How to wash down sleeping bag.

[RescueMan]

That's one reason why I bought a Gore-Tex bivvy bag years ago.

Believe it or not, my down bag WAS inside a Gore-Tex bivy sack at the time (Gore-Tex on top and waterproof urethane-coated nylon on bottom).

But I made the stupid mistake of sleeping in what turned out to be a drainage path, and when the water rose to the level of the bivy side zipper, I was floating in a cold goose soup.

I've also had down bags stay fresh for many years without washing. In fact, my first down mummy bag was one that was abandoned in the mud at the 1977 Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant site occupation and served me well for 13 more years until I could afford a new one.

My current EMS zero-degree bag has been around for 16 years and is (in spite of its campfire mishap) still going strong. In fact, I'll be reying on it for the Green Mountain Club 2-night winter trek I'm leading the first weekend in February on the Long Trail.

- Robert

P.S. How do you get down off an elephant? (see below when you give up)















You can't get down off an elephant. You get down off a duck.