Can a down bag loose it's loft over the years?

“Hope this is not a silly question.

I am wondering if a goose down sleeping bag over the years can loose some of it's loft and not able to keep you warm anymore? I have an old North Face superlight down bag that is about 24 years old. I used it on my last backpacking trip camping at 10,300 feet and I could have been a little warmer...I had not used this bag in years on higher elevation trips but used a lot warmer bag I have, and that one keep me a bit warmer than the North Face one.

I guess im trying to figure out if the north face one is either loosing the loft and not being able to keep me warm any more..or maybe the bag is just not warm enough for higher elevations..I do not remember what the rating on it is..the tag has come off of it.

Thanks everyone”

“I'd assume that use would squash some of the loft over the years. Body oils and or washing would probably do some damage. Esp after twenty four years!

Maybe getting a liner to boost the temp rating would help.”

“pop it in a large tumble drier on a no-heat setting. Fluffs up the down big time.”

“Absolutely - down and synthetic will loose loft over time. Make sure a bag is stored "fluffed" to help prevent that, between trips, and always take it right out of your pack and fluff it after setting up your tent.

A bag that old? If it was 20* its probably 40* now.”

“three things would degrade bag loft.
Loss of down - this is unlikely if the bag has not been in use much, but if it has been used a lot, you do loose a little over time.

The two main culprits would be an extended time in a compressed state or dirt/body oil clumping the down.
washing will help for both of these.

Do a search through past threads looking for instructions on how to wash and more important * *how to dry* * a down bag.”

“Can a Playa lose the swivel in his Silly Straw?”

“My dad gave me a duck down REI bag that is like 25 years old and been in the stuff sack the whole time. It's lost a few dergees but is still a good bag. I never keep mine stuffed though.”

“My down bag loses feathers every time I use it. I figure it is probably at least 10 if not 20 degrees cooler than it was when I bought it five years ago. Sierra Designs had 20 deg. down bags on sale for about $120 -- guess what's for Christmas!”

“Get the bags that use live goose as stuffing. They keep their down in good shape. But do remember to check on the status of the Geese every once in a while.

Nothing worse then being in the backcountry with a decompossing Goose in your bag.”

“I've got a 15 yr old TNF Superlight (with 500 series down) that still works great. I take it out of the stuff sack and hang it up between trips. The only change I've made is to put a collar in it to improve warmth.”

“I seem to recall that North Face down products have a lifetime guarantee. You might want to check that out and get a replacement. I finally retired my first down bag from 1977. The down migrated to the edges of the baffles leaving spots where the lining was the only thing covering me. Brrr, I discovered the problem campingf in the snow.”

“I think that dwon settling is an inevitablity. Its just a matter of time. A properly stored bag will last much longer. A stuff sack is a no-no, next would be hanging, this lets gravity pull on all the guts, the best two options would be a large hanging bag that the sleepy bag fits very loosely in. The ideal I would think would be keeping the bag stored layed out flat.”

“I like to hang 'em by their feet.”

“Thanks everyone for all your comments

I do agree not to have a down bag in it's stuff sack or to hang it..we just have all ours laid out flat, and the North face one im talking about I use in the winter as an extra blanket.

Im going to try to fluff it in the dyer, also it has been a while since I have cleaned it so I will try that too.
Hi Karen, thanks for mentioning the north face guarantee totally forgot about them having that, I guess it would not hurt to check into that

Thanks again everyone”