Scrapping Sleeping Bags

[jhunt87]

I was thinking about making my own underquilt, I was going to just find used down sleeping bags on craigslist and buy them for the down.

Any reason that this would be a bad idea?

Thanks.

[Ramblinrev]

cheap bags will have cheap down or a down and feather mix. There is nothing inherently wrong with doing what you suggest as long as you are aware of the tradeoffs. In addition old down can have lost some of its loft due to poor storage or just simple aging. Old cheap bags would be the poorest combination. But again as long as you do not expect 900+ performance from the down there is no reason not to do so. There have been several threads regarding recovering old matted down to best of its ability. A good wash and dry can go a long way to revitalizing down. But it still will not perform to the standards of brand new high quality down.

[KerMegan]

Keep the Vaccum cleaner on Alert ! (with mesh Catcher/strainer)
Seriously- give it a try- the lessons learned will likely be worth the cost of the bags.
you can always upgrade later.
KM