How much risk is there involved with compressing down? I just put my under quilt in its stuff sack and that was a chore in itself. We generally get to camp a few hours before we hit the sack. Just wondering how long it can be stuffed brie it takes to long to regain loft
The trick is to avoid "black hole" levels of compression. If your stuff sack is really a hassle, get a slightly bigger one. Do avoid using a compression sack and trying to squeeze it down rock hard. Long term storage should be done hanging free or in a loose breathable bag. You can get cheap laundry bags that work well. High end down bags come with a big cotton sack for storage.
The trick way to haul your down is loose in your pack, letting it fill the nooks and crannies, using a unscented trash compactor bag for waterproofing. You can put all your insulation in the bag, twist the top well like a big candy cane, and tuck that in along the side. That will give you a good level of water protection and your down won't have the life pinched out of it. Of course that isn't always practical space wise and you have to resort to stuff sacks.
The less you compress it, the quicker it rebounds, but I wouldn't worry if you are just using stuff sacks vs compression sacks. Moderation rules
Good question!
There have been some discussions where folks mentioned that it might take a few days for a quilt to regain full loft after stuffing.
I don't understand how this works when actually 'out there'.....if I need to get somebody into a sleeping bag to warm up, I expect it to loft up with a few vigorous 'shakes'.
Perhaps the 'time to loft up' depends on the weight of down fill a.k.a. 'overfill' ? Some of the ultralight insulation seems like a 'cloud of air' to me, from the descriptions.
This is my first down piece of gear.. it's a 0 with 4oz of overfill bought from another user on here.
If you have the time, it would be great if you can do a few experiments (stuff in stuff sac, then remove and shake out) at home and report back here!Originally Posted by outdooraddict
As Dale has pointed out, a large cotton storage bag (or just hanging in a closet) is the way to store the quilt/sleeping bag at home.
The stuff sack you have may be on the 'too small' side (there is a 'knack' to stuffing- you have to start stuffing hard to the bottom of the sac -right from the beginning). I've found that it's easier (though heavier) to use a good quality, larger compressor sac (like the OR ones with the breathable panel) so that I can get the item into the sac easily (in a hurry) and then just crank down as necessary.
I'm guessing it's the sac provided by hammoc gear. I've had it laying out on our spare bed. Well be doing a test tomorrow morning after a full day in the sack since that's about how long I'll have it in there for our trip.
I don't worry about mine too much. I store it hanging and carry it in a compression sack and compress the life out of it. But I will probably switch to the trash compactor bag just for the sake of pack space. The bulk of the compression sack creates a lot of wasted space.
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