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[pct-l] Sleeping Bag Compression
- Subject: [pct-l] Sleeping Bag Compression
- From: fiddleheadpa at hotmail.com (glen fleag)
- Date: Thu Jun 2 19:40:44 2005
- In-reply-to: <1117473883.27196@mx64a.mysite4now.com>
I've slept in my down "hummingbird" sleeping bag now at least 600 and
possibly 800 nights. If i lost 2% every time, my bag would be on it's 16th
life now. I can't imagine where you heard that the bag disintegrates.
Perhaps from a bag manufacturer trying to sell synthetic bags?? Although
i can't say my bag is the same size as when it was new, every time i wash it
(about twice a year and i've had the bag for 11 years now) it bounces back
to a nice fluffy bag again. I think there's a problem with buying a
dryloft shelled bag as it won't dry out as fast as a lightweight breathable
shell. I have 4 down bags (no synthetics) for different situations
(himalayas, winter usa, or cold spring/fall, or summer) and 3 of them are
lightweight shells and seem to dry out a lot faster than the one dryloft bag
i have. Of course, on the PCT, the drying out is not a problem like it is
in Nepal or East coast hiking, (or southeast asia). I have a good
tent/tarp system and have never gotten my bag wet. ( i think if i had a
synthetic bag, i wouldn't want to get it wet either). My "Hummingbird"
(the one i use 80% of the time) compresses down to the size of a loaf of
bread, yet fluffs up enough to keep me warm down to the 25 degrees
comfortably. anyway, that's my 2 cents on this one. fh
<br><br><br>>From: "Ronald Moak"
<rmoak@sixmoondesigns.com><br>>To:
<pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net><br>>Subject: RE: [pct-l] Sleeping
Bag Compression<br>>Date: Mon, 30 May 2005 10:20:49 -0700<br>><br>>
>> I also read somewhere that overtime you compress a sleeping bag in
the<br>>normal way in your pack, you lose 2-3% of its loft permanently.
You slowly<br>>crush the life out it. I do not know if that is true, but
some of the bags<br>>I see on the trail make me think it is close to
true. <<<br>><br>>I'm sure everything looses some loft from
compression over time. However, I<br>>doubt there are any measurement
instruments capable of measuring a 2 to 3%<br>>loft reduction. Even if
it's true, the loss would translate to less than 2<br>>degree loss of
comfort.<br>><br>>Most down bag loft is lost via body oils or moisture
in the bag. Generally a<br>>thorough professional cleaning will restore a
down bag to its original loft.<br>>My down bag is going on 6 years and
has been cleaned several times. It's<br>>still as good as the day it
arrived.<br>><br>>Synthetic bags loose about 10 degrees of comfort due
to compression within a<br>>short period of use. After a couple seasons
of extensive use they should be<br>>replaced.<br>><br>> >> If
I were hiking in a potentially wet environment, I would
certainly<br>>consider a synthetic bag. I really like down. I might be
wrong here, but I<br>>prefer 800 down bags to 900 down bags. Your bag
has to be tied to your<br>>metabolism and the environment. For years I
have been trying to eliminate<br>>my sleeping bag and substitute a
clothing option. <<<br>><br>>When looking at a sleeping bag it's
important to look at the whole bag and<br>>not just the insulation.
Comparing forms of insulation without discussing<br>>the rest of the
materials used in the bag is frankly worthless. Down bag can<br>>be
useless if the shell is made from the wrong materials. But then
the<br>>problem is with the shell and not the
insulation.<br>><br>>With all bags, (down or synthetic) the goal is to
keep the insulation dry.<br>>Wet synthetic material may retain some heat
but I wouldn't count on any wet<br>>bag keeping me alive if conditions go
south.<br>><br>>Fallingwater<br>><br>><br>><br>><br>>_______________________________________________<br>>pct-l
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