Washing a cuben down quilt

>>>By that reasoning it should be impossible to dry the inside of a tarptent due to the large amount of unbreathable fabric

Well you can fully vent a tarptent and its not filled with loose down.

>>> doubt forced air over / around the quilt would do much, but you should be able to dry it just be leaving it in heat (i.e. the sun) for long enough. The moisture in the down will evaporate, and the momentum will do what it is supposed to do… breathe. Vapour will escape through it.

IMO if one of these bags got really soaked inside the moisture would not completely escape the bag before it started to grow goodies inside even with the momentum. Putting one in the sun would just heat it up create a nice cozy home for the critters.

What I was talkng about was more vents at the ends and corners and force air through it.

Back a ways I bought an old Boston Whaler that needed restoring. Luckily I did not have this problem, but the problem with these boats is it is a double sealed hull with open foam between. If they ever do leak like around the drain tube, and the inner hull gets saturated, its very hard to dry out and repair. The only option is to drill holes in the hull at opposite ends and force dry air through the foam for a week or two, and eventually drive the moisture out.

The same idea could work in a waterproof sleeping bag of most any sort. Thats what I was talking about.

I would still not want to run one of these bags through a washing machine.

I guess the only way to really find out if you can actually dry one out is dunk it in a tub full of H2o and find out.

No one is doubting that it would take a long time to dry, especially if it was completely soaked with every baffle completely collapsed.

As far as critter growth, doesn't UV light from the sun pretty much stop its growth? I remember some builders in Alabama talking about how it's important to include windows for sunlight in every room to help prevent its growth, especially that growth could be greatly reversed by opening a room to as much sunlight as possible for a few days.

Yes, I always use a light nylon dry bag/sack for my down gear–and clothing, for that matter. I learned a long time ago that one of the most important things I can do in my travels is keep my insulation dry. If you keep your insulation in a dry sack, it doesn't matter what happens… it'll be dry.

I do a lot of canoe-tripping; after 8-hour days of paddling in rain, with the dry-sack ensconced down bag in the bilge of the canoe, I've never had a wet bag. Bone dry, in fact. These days I just use one dry bag for sleeping bag and clothing; cold-weather trips with a bigger bag I use two dry sacks. I don't think the system is any heavier than a stuff sack and garbage bags, really; if anything, it might way an ounce or two more. Pretty light protection and insurance.

Does the quilt really save weight when you factor in a good dry bag? Wouldn't it be easier to just have an entire 20D nylon top shell that only weighed 1.5 oz more than the skunk stripe system?

A STS 8L UlSil Dry bag weighs ~1oz. Use the 13L so you can shove clothing in, too, and it weighs 0.3oz more. The weight of the dry sack is 0.4oz more than a standard silnylon sack, not including the weight of the plastic bag(s) used to line the sack. If the cuben's ~0.5oz, and Momentum's ~1oz, then you'd still probably save ~4oz on the shell alone. But weight isn't the only reason for the cuben… also the VBL and weather protection…

"Does the quilt really save weight when you factor in a good dry bag?"

Of course!!! I would carry the same dry bag with any/all insulation, so there is no nett gain of weight from the drybag.

Besides, weight is not the main consideration (for me). The extra water and windproofness plus a built in VBL are what's appealing to me. No need for a bivy bag, so extra weight savings there too.

You Guys just put three magical words together in one sentance that I have never heard before (Cuben, Down & Quilt). Where can I buy a one. I must know.

Tim Marshall (Posts here frequently) makes them. enlightenedequipment.com

You can get a cuben down quilt from Tim Marshall at http://www.enlightenedequipment.com

I have never ordered anything from him, but you can find lots of reviews here. The only complaint I have ever heard is that he has a long waiting list because they are so popular.

Were is my credit card. I must find my credit card. Honey have you seen my credit card.

"Besides, weight is not the main consideration (for me). The extra water and windproofness plus a built in VBL are what's appealing to me. No need for a bivy bag, so extra weight savings there too."

If it wasn't really about the weight, you could have a momentum top 1.5 oz heavier, and then have cuben flap covers along the sides of the top, which would facilitate better drying. 2 1/2ish oz heavier.

"If it wasn't really about the weight, you could have a momentum top 1.5 oz heavier, and then have cuben flap covers along the sides of the top, which would facilitate better drying. 2 1/2ish oz heavier."

Weight is not the MAIN consideration, but this is BPL, so weight is also part of the equation. As mentioned earlier, I do not forsee a situation where the down will get wet to begin with, so adding and extra feature to facilitate drying of the down would be silly. The whole point of the cuben design is to prevent the down from getting wet. If this can be done AND save weight then all the better.

As an aside, my cuben quilt does actually have cuben flaps, but they are for the bottom rather then the top.