Western Mountaineering Warranty?

[Brett Peugh]

How does one get in touch with Western Mountaineering warranty? I have a Caribou that some of the boxes are just not really puffing anymore after a year and a half

[Jeffrey Kuchera]

Is it time for a washing? How many nights of use has the bag seen?

[Ken Helwig]

they're located in San Jose, CA…area code 408. Call information or maybe call Marmot in Berkeley/

It does sound like you need to have it washed. Are you a sweaty sleeper? How do you store your bag….just stating the obvious

[Chris Morgan]

Or even just a drying? Sometimes just 20 minutes on low heat with tennis balls will get things nice and fluffy again.

[Jeffrey Kuchera]

Not trying to bust your sac about the washing Brett. Sometimes down gear just needs a good ole fashion washing. I just handwashed a six year old down jacket and an amazing amount of loft was restored to it. It is practically like new again.

[Brett Peugh]

Just washed it and had 6 tennis balls in the dryer. Most are real puffy but others are not. Tha bag has probably seen about 70 nights or so with it being quilted out.

[Bradley Danyluk]

Perhaps the down has shifted into adjacent baffles. Not sure if that bag has continuous baffles or not. You can try pushing it into the empty baffles.

[Brett Peugh]

No, Each one is sealed

[Greg Mihalik]

(408) 287-8944

[Brad Groves]

Brett, if the baffles started out poofy and aren't now, it's pretty unlikely that you've lost any down out of them.

I once had a bag that had obviously lost a bunch of loft, so I thought I'd wash it to revive it. I washed it, dried it thoroughly, and found that it still didn't loft as well as it should. Short version? I had to wash it twice more (no drying in between) to get all my oily hiker funk off the bag. Generally speaking you don't want to overwash the bag, but I'm bettin' you'll be fine washing it another time or two. And do make sure to dry it thoroughly w/the balls, etc.

If it's still a problem, give WM a call…

[Brett Peugh]

On wash number 3 now.

[Brad Groves]

It's probably a bit late in the game, but for future reference I've found that tossing a cotton bath towel into the front loader w/the bag helps weigh it down, so the whole thing gets under water…

[Brett Peugh]

I have been watching this wash cycle and made sure that it was totally being immersed. I even stopped it 3/4 of the way through and restarted it just to make sure. I did notice quite a bit of small down pieces and about 8 feathers floating in the water which shocked me because this is about the 10th time I have washed this bag. After the last time I dried it I did notice a lot of small down pieces trying to get out through the seams and about 4 good sized feathers in the lint collection tray. It is on its second rinse right now.

I know everyone really like WM but I don't think I do anymore. I have had Marmot bags for about two decades and they were never an issue other than being a bit overweight. It is going to take another few hours to dry but I can pretty much say that I will be giving WM a call this afternoon to discuss options. I have only used this bag about 70 nights in the last year and a half and feel it has not lived up to what it is supposed to do and the hype.

[Gabe P]

you're worried about 8 feathers? Sell the WM Caribou here on BPL for a good discount and buy a Marmot. You'll be happier and so will the lucky BPL buyer.

[Brett Peugh]

The Caribou doesn't have much down to begin with spread out over a lot of sewn through boxes. 8 are all I see but there is probably more. If I am losing 15 feathers a wash, that does add up over time. It is not as puffy as when I first bought it and would say overall the bag is about 85% of original loft with some boxes being more towards 60% and one box being about 35%. The down for the most part is separating nicely but is also still intermittently forming these little spike ball clumps that I can not seem to get rid of and they just seem to be getting more prevalent each time I wash.

And I would say that about 96% of the time I used it as a quilt instead of a bag. And like I said, this is the 10th wash. I really shouldn't be seeing anything coming out anymore. I bought a WM bag with the prospect that it would be a bag that I could own for about a decade but it is already having problems after a year and a half.

I wouldn't sell it to anyone because I would feel bad about the condition.

And the fact that WM doesn't put any of their contact information on their web page has always made me a bit wary but that is neither here nor there.

[Brett Peugh]

Lost another 6 feathers on the dry with lots of little fuzz trying to come out of the seams. Many panels are still depressed while other are where they should be. Still little small clumps of feathers on the inside in some panels but it doesn't seem to affect how puffy an panel is. Called up WM and they said they would put more down in it. I don't think that is going to do it.

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