an old 3 person dome tent I set up in my living room to keep the down from getting everywhere!
If you look at my pdf link you'll see a guy using a regular vacuum cleaner sucking up a bunch of down into the vacuum's straight tube---and blocked by a piece of tent netting---and with the tube filled he takes it off the machine and blows the down out of the tube with his mouth into a garment/bag baffle.
Using a dome tent for the work is ingenious. Why didn't I think of this???
Last edited by Tipi Walter; 12-23-2019 at 16:54.
Love the idea of the vac tube blocked by netting.
BTW, I once used the idea of sitting in an empty zipped close dome tent when I had to repair a camera in the middle of the desert.
Tipi, any reason you like a down vest versus a down jacket? I have my eyes on a down vest, but it doesn't seem reasonable to pack a vest versus a full jacket. Don't your arms get cold??
All good points. A quality down vest (and a vest that's suitably overstuffed )is a remarkable piece of backpacking clothing. It can be used along with a down jacket as part of your winter load---the down jacket over the vest for in-camp warmth---and the vest can be used as part of a torso layer when actually backpacking---as a full down jacket will be too hot for actual backpacking.
The beauty of a vest is it encapsulates the exact part of the body needing the most warmth---either at rest or while moving. It hugs the chest and stomach and back and sides and keeps the core warm while allowing the arms to vent and move freely.
I think of the down vest as a replacement layer for those heavier and bulkier fleece jackets and merino zip neck tops etc. Like most down items, it packs a wallop oz for oz versus other stuff.
hmm....I never thought about a down vest while moving, but you make some great points. I might have to consider this and see if a vest fits into my arsenal.
It is what it is.
You really should mention that you will most likely void your manufacturers warrantee if you proceed with that.
But I look at my EMS puffy that I took on the non-summer portion of my thru and yes it is much puffier then what I have now. Too bad it shrunk so much since then.
You're doing great, your ingenuity is on top of it!
I'm trying Round II with a down vest and sleeves. I love the versatility, at least conceptually. Round I was a pair of JRB down sleeves and a no name cheap down vest. The vest didn't have DWR treatment and there were huge gaps around the sleeves.
I just picked up a custom cuben vest and sleeves made by Goose Feet Gear for Jolly Green Giant back in 2012. The fit at the sleeves is remarkable and there are draw cord adjustments at the vest pits and the sleeve cuffs. Tremendous amount of overfill.. no idea what the temp rating is. It's a bit oversize for me, but I can easily make that adjustment. Cuben is surprisingly comfortable.. you would think otherwise. It's softened over time. My plan wasn't to use it for hiking, rather pair it with my down pants and a shell for around camp.
We'll see how it works out.
_______________________________________
The difficulty of finding any given trail marker is directly proportional to the importance of the consequences of failing to find it.
If you have a tent with a door that zips shut (I'm a tarp camper) do your down removal/stuffing inside the tent with the door zipped shut. Its still a challenge keeping up with any down that gets loose but its contained in the tent and you won't have to chase it as far.
i once had a similar situation... when i tried removing 800 down from an old jacket it was coming out of the slit like smoke. i had down everywhere you n my basement. i put my hand over the opening and put it in a sink full of water. once the down was soaked, it was much easier to deal with the wet clods... it also made stuffing my sleeping bag much easier too. i made small holes in the cells of the bag n inserted wet down. i then used tent repair tape to seal it up. 15 years later, that sleeping bag is still my go to bag for winter backpacking the catskills.
Does the extra puffyness make the vest feel tighter when buttoned up?End Result? 100% warmer winter vest---remarkably puffed up and warm!!