The Care and Feeding of Your Sleeping Bag |
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Professional Washing/Cleaning: Our sleeping bags, both down and synthetic, can be professionally washed. Check the yellow pages under Camping, Backpacking, or Mountaineering Equipment for folks who specialize in cleaning outdoor products. Your local retailer may also be able to refer you. Never dry clean a Mountain Hardwear sleeping bag—the chemicals used are harmful to the fabrics and filling and will severely reduce loft and thermal efficiency.
Machine Wash: Zip up all the zippers, attach all Velcro® and turn the bag inside out. Wash in a front-loading machine with cold water on the gentle or delicate setting. We recommend that you use the minimum amount of cleaning agent and scrub the head and foot section before you wash the entire bag. Use at least two rinse cycles to get all the soap out of the garment.
- Down Bags: use a mild powder soap or special down soap (available at outdoor stores).
- Synthetic Bags: use a mild powder soap or special synthetic cleaning product.
When moving your bag from the washer to the dryer, do so carefully by carrying it from the bottom. Tumble dry in a large commercial dryer on low heat. The dryer must be large enough for the bag to flop freely around. Drying will take several hours and your bag should be checked often to make sure it is not overheated.
- Down Bags: as the bag dries, look for clumps of wet down and gently shake the bag to redistribute the down. Sometimes the down in the draft tube will need some gentle massaging during this process.
- Synthetic Bags: as the bag dries, check for even distribution of fill material. Gently massage the bag if any bunching is detected.
- Do not use a top-loading washing machine (the agitator will destroy the baffles in the sleeping bag).
- Do not use liquid soap or detergent. Do not use strong soap or detergent.
- Do not use your home dryer (they have been known to melt holes in the fabric).
- Do not lift your bag from one end when wet (lift the entire bag all at once from underneath).
- Do not store in a stuff sack (use a larger storage sack which allows for air circulation).
- Do not dry in the sun (the UV will damage the nylon).
You can extend the life of your sleeping bag by storing it loose, cool and dry when not in use. All of our sleeping bags have hang loops near the foot end. They also come with a large mesh or cotton sack for storage. Do not store your bag stuffed in its stuff sack because compression for a long period of time can damage the loft and reduce thermal efficiency. You depend on your bag when you're out in the backcountry. A little extra care will keep it dependable for a long time.
When you get out of your bag, compress and then fluff it to remove any warm, moist air trapped inside. If possible, air out your bag, turned inside out, to further dry it. Drape it over your tent or in a dry, sunny place, making sure it is secure from unplanned, wind-aided flight (you can tie it to the tent structure with its drawcord). Once dry, roll the bag to expel air and precompress the bag. Unroll and move zipper sliders to roughly six inches from the bottom of the zipper. Starting with the foot end, stuff the bag into the stuff sack, taking care to distribute the bulk evenly. Rotate the bag as you stuff and kneel on it once you are finished to further even out the distribution. If you are going to be traveling in extremely wet conditions, we recommend you use an oversize plastic bag as a liner for the stuff sack
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