Repair Your Down Bag
via BoyandGirlScouts.com – News, Opinion, Advice by admin on 12/9/08
Boys’ Life Gear Guy answers a question about what to do when your down bag you spent too much money for, but is worth every penny, develops a leak of feathers.
Q: My dad gave me an old Marmot sleeping bag, and it has two small holes in it and some down feathers are coming out. The sleeping bag works just fine, but how do I stop the feathers from coming out?
—Cold Coleman, Reno, Nev.
A: Thanks for the question, Cold. First off, good for you for reusing your dad’s old sleeping bag. A good bag can last for decades if you take care of it.
As for your escaping feathers problem, I called my buddy George Farkas over at McNett, a company known for its gear-care and -maintenance products. Here’s what he had to say: Seam Grip ($7; www.rei.com ) makes an excellent ‘no-sew’ patch on small holes and tears.
He even talks about how to repair bigger rips and seam leaks. Gear Guy is a great blog on the Boys’ Life web site that gives pretty good advice. My hand-me-down (*snicker*) bag developed just such a leak so I think I’ll be following his advice.