Cleaning a Down sleeping bag?
Ive just scored myself a nice fairydown gore dryloft, Superlite sleeping bag for $90.
Its in great condition, but would like to clean and sanitise it.
I was reading that you can dryclean down bags with no problems, is this true?
In the past ive done it by hand using that special sports wash detergent, the bag would get clumps, but would come right once dry, but if its better to dryclean these, then i will do that as long as i know its safe.
TIA
27 comments
you think thats bad? i still have my fairydown EVEREST down bag,,,, 900gm of down... entrant waterproof.... yet to find anywhere cold enough for it to really test it out.... i'm keeping it just in case an ice age comes....
1
Interesting. I found the Explorer to be an ideal bag for SI four season conditions and bought another when the first one wore out. However I did get cold in them the odd time when tenting above the snow line. I bought the first Explorer after having trialed an Everest but found it too hot for normal conditions.
Thinking back to Westland and Southland in the 70's & 80's I'm pretty sure the NZFS stores staff used to send the down bags away for drycleaning.
I dont believe there is such a thing as a 4 season bag. Maybe a 1 and 2 half seasons ie summer half spring and autumn or winter half autumn and spring. In any bag outside those times it will either freeze or cook you
yup. winter bags are too hot for summer and often too hot in spring and autumn...
i've got three bags, a summer, an autumn/spring and a winter bag. the winter bag is usually overkill outside of winter. not to mention builkier and heavier... the summer bag is three quarters of a kilo lighter
Follow the cleaning instructions on the bag, some say OK to dry clean some say wash in washing machine. I have a Fairydown Entrant 900gm bag as well far to hot ( sitting unused for 10yrs), also a Fairydown dryloft cobra 700gm for winter and I use a Mountain Designs Traveller 400gm bag for summer about 850gms a good basic bag currently on sale at Mountain Designs for $144, I used this over the last couple of weeks doing the Lake Waikaemoana and Tongariro circuit tracks ( I was 3/4hr away from Whakapapa village when she blew last week- didn't hear or see anything) I have washed a bag in the washing machine, they take a while to dry.
1 deleted post from
glennj
Well geeves I used Explorers all year round for over a decade when working & tramping in the SI high country. Summer time you sleep with the bag on top of you or sleep inside it in your jocks. As it gets colder thru the year you start wearing more clothing inside the bag. (Voila a 4 season bag!) Perhaps not your ideal bag but that was the way it used to be and was how I & those I worked with got by with just one sleeping bag.
As per the previous post the Explorers were a good compromise as far as warmth went! I did used to have my Explorers dry cleaned!
These days with sleeping bags relatively more affordable I do run several bags.
Yep, I had 2 Explorers the first got brunt, I bought a replacement around 1980 these were great bags, around 700gm feather weight, dry cleaned it once, you see the odd one on Trademe for sale.there was also the Twenty Below.
My winter bag is a Freedom Yukon Ive only done the zip up once and never put the hood up. Its a far lesser bag than the explorer but at 1.3 kg its light enough. My summer bag is a Mitre10 special at 50 bucks for 2 Its bigger packed and about the same weight as the yukon.
Its good for camping to have a his and hers that zip together. I also have a pair of Macpac Tasmans for winter camping but at 1.8 kg each and the size of a daypack they are not really tramping bags
Got the big monster for those trips where you camp in the snow in winter and I sure as hell cinch up all the cords. Then there's the Macpac 3 season bag which is never used now as I have the tiny GoLite 800 loftpower bag which works down to about 2 degrees if augmented with a down jacket cape. Unfortunately this $200 and 850g gem doesn't zip open at the feet so I have to start some nights off with my legs out the bag as the feet get too warm otherwise. Very annoying.
i wouldn't use normal washing powder on a down bag, anything with aromatics in it will leave residue behind and could affect the down, also affects breath ability esp in membrane garments….
you need a pretty no frills washing soap…
https://cleaningpro.co.nz/product/auckland-carpet-cleaning-service/
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| Forum | Gear talk |
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| Started by | BOP Tramper |
| On | 26 November 2012 |
| Replies | 26 |
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