vertical-endeavour.com

Hi everyone

Whats the life span of a down sleeping bag?
Myself and a friend bought identical -15 degree down bags about 4 years ago,in the beginning they were fantastic and actually a bit of overkill for Berg conditions. We always found ourselves completely starkers and unzipping the top half because it was just too warm even in freezing conditions. The last two or three hikes iv done recently iv found that the bag just isnt as warm anymore. This past weekend wasnt that cold and both my friend and I had to pull a thermal on in the bag to keep warm and zip it up fully, can it really have lost that much efficiency in such a short time or are we just getting old ?
I do look after the bag well and air it after every trip and store it in a large sack so that its not compressed.

Mike

My family and i all have -15 sleeping bags, and we were up on the berg on the 15th of June and we all froze,and that was with a -5 thermal liner inside ,so i was glad we did not take our icebreakers.

I personally think it all comes down to how well you are insulated from the cold of the ground beneath you, because that particular week even the ground was frozen, it was a struggle to even remove your tent pegs in the morning.I am now going to invest in one of those thick emergency blankets that you can find at cape union and use that as a ground sheet under my tent in extreme cold conditions.

My understanding is that a down bag should last around 15 years, as opposed to about 5 years when it comes to synthetics. Usage (how much and how long it was compressed) obviously plays a role (along with storage when not in use), as well as the quality of the down. The occasional wash may also be beneficial as it re-fluffs the down. I use an Ice Nino for 2-3 seasons in the Berg, which us now around 13 years old and its still doing OK. There could be a number of factors explaining why you suddenly felt colder in them (some of which Anthony suggested), but its not likely that they are worn out.

I've managed to get some life back into a down bag by putting it in a tumble drier set on very *LOW* cool setting. Put in a tennis ball or two. It seems to get the loft back.

Thanks for the info guys

Good point Anthony I use a thermarest mat and lately have been finding my bum on the floor half way through the night,could be that the cold is coming up. I used to use a thin blue foam mat under that previously to avoid punctures but havent bothered lately.Never had a prob with icy floors whilst i was doing that. I have been avoiding washing it regularly but will give it a good one and do the tennis ball trick and see how it goes next weekend
Now to find that elusive puncture...

I just purchased a used winter (-15) bag. It's in really good condition, and I wanted to see how I like it (before I drop the big money on a brand new one).

I'm hearing you guys say your -15 bags didn't quite do the trick; it sounds like you were freezing your butts off a bit? Next time would you buy something even more severe for the Berg or stick with a -15 bag again?