things to look for – old down bag

I'd look at the brand, and see if it was stored properly.

ditto on the storage. A bunch of down that has lost its loft isn't worth much.

I would weigh the bag- years ago I was given a couple of down bags and my kids use them for a couple of years- When I went light I decided to weigh them- both were over 4 lbs! I think half the weight might have been dirt.
After 2 washing (very brown water) they now weigh over 3 lbs.

Thanks for the suggestions! I've heard that storing in a compression sack is bad, what about a normal stuff sack? Any way to tell if the down has lost it's fluff? Just looks flat I guess?

Tom, any type of long term compression will reduce the sleeping bag's R value. A stuff sack would still hold the bag in a compressed state, albeit a less extreme state than that of a compression sack.

Ideally, the bag has been stored in a large cloth bag or pillow case. Hanging it in the closet from one end would also work.

Hijack:

How there is another Dana that not only is blonde, around my age, but also resembles my profile is just simply mind "bottling"!

i have no input on the subject at hand :P

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

– Dana

My wife brought it home today – it's poly-fill. And it's 20 years old. But, only used once, was stored hanging up for 17 of the 20 (bag for three), North Face. Not bad for free.