Howdy y'all, this is my first post. I have been out of the camping/outdoor hobby for a few years other than day trips. I decided to dig my Jeep out of the barn and spend the winter getting ready for a LOT of adventures this coming year. I pulled my two mummy bags out of the archives the other night. One bag I had stored hanging over a bar in the closet. The other has been in a stuff sack for several years. My question is has the bag lost any of it's "loft" or insulating capabilities from being compressed all these years? If so what can I do to restore it? It is a kelty +10 Fahrenheit bag. Sorry for the long post. I'll try to get some pics of the Jeep up soon and if anyone wants to know anything else about me just ask.
Sleeping bag from extended storage
- Thread starter TAGcaver
- Start date
It really should not be all that big of a deal. Where you can run into problems with the syn bags is the packing and re packing into the small stuff sack.
Take for ex a 0degree Mt Hardware I have. Must have at least 250 nights in the field on it. At this point the comfort rating is closer to 30 then 0.
On the other hand, I have a 32 rated REI syn bag that has not even a fraction of those nights but is ten years older. It it has not lost as much of its warmth rating
and finally I have a 20 degree North face syn bag that has betwen 100 and 150 night in it since new in 2007 and it is somewhere inbetween the two.
My best bag? the neg forty down monster that stays in the big puffey storrage bag it came with.
you bags should be fine depending on how many times you used them before putting them away, a great really cheap option to ramp up an older bag and still make it nice is to get a liner the silk one are really nice but are going to run you some $$ they sell synthtic ones for much cheaper and they add 5-10 degrees to the rating of the bag.
good luck
Take for ex a 0degree Mt Hardware I have. Must have at least 250 nights in the field on it. At this point the comfort rating is closer to 30 then 0.
On the other hand, I have a 32 rated REI syn bag that has not even a fraction of those nights but is ten years older. It it has not lost as much of its warmth rating
and finally I have a 20 degree North face syn bag that has betwen 100 and 150 night in it since new in 2007 and it is somewhere inbetween the two.
My best bag? the neg forty down monster that stays in the big puffey storrage bag it came with.
you bags should be fine depending on how many times you used them before putting them away, a great really cheap option to ramp up an older bag and still make it nice is to get a liner the silk one are really nice but are going to run you some $$ they sell synthtic ones for much cheaper and they add 5-10 degrees to the rating of the bag.
good luck
mcskibadee1
Adventurer
If you do throw it in the dryer on cool it helps to put a couple tennis balls in there as well.
Christophe Noel
Expedition Leader
It largely depends on the type of fill. With regard to down, the higher the fill-power, the more resilient the loft is. Think of a cheap down-filled pillow. That lower fill-power poops out pretty easily resulting in a flatso pillow.
With regard to synthetics, they can be very easily damaged with even modest periods of compression. Lower grade short-fiber fills are the most prone to lose loft even after just a few uses with a compression stuff-sack. As such many bags used properly and stored with lots of love will begin to de-loft after just a few years.
In either scenario, attempts to re-loft the fill are largely futile. The dryer trick might gain back a couple degrees of insulation, but it's not uncommon for a damaged bag to lose up to 30% of it's temperature rating. So, you bag might just be a 25 degree bag now.
With regard to synthetics, they can be very easily damaged with even modest periods of compression. Lower grade short-fiber fills are the most prone to lose loft even after just a few uses with a compression stuff-sack. As such many bags used properly and stored with lots of love will begin to de-loft after just a few years.
In either scenario, attempts to re-loft the fill are largely futile. The dryer trick might gain back a couple degrees of insulation, but it's not uncommon for a damaged bag to lose up to 30% of it's temperature rating. So, you bag might just be a 25 degree bag now.
highdesertranger
Adventurer
I can't help with your syn bags but I will tell you this I have a down cabelas bag that I bought in 1980 and it is as good today as it was new. all the loft is still there. highdesertranger
AFBronco235
Crew Chief
How much gear do you plan on taking? I use a military sleep system consisting of multiple bags that you can layer and be good anywhere from -10C to 50C. If you're worried about staying warm and don't mind taking a little extra, you should see if you can get any of the interior layers of that system to add to your bag. A lot of military surplus sell individual pieces from those kits since many of the ones they get have damaged layers, usually the outermost layer which holds everything together. Just an idea.
As for insulation, they hold up extremely well when packed away.
As for insulation, they hold up extremely well when packed away.
Buddha.
Finally in expo white.
They gave me one of those three piece sleep systems in basic training for our three day training exercise. It had been used by countless privates before me and always stored in the compressed stuff sack. I hated it. It was 25? degrees at night. They told us to just wear our t shirts and boxers in the bag at night and we'd be fine. I was not fine. I'm 215 pounds 20% body fat male from MN, I'm not sensitive to cold. Second night I wore my uniform inside the sleeping bag, somewhat better still too cold though. Third night I wore everything I had, including my fleece and gortex jackets. It was comfortable. It was at that time I stared to ponder about the effectiveness of the sleep system when kept in compression.
Last fall I used a different sleep system, same design. My issued, never before used, never kept in compressed state sleep system for deer hunting at 35 degrees. It was good enough and I only used two of the three pieces.
They issue you the sleep system in big plastic bag. I believe this is because storing them in warehouse in compressed form is not good for them.
Last fall I used a different sleep system, same design. My issued, never before used, never kept in compressed state sleep system for deer hunting at 35 degrees. It was good enough and I only used two of the three pieces.
They issue you the sleep system in big plastic bag. I believe this is because storing them in warehouse in compressed form is not good for them.
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