Mummy bags & stuff sacks

[LauraT7 13]

I just got two new winter sleeping bags - one a "mummy bag" for my son and one a "modified mummy" for me - a tapered, rectangular bag with a hood. Both are the fluffy thermal fiber that expands as soon as they are released from their compression sacks. They came with special "compression" sacks - basically a bag with a drawstring top, with a "cap" with 4 straps that tighten lengthwise and squeeze smaller - but I had a real tough time getting them back into those sacks.

 

Is there a trick to it? should they be rolled first like our regular bags? or just stuffed in?

 

What is the best way to store these bags when at home? We probably won't use them much in the summer - and it doesn't seem like keeping them compressed all the time would be a good thing.

 

lauraT

[ScouterPaul 11]

You want to stuff your bag into the stuff or compression sack. This will not only make it easier but it will help protect your bag. You will want to store your bag in a large cloth bag such as a large pillow case. Compression overtime will reduce the loft of the bag reducing it's ability to keep you warm.

[Chief Decorah 10]

Fiber-filled bags, by their nature, are going to be a tougher to compress than down bags. However, there are compressible fiber bags on the market. Polarguard 3D and Polarguard Delta are the next best thing to goose down in warmth and compressibility. Polarguard HV, Holofill and others are a notch or two down the ladder. Each step down the ladder increases bulk, weight and compressibility.

 

As for your compression stuff sack, first make sure the straps are totally loose. Then, bit by bit, stuff your sleeping bag into the bottom. NEVER roll it first. Just stuff it. Keep stuffing until it's totally inside. It will take a little muscle sometimes, but keep this in mind - the manufacturer knows it will fit, that's why they sent that size stuff sack. You may not think so at first, but once you do it a couple times, you'll see.

 

As for storing your sleeping bag, NEVER, EVER store it in your compression stuff sack. Your sleeping bag will keep you warm because of the loft of it's insulation. If you leave your sleeping bag in the compression stuff sack, it's insulation will flatten, thus eliminating loft and it's ability to keep you warm and comfortable. All of a sudden, your expensive new sleeping bag isn't as good as it's supposed to be.

 

Many sleeping bags come with a storage bag, which are basically oversized pillow cases with a draw string top. They store the bag in a non-compressed state so the insulation keeps it's loft. If yours didn't come with one of those, you can make one for a couple bucks. Just don't store your bag rolled or stuffed and you should have a nice sleeping bags for years to come.

[sctmom 11]

With a little practice you will get used to stuffing those monsters into the bags. My 10 year old weighs all of about 52 pounds and swore he stuffed his in the sack by himself last week. He has a mummy bag and loves it. When he first got it, he slept in it on top of the bed, the end of the bag rolled off the bed and carried him down with it. Then on a campout same thing happened when he was on a cot, he fell out of the side of the platform tent, ended up sitting up outside in the dark and cold. He was okay but it startled both of us! LOL

 

Our sleeping bags came with instructions about how to store them and how to put them in the compression sack. I actually bought a new compression sack for my son's, the one it came with was not the nice type you described, it was more of a drawstring bag. The 4-strap compression is again something you need to practice to get the hang of or you end up with all those straps twisted.