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Re: [at-l] down bags

Cathy,

Wash the bag in a front-loading machine. Dry on low with a tennis ball or
sneaker to shake up the down clumps, or sun dry,  shaking it out now and
then.

On the trail keep it in a plastic garbage bag inside its regular stuff
sack. 

I carried a down bag like that, and it came through rain just fine.  I
also had a pack cover.

The only thing that got it damp  was making camp two nights in a row in
the rain in a bivvy sack. If you're soaking wet and crawl into a bivvy
sack, change into dry clothes in there - which isn't easy - roll out the
ground pad, and then get the down bag out, it will stay dry enough that
first night.

The second night in rain, forget it! 

On the trail I just waited for the first patch of sunshine, stopped right
there and spread out the bag and the bivvy sack to dry. Took about 20
minutes. If the sun doesn't come out, that's a problem!

If you're carrying a tent, it should be easier to keep the down bag dry.
I tell that story to show that EVEN with a bivvy sack in the rain it is
possible to do a fairly good job of keeping it dry.

Using a down bag means using common sense and doing pretty much
everything humanly possible to keep it dry. I carry a synthetic fleece
jacket for warmth as a backup.
****************************
Jim Bruton
jbruton1@juno.com
****************************


On Tue, 20 May 1997 17:32:42 -0700 (PDT) Catherine Cowley
<cathyc@leland.Stanford.EDU> writes:
>Anyone have suggestions for cleaning down bags?  Last time I went 
>camping
>I ended up with poison oak which means my beloved down bag has to be
>washed.
>
>Also. . .what do people do to keep down dry on long hikes?? I just got 
>my
>bag a year ago, and I've only used it in nice, dry California weather. 
>
>This summer I'm hiking half of the AT and the rain + down problem is 
>one
>of my biggest worries. 
>
>Thanks,
>cathy
>
>
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