down bag care tips

"should down bags be hung out to dry each day?"

Depends on the weather. If it's raining or humid then probably not a good idea!

"On average, how many days of continuous rain could a good down bag tolerate? "

It's not about the rain per se, (I'm assuming you'll be in a shelter of some sort and not getting rain on your bag?), it's about how much moisture (high humidity, body vapour) gets in your bag. Your body heat can drive a lot of the moisture out of the bag, but your body also generates more moisture. Best way to deal with it is to roll or stuff your bag the instant you get out of it in the morning. This will push most of the warm moist air out before it has a chance to cool and condense into water. I have used a down bag for ten days of almost constant rain and drizzle without problems by using this technique. I don't know how humid it gets in SW Colorado though…

"Best way to deal with it is to roll or stuff your bag the instant you get out of it in the morning."

What Lynn said. I read this tip earlier this year (possibly from you, Lynn. This is a brilliant suggestion, and now I do it every morning.

I'm from western washington; I use down exclusively up here (WET!) I'm sure you'd have no problem in SW colorado with a bit of care, it's much drier down there.

Great tip, didn't know about that, will try! But don't roll your bag ;)

If you hang or lay your bag out, and it has any chance of being windy, be sure to anchor it. This coming from someone involved in an epic chace to save my bag from crossing a big lake by itself. Lets' just say it had way less moisture in it prior to letting it dry the initial time, lol.

"…don't roll your bag ;)"

?? How come???

As far as SW CO is concerned, I just came back from two weeks there. We had unseasonably little rain. Your biggest moisture threat is going to be camping right next to water. Always try to camp up a little ways, even if you have to make a little trek to your water source. You'll do wonders to prevent condensation by camping away from areas where cold, moist air will "pool" at night and by camping on dry surfaces like the duff you find in pine forests. Lower external humidity also makes it easier for the internal humidity created by your perspiration in your bag to be pushed out.

I always roll my bag from the foot. Gets the air out with the least amount of "romping" on the baffles. Also, when inserting the rolled bag into the stuff sack, insert the zippered end first. That way you won't be pushing on the zipper to get the last amount of bag into the stuff sack.

Be gentle with your down bag and it will last longer.

seems to be that rolling is more detrimental to a sleeping bag than stuffing, although the reasons I've seen for this are varied.

Note: I broke my arm, and have been trying to type one handed, which is why my reply is so short.

EDIT: A google search for "roll your sleeping bag" shows several sources, and a link…

http://www.mammut.ch/en/sleepingsystems_guide_care.html

I also checked MH's site, and while they do recommend rolling to expel air before stuffing they don't recommend rolling to store.

That being said there are all sorts of how to roll a sleeping bag ehowtos and what not. I know I've been told since I purchased my first down bag not to roll it as it puts more stress on the baffles and thins down at predictable points in the sleeping bag, while the randomization of stuffing prevents this.

NOTE: I found that by lifting my arm I can type two handed… YAY!

I merely meant that you give it a quick roll as soon as you get out of the bag to get rid of moist air. I didn't mean to pack it up right on the spot in a rolled state, though I can't see why that would be detrimental.

However, the folks at Stephenson's WarmLite absolutely recommend rolling their down bags before putting them in their stuff sack. But that's a different discussion…

I was referring to the post immediately above mine, I think that rolling to remove air is a fine idea :)

I think it's a great idea to dry out a down bag each day if given the opportunity. Nothing like bright sun and a good breeze to freshen and fluff things up.

On the other hand, as long as I keep my bag protected from rain and soggy ground (neither are difficult with experience) my body heat will keep drying my bag. I have gone for at least one 2 month stretch where it rained all but seven days or so and my down bag did great. You can bet that I hung my bag and my other gear out to dry at every opportunity, though, and made sure my bag was well-protected from rain.

Experienced long distance hikers usually use down bags and on most trails there are long stretches of rain at times.

I used a down bag in a kifaru tipi for 8 days in Scotland in may, with rain 7/7 24/24.
It was stocked during day in a spinntex bag plus a plastic bag.
Usualy when i hike i once in a while like to dry my sleeping bag in the sun, even if there is no thing of dampness.
But this time i definitly couldnt and the bag wasnt showing anything of dampness at the end.
So no after this Scotland weather test i am not scared of using a down bag for rainy countries.
But again longuest time i have hiked in a row is 3 weeks , so i guess things adds if you hike longer, the more if you want a no hassle system and not having to dry your bag when able.