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There are a few tricks to help save your trip if your down bag does become wet out in the hills. Most times, your down bag becomes damp from your body vapor and clothes or just one specific area actually gets wet from a food spill, snow drug into your tent, wet boot, etc. The more heat inside the bag the faster the down will dry. Placing several water bottles filled with hot water inside your damp down bag will generate more heat and help dry the down faster. If your down bag becomes quite damp, like after a five day storm, turning the bag inside out while placing hot bottles of water inside will allow moisture to pass through bag faster due to the open nylon weave, especially helpful if your bag has a water-proof shell. If a specific area gets wet, place a water bottle filled with hot water under the wet area. Wet down clumps so breaking up the down clumps in very wet areas will spread out the down to allow the down to dry faster. Place clothing on top of the bag or wet area to boost the thermal will also speed up the drying process. Most users understand to dry a wet bag, lay it in the sun on top of a tent but an erected tent in the sun can get blistering hot inside. Turning your bag inside out and placing it inside a tent in the sun can almost get to an at home clothes dryer temperature. This trick also works for any damp gear.

Never store your sleeping bag completely stuff inside its stuff sack. This will compress the fibers of both down and synthetic damaging the fibers. The best way to store any sleeping bag is laying completely flat or hanging in a well ventilated cool and dark area. But most of us do not have the means to accomplish this especially when owning several bags so the next best way is inside a large cotton bag. Never store a wet or even a one night used sleeping bag in any container and this is tripled for down. Once home after your trip, hang or lay your bag completely open for several days. For a thick down bag it may take up to a week for the insulation and internal areas to completely dry. We rotate our bags around during the drying time to help air reach all areas of the bag. Some prescribe washing your down sleeping bag at home and there are even special soaps and rinses on the market for down bags. But we do not feel this way for high end down bags. Down sleeping bags cost a small fortune and down contains its own oil that helps protect itself in the wilderness when it was attached to the bird and improper washing can remove this oil. Down absorbs an incredible amount of water and washing a down bag in your bath tub fills the down with pounds of water. Trying to re-position the bag inside the tub and then removing the wet bag can stress the internal seams and they can rip, and you won’t even know it happened. Using a commercial machine causes untold stress on the seams with all that water weight soaked into the down. Manufactures will not warrant a bag washed at home. AMH recommends and uses a reputable down care specialist.

If you must wash your down bag at home there a few tricks. Turn your down bag inside out then re-stuff it back into its stuff sack. Fill a bath tub with warm water and add down specific soap. Place your down bag inside the water while it is still inside its stuff sack. Gently pull your down bag out of its stuff sack and let the bag fill with water. Ensure you keep the bag as flat as possible. Use your hands to squeeze the soapy water throughout your bag. Severely dirty bags made require several fresh soapy water washings. Once satisfied, drain the soapy water and refill the tub with clean water. Squeeze the clean water several times through your bag with your hands. Rinsing three, four or even five times may not be sufficient. Then squeeze as much water out of your bag before trying to remove it out from the tub. Gently roll your wet bag up and support its weight by your arms underneath the whole rolled bag as you remove it from the tub. Its best if you can place your wet down bag into a washer on spin cycle to spin out as much water as possible. Gently place your bag into a drier and dry for up to six hours on low to medium heat. Placing clean tennis balls in with your bag during drying will help break up the wet clumps. Once you think your down bag is dry, run your hands over the entire bag searching for clumps of down, which means the bag is not dry. Once you think your down bag is dry and you find no clumps, let you bag hang or lay flat for several days to ensure all moisture is removed.

Synthetic bags are much easier to wash at home and your standard washing machine with a large capacity works OK but a commercial tumble washer is preferred. Zip the bag completely up and turn it inside out so the soap and water can easily get through-out the fill. Use a sleeping bag specific wash or a mild soap and rinse the bag at least three times. Hang dry for twenty-four hours and you are done. Do not use bleach. Stain and dirt-busting detergents can be used on tuff stains. Once a synthetic bag has been through the spin cycle you will understand why synthetic fill rules the wet alpine world.


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On my own note I have both bags and each has it's place but my preference is down by far. When I git caught in a 2 day rain storm in my synthetic bag, it was completely soaked but maintained a little heat but if the temps were colder it would be severe hypothermia, so in my opinion either bag would had been useless once soaked, just the synthetic would be quicker to dry if I had a fire going or a sunny day.