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Reviving 'tired' synthetic insulation?


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Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)
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  • #3477296
    Pete M
    BPL Member

    @munro21

    I have an Arc’teryx Atom LT Hoody that’s about five years old, and in places the insulation has become quite compressed. Just wondering if there’s a way or a product (like a wash) that can help give it a bit of life again (I’ve done this with down jackets but of course, down is a different animal). Or is it time to look for a new jacket? I’d much rather keep this one going for a bit longer if I can. Any suggestions?

    #3477318
    JCH
    BPL Member

    @pastyj-2-2

    I’m certain someone will correct me if I’m wrong :)  but it is my understanding that over time synthetic insulation breaks down from being compressed/uncompressed.  This is physical damage that cannot be repaired or recovered from.  My old 20 deg SD Dream Machine sleeping bag was so big and heavy that I would scrunch the hell out of it in a compression sack…after about 2 years it had lost so much loft that it was thin and probably more like a 40-50 deg bag.

    #3477327
    James Marco
    BPL Member

    @jamesdmarco

    Locale: Finger Lakes

    Unlike down, there is no known way to successfully restore loft to crunched synthetic insulation. Down can recover from 10:1 compression easily. The same level of compression with holofill and the like will destroy it after a couple years. As JCH said, it looses loft, not weight.

    Down has a natural tendency to return to shape with heat (up to about the boiling point of water.) Even out camping, body heat at night will restore a 10:1 compression making it warmer at midnight than when you first crawl into it. Synthetics don’t do this. You can pluck every half inch or so by hand, pulling the fibers out and physically forcing more loft. Putting synthetics in heat will soften them and cause them to thin the overall loft. Whenever you launder a synthetic bag, it should be dried with no heat and no dryer balls.

    #3477364
    robert k
    BPL Member

    @rob-k

    Locale: SF Bay Area

    I just thought would add my limited personal experience to this thread and respectfully disagree with some that has so far bean said. I own ,and still use, an original Montbell Thermawrap  jacket ( no pockets ) that i’m guessing is 10-11 years old at this point , as well as a MH Thermostatic jacket, about 5 years old. Both have been well used, stuffed and worn many times. When they look less puffy or grungy I just wash them in whatever detergent I happen to have, rinse thoroughly ( sometimes twice ) and dry them in the lowest dryer setting available. To date , I can’t tell the difference between new.

    They were never ‘puffy’ like a down jacket even when new, but their warmth does not to have seemed to suffer over the years.

     

    Rob

    #3477366
    Edward John M
    BPL Member

    @moondog55

    You have nothing to lose by washing as per the instructions that came with the garment.

    A wash and tumble dry can work

    #3477395
    Pete M
    BPL Member

    @munro21

    Thanks all – I’ll give washing and plucking a go. If it doesn’t work then I think I’ll go with a good fleece / breathable windshirt combo instead of a new synthetic fill jacket, and I’ll stick with my down puffy for when it’s cold and for sitting around camp. I really like my Atom LT Hoody as it’s so versatile – I can wear it in any situation – but I’d like a bit more mileage out of a jacket.

    #3477398
    JCH
    BPL Member

    @pastyj-2-2

    If it doesn’t work then I think I’ll go with a good fleece / breathable windshirt combo instead of a new synthetic fill jacket…

    That is a good option for active endeavors or around camp when it is not too cold.  I’ve had good luck with an expedition weight cap4 hoody and a Montbell Tachyon windshirt for those in-between situations.

    #3477472
    Edward John M
    BPL Member

    @moondog55

    I picked up an old HollowFill summer bag at the local Op-Shop last week for $3- [ busted zipper which took me all of 5 miutes to fix] so just for interest I have just put it in the washing machine with ordinary liquid enzyme detergent on a long soak and a gentle wash. Just to see how much loft; if any; it recovers.

    I like to pick up cheap bags when I see them as “Loaners”or as winter boostes for mates whose summer weight down bags are simply not warm enough for camping in the snow despite their assurances that the bags are rated for -5C

    #3477482
    Pete M
    BPL Member

    @munro21

    I’ve been looking at the Q&As on the Atom LT hoody page of the Arcteryx website – they do admit that the insulation does lose loft over time especially when compressed by carrying a backpack (my main use for the hoody) or from regular leaning back against a car seat.  However they do advise washing it with Gaynors and then spraying it while damp with a Gaynors (or Arcteryx’s own version) DWR treatment. One advisor also recommends the gentle tumble-dryer-tennis-balls method. So I’ll give all this a go and if no joy then time for something new.

    I’m still unsure about whether I’d go with a synthetic fill jacket again. My own puffy is a lot lighter than the Atom, a lot warmer, and I know it will last and last as long as I look after it. I have an old Mountain Equipment jacket and sleeping bag that are both over fifteen years old and the down is as lofty as ever. I’ve looked after them, not storing them compressed, washing very occasionally in non-detergent soap and very gently tumble drying with tennis balls.

    The one thing is the wet – I’ve always taken the Atom on longer trips where to get my down puffy wet could cause a risky situation, and I keep the puffy safe and dry in my pack as part of my chilly rest stop/ sleep system /camp wear. I guess a warmish fleece and wind shirt combo could replace the position currently filled by the Atom. If the fleece gets wet it’ll stay reasonably warm and will dry quickly, and I still have the puffy for chilly rest stops, camp, and for sleeping. Sorry, just thinking aloud here!

    But as well as advice about reviving the Atom, I’d be really interested to hear people’s thoughts on the above system and what they’d recommend as the next step should the Atom loft not recover? Basically, a fleece/windshirt/down puffy combo or maybe another synthetic?

    #3477485
    Edward John M
    BPL Member

    @moondog55

    Howsabout pulling the Atom apart and refilling the shell with new APEX?

    Pulling all the dead insulation out and keep using it as a heavy duty windshirt?

    You Northeners are so lucky having only to deal with cold weather where down works, while I love my down gear it is so wet here that i still rely on fleece and synthetics if there is any chance at all of getting soaked. Getting cold wet windy weather is a given here over most 3 to 5  day periods

    #3477489
    Pete M
    BPL Member

    @munro21

    Hi Edward – refilling it has occurred to me but I think it would mean taking the whole jacket apart as I think the fill is sewn into the seams. That could be an unmitigated disaster as my dog has better sewing skills than I do (he’s probably got his eye on the Atom as a basket-liner). Worth thinking about though if it’s not reviveable and if it comes to the point where the jacket is going to get ditched. I’ll have nothing to lose, right? Haven’t heard of Apex, I’ll have to Google it.

    #3477520
    James Marco
    BPL Member

    @jamesdmarco

    Locale: Finger Lakes

    Pete, Yeah, a fleece, rain jacket/wind shirt, and my hiking shirt are what I bring for temps down to about 32F. It is a good system if not the best. My dry stuff (bag, long johns, socks and down jacket) are always packed in a dry bag except at camp.

    Down is not good wet. Fleece isn’t quite as bad. But, if you happen to get it wet, you hike harder or stop to set up camp. ‘Corse, being retired, time is of little or no consequence.

    #3477723
    Edward John M
    BPL Member

    @moondog55

    OK I just weighed that old dinosaur of a sleeping bag, apparently the stink weighs nothing as the bag is only a few grams lighter.

    It also recovered very little loft [ mind you it is over 25 YO ] but subjectively it “feels” warmer.

     

    #3477771
    Katherine .
    BPL Member

    @katherine

    Locale: pdx

    all I’ve got is this:

    My kids have used our old SD synthetic fill sleeping bags for “Sleeping Bag Races” down the staircase. My kids are still OK. The bags are still serviceable for some cold-ish car camping.

    Also, I’ve got a “vintage” GoLite Coal that I love. It needs a new zipper. And while I never got cold in it, I’m sure the insulation could use all the help it can get.

     

    #3479539
    Armand C
    BPL Member

    @vb242

    Give it a wash and low heat tumble dry or whatever the care label says. I’ve yet to have a synthetic puffy die on me completely. Also, given how cheap you can score synthetic puffies in the off season with sales + emailed coupon codes, scoring replacements is no big deal. I’ve seen the Black Diamond Access Hybrid and Outdoor Research Cathode for under $100 recently online recently and they are direct competing designs with the Atom LT.

    #3479607
    Rex Sanders
    BPL Member

    @rex

    I just retrieved my 1970s Snow Lion synthetic puffy jacket from the “donate” pile. It’s a ridiculously warm double shingled layer of whatever miracle insulation was available over 40 years ago, and still lofts almost like new. Pretty much like wearing a sleeping bag.

    OTOH, it’s been stuffed less than a dozen times because I gave up snow camping soon after buying the jacket, and it’s way too warm for above-freezing temperatures. Probably should donate it …

    Just one data point – maybe newer synthetics lose loft faster.

    — Rex

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