I just ordered a WM Badger and was wondering while packing is it best to stuff it and compress or to just use a looser bag? I want to take as best care of it as poss. and make it last. Thanks--Allen--
I love the internet. You can find just about anything you darn well think of!
http://www.westernmountaineering.com/index.cfm?section=Product%20Tips%20and%20CareThe link comes up slow but it's to their care and maintenance page. Drop $400 for a bag and you'll want to check it out. My personal Marmot Down Bag and my Sierra Designs Primaloft are in their cotton sacs hanging in the basement. I've got compression bags to stuff them in my pack but that's usually for a day or two getting somewhere, then I unroll it. I my bags air out a good long while before packing them up too.
WM bags come with a pretty nice stuff sack. I'd use the one they provide and forget compressing it further.
When you cram things into a small stuff sack or a compression sack you end up with a bunch of little boulders in your pack. I tend to like bigger stuff sacks that are lightly packed. I find this allows you to use your pack space more efficiently than having a pack full off football sized "boulders".
When I'm storing my WM bag, I put it the very large bag mine came with. But when I carrying it, I use the stuff sack.
Storing it in the stuff sack, over time, can reduce the loft of the insulation. E
I don't think Tx Trapper was asking about storage. (correct me if i'm wrong Tx) BUT rob p and Eremicus are correct about using the cotton storage bag.
When I owned a Wiggy bag I didn't even store that one compressed although W says it is OK.
I read many years ago, that the Air Force had vacum packed down sleeping bags in the ejector seat survival kits. I've always wondered how well they fluffed up after being compressed for a few years.
IME synthetics should be stuffed as little as possible.
lead, you are right. I was speaking more while it's in the pack. I do apprec. all the replys though. I have always just stuffed and compressed. I thought I read where stuffing can sometimes mess up a bag. I believe it was more w/ syn. but I thought I would check. I read somewhere that it is best to roll and then stuff. This was w/ all fabrics. The speaker said to even roll up silnyl. instead of just stuffing, stating it was better for the fab. I tried that w/ my TiG V5 and it was like wrestling w/ a greased pig, so I continue to just stuff. Thanks again!!--Allen--
This is an old question and one that often elicits strong replies. My experience is that I have tried both and went to stuffing all bags long ago. With the 17 sacks I have owned, I have never noticed degradation of the insulation by stuffing, however, all of my current 7 bags are ALWAYS stored in large cotton or mesh bags, when not in use.
My oldest bag is a Feathered Friends from 1989 and it seems as new to me having always been treated this way. I also use silnylon stuff sacks for my bags, larger than the original manu. issue and will stuff them into my pack(s) as needed, I don't and never have cared for compression sacks.
I would expect a lifetime's use from a really good down bag and my choice as "best" for most people here would be Western Mountaineering due to quality, availability and service, something that some other bag/gear makers are rather deficient in.