Re stuffing a sleeping bag

[CeeVee]

Looking for advice re How to re-stuff a SB.
I have a Golden Mantle (North Face?) sleeping bag. A favorite or I wouldn't have kept it.
Two of the upper torso tubes have lost 80/90% of their stuffing. Grey Goose Down, probably 800 fill.
The baffles look to be intact so the down did not leak out, it migrated down into the lower tubes.
I will try to hang the SB by the foot end and encourage the down to migrate back into the torso tubes. (Not much hope there I'm thinking tho.)
Or I can add more down. Probably the most effective cure I'm thinking.
Who has GG down, 800 fill in small quantities (4 ounces, 2 for each tube?)? And just how practical is it to open old stitching and re-sew?
Is there a vendor that does this?

[Otter1]

Fills may differ slightly, but you can buy small quantities from thru-hiker.com, wildernesslogics.com, ripstopbytheroll.com.

Isn't that an older model bag? If so, it probably used less than 800 fill, FWIW.

[CeeVee]

Thanks.
Yes SB is 1980s. But was hi end $$$. Even if isn't why go backward unless price is extremely prohibitive.

[IRONFISH45]

Have you cleaned it? I have purchased "Vintage" high quality sleeping bags, washed them carefully and been amazed at what I had when finished.

Tricks to washing:

Big laundrymat front loading (((NOT TOP LOADING))). I use a mild unscented, liquid laundry detergent or soap made specifically for washing down.

Wash with lots of warm or cold water, I use lukewarm or tepid water.

Be stingy with the soap.

DRYING:

I use big absorbent towels, I wrap then roll the item in the towels, I use several towels to blot out a lot of the water. Toward the end of the blotting process I drop the towel rolled item on the floor, slam it down on the floor. Very old way of drying wool clothing before the advent of dryers. I still use it for my large sweaters and big down items, being rolled in a thick towel is important.

Next into a cold or warm dryer, BIG HUGE DRYER, add a shoe, tennis balls, the wet towels, then keep checking and rearranging the item. I do not check it very often when it is a wet glob, but when it starts looking drier, I start checking the progress and rearranging.

I have been very pleasantly surprised at how well down items have responded to a good cleaning.

[CeeVee]

Have washed it sucessfully. I think the dryer contributed to the down migration. Rip Stop by the Roll has 800 fill for $ 38 for 3 oz. Sounds like that's the way to go _if_ I can re-sew the tube successfully.

[Ramblinrev]

I use a mild unscented, liquid laundry detergent

A once thru with detergent might not be too bad but generally speaking it is advised to avoid detergent. They strip the oils from the down. Pure soap (ivory flakes or similar) or a special down wash is the cleaner of choice.

[Just Bill]

CeeVee-
Pick a spot that you won't notice on the baffle to repair. Inside, center of baffle is a good spot.

You can get a decent idea how much fill you need by shaking the fill down, then measure the length and width of the dead spot.
Multiply by desired loft and divide by the fill power you purchase (doesn't matter what you use, but 750 was high end then).
Multiply by 130% (to get overstuff)
Make sure you have a good scale! 1/10 gram increments.

Save a paper towel roll (or make one from paper). Put a bit of screen on one side -thin sock will work too.
Load the towel roll with down, pack it down so it's not drifting away.

Get a safety pin or something handy- stapler works too.
Get a rod or tool handle about the right size to slide into the tube.

Open the bag up, shake as much of the down away from where you intend to cut.
Cut a small slit parallel to the baffle stitching in the CENTER of the baffle.
Best way is to fold the bag in half, then sorta pull it up by the inner shell- make a small cut then widen to fit the tube. Ideally you have one single "snip" about an 1" long folded.

Shove the tube into the slit and puff out the down- if it sticks in there you can use the rod to push the netting through- if you loose it, no biggie. You can also use a hunk of toilet paper to push now that I am typing (thinking) about it- may be easiest to push it all in and retrieve the TP.

Pinch the fabric together and pin or use two staples. Then stitch it up. Back it up with Tenacious tape square if you aren't feeling good on your suture skills- surgery complete!

[CeeVee]

Thanks!
Sounds like you've been there, done that.