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A good quality sleeping bag or quilt is essential in the back country. As a part of a sleep system, it will keep you warm throughout the night and allow you to get a good nights sleep so you are well rested for the next day's hike. There are many different shapes and styles of sleeping bag with all different kinds of insulation. Each style and insulation type must be cared for properly, but all have a basic form of care. This week, let's take a brief look at Sleeping Bag care.
The perfect sleeping bag or camping quilt won’t stay perfect without the proper care. Here are a few tips for how to take care of sleeping bags or camp quilts so you can keep your fluffy companion in tip-top shape for the next adventure.
How Sleeping in Clothing Preserves Your Sleeping Bag
Wearing layers at night will maintain your bag’s integrity for extended periods of use. By going to bed with a baselayer on, you’ll not only sleep warmer by wicking moisture away from your body, but you’ll also keep your body oils from getting in your bag or quilt.
If you’ve noticed small areas on your bag where oil or dirt has visibly accumulated, we recommend hand washing just that single area initially.
How to Wash Your Sleeping Bag
Thoroughly washing your bag or quilt should not be done on a whim or haphazardly. In fact, we only recommend a full cleaning if your bag has seen extended use, or you’ve noticed that extensive amounts of oil and dirt are hindering your bag’s loft. The fact is, washing your sleeping bag will remove some of its water-resistant qualities. In our research, we’ve found that re-treating your bag or quilt at home will never give you the quality of water resistance you get from the treatment the factory applies.
However, after extended use, body oils can begin to build up on your bag and these will, over time, break down its insulation. So with a thorough wash, you can remove grime that would, if left on, reduce your bag’s warmth.
So, how should you wash your bag?
Beware: a top-loading washing machine with an agitator can destroy your bag. Seek out a front-loader (found at most laundry mats) and use a non-detergent soap. We also recommend running extra rinse and spin cycles for best results. No front-loader? No problem. Go old-school and hand wash your bag in the tub.
But what if your bag is filled with DWR (Durable Water Repellent) down?
If your sleeping bag or quilt sports treated down that’s water resistant (such as the Nikwax® Hydrophobic Down™ used in all Therm-a-Rest down sleeping bags and quilts), we recommend using a down-specific wash designed to maintain the insulation’s water-repellent qualities. Using a standard detergent will leave water-attracting residues on your down. A DWR-specific soap (such as Nikwax’s DownWash™) will maintain the insulation’s water-repellent qualities while removing harmful oil and dirt. After a few washes, it’s essential to restore the bag’s DWR coating by using Nikwax Down Proof™.
A Dry Sleeping Bag is a Warm Bag
This may seem obvious, but keeping your bag or quilt dry, as often as possible, whether you’re in the field or at home, helps preserve its insulating qualities.
If you’ve washed your bag, we recommend running it through a large industrial dryer at low heat. Keep in mind that a dryer running too hot can melt fabrics on your bag. Low heat is crucial. Also, take care that the bag doesn’t expand and get stuck next to the dryer’s heater. You can keep your bag moving inside the dryer by tossing in a few tennis balls. This will also help break up the down clusters—restoring the bag’s loft.
You can always hang-dry your bag too.
Pro Tip: After cleaning and drying your bag, turn it inside out and give it some sun … literally. Allowing your bag to soak up some rays will kill bacteria, improving your sleep ecosystem.
How to Store Sleeping Bags
A critical mistake many people make when storing their sleeping bag or camp quilt is packing it into a stuff sack. This is slowly but surely ruining your insulation by over-compressing it. Many bags come with an additional storage sack as well as a stuff sack.
the storage sack, usually mesh and much larger, is specifically designed to let your bag breathe without compressing the insulation. If you don’t have a storage sack, you can hang your bag up or lightly fold it and leave it unpacked.
Written by Jim Meyers for Thermarest Blog, published on November 10, 2022N.A.C. NEWS
(Sunday, April 28, 2024)
Good Morning,
Well, we made it back from Waynesboro, PA safely after hiking through Michaux State Forest on the Appalachian Trail. We spent 4 days on trail hiking 74kms up and down the Blue Ridge Mountains of Pennsylvania. The location was very pretty and the weather was fairly calm with the exception of a little rain on the final day. Along the Appalachian Trail there are many Shelters where you can spend your evenings. Each is it's own experience and we went from good, to great to the best along our journey. Photos will be shared soon on the NAC Photo Galleries.
Long distance hikers eventually earn a Trail Name. A trail name is given to you by your peers and is associated with your personality, a repetitive trait, or a habit you may have. Many times your trail name is humourous but given with love. My trail name, Professor, was given to me years ago due to my extensive wealth of knowledge on nearly every subject. Stop laughing! The truth is, I am known as an annoying know-it-all, and my loving friends made sure I knew it with my trail name.
We have two long time hikers who were given their trail names on this most recent trip...
Ella 'Mother' Rzymkowski
Ella has participated in numerous NAC events now, including Heaven's Gate, Iceland and Yosemite. On each hike, Ella always looks after everyone, offering help, sharing her gear and most importantly, yelling at us all like children when she feels we are doing risky things. Ella has definitely earned her trail name, and I look forward to many more adventures with Mother.
Richard 'Savior' Hong
If you have ever participated in any NAC event that Richard was part of, then you probably already have a clear understanding of how we came up with his trail name. On and off trail, Richard will sacrifice all to come to the rescue. From rushing off trail to get meals for fellow hikers, to giving up his own gear and comfort to make sure others in his group enjoy their experience. If you are ever on a hike with Savior, chance are, you'll have the best hike ever.
Congratulations on earning your trail names, and I look forward to many more years of guiding you on your many adventures!
If you meet these guys on the trail, be sure to say hello!
July's Beausoleil Island Kayaking trip is coming up fast. We do have one more spot available to anyone who may wish to join. Join us on this 3 day trip as we kayak completely around one of Canada's least known National Parks, the Island of Beausoleil! We will spend two nights camping on the island and one full day exploring the entire 18km circumference of the island from the water.
There are still 3 spots available for the GROS MORNE EXPEDITION!
Don't wait, REGISTER NOW! This is the chance of a lifetime and a very difficult trip to obtain permits for on one's own. Join Niagara Adventure Club for this extraordinary journey and leave all the details and planning to us.
That's all the news for this week.
Remember, the adventure never ends, it's just a change of location!
Lenny Burch