Prolonged Down Compression?

We have a Twin Zpacks quilt that spent 3 weeks stuck in customs. It now has 100+ nights on it and still lofts just fine.

“Do I have anything to worry about with this long-term? It seems like no from some of the other threads I’ve seen, but I’m just trying to get some confirmation here, since I have a decent chunk of change invested in this thing and am not super thrilled that it was left like that for so long by USPS.”

No. As long as the bag was thoroughly dry before shipping, you shouldn’t have any issues.

If you like a good read, here’s a lengthy 2015 analysis on goose & duck down:

http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/9268/1/The%20structure%20and%20properties%20of%20down%20feathers%20and%20their%20use%20in%20the%20outdoor%20industry%20final%20edit2.pdf

If you let it sit for a few days to decompress and dry out you can tell if it’s fully lofted just be examining it.

I know I read somewhere that they ship the down to the manufacturers under compression,  so should be no issue

Thanks for the comments/reassurance. It’s been out for a few hours (just gonna leave it lying out for a few days because I can), and it definitely seems to be lofting okay, and to an extent that’s pretty comparable to my experience with other 20* bags.

I know from reading on here before that I’m probably okay, but, seeing as how this isn’t exactly a cheap bag, and seeing as how I’m normally extremely diligent with how I store my down, I got a little freaked here. Getting the reassurances is helpful.

Vigorously shaking the bag is the best way to persuade the down to re-loft to it’s original thickness.

:)

After I dry out my down bags after a trip, I run them in the dryer with NO heat just to get air into the down before storing loosely.  Doesn’t hurt, may help..

The owner of PHD in the UK told me put  a down bag  in to a stuff sack for 10 years as a test.  He said it came out in far better condition than you would expect and lofted fine.

+1 on dryer with no heat, but also throw some clean tennis balls in there.

I had an old down bag that had been compressed since my boy scout days…probably 1975 or so.  About 5 years ago I decided to see if I could salvage it.  I washed it with down wash in a front loading washing machine, and then dried it on low heat in the dryer.  It came out looking super fluffy..to the naked eye It looked like new.  Down is pretty resilient stuff.

Down is hardly effected by dry compression. About ten years ago I did a quick study to find out and most reported no loss of loft after carrying a bag for a weeks hiking. Those that did, had to contend with >three days of rain or a few mornings of extreme humidity as it was packed up (compressed.) Between 10:1 and 20:1 was a reasonable level of compression, but a few reported very high compressions (>40:1) while on a hiking trip. You shouldn’t see any problem. 40:1 – 50-1 is about as tight as you can pull a compression bag. The USAF used to have emergency down blankets in some planes flying over the Arctic. They were vacuume pressed (at a guess, about 100:1) with no damage after several years of storage in that state.

Down can take quite a bit of heat, more than the shell most likely. Just putting it in a dryer on low heat (if it doesn’t need any drying) with a few dryer balls or tennis balls will accelerate detangling and relofting.Anything up to steam heat is safe for down. But, you have to be careful about the shell and any hardware.

Wet, down  can become very tangled and matted. With my electric dryer, I place three – five dryer balls (porcupine balls) and let it go for about 2 hours. On one bag, I do this every two-three weeks in season after laundering with about 1/8-1/4 cup of down wash. It is about 15 years old and still dries/lofts better than new when I’m done. Sometimes, when I get back from a weekend or three day trip, I throw it in the dryer and fluff it back up, if it doesn’t need laundering.

Vigorously shaking the bag is the best way to persuade the down to re-loft to it’s original thickness.
yes
did that with a sb that spent two years into a stuff sack many would not be able to stuff it in. Took minutes to get back the full loft.
But no, you can’t do that once the bag is full of dirt and body oils.

To echo what everyone else has said. I have a TNF Kilo (a loaner bag which I give to friends who wanna try out backpacking or don’t have the gear) which I ALWAYS leave in the stuff sack since I don’t have the room to keep it lofted at the house. It fluffs up just fine on every trip. I’ve had this Kilo Loaner for about 6-7 years already. Keep in mind too that TNF is not known to use the best down either so a down bag from a company like WM or Feathered Friends would probably suffer even less than the one from the TNF

YEAH !!

I’ve always worried about this .. And, based upon the dialogue, in this post, I can rest a lot easier..   Thanks guys !

( Another great example of the value of BPL )