Storing camping gear

[Notsototalnewbie]

Now, I know that you aren't supposed to store sleeping bags/air mats such as thermarests in their stuff sacks, and that you can buy mesh bags for storing things like sleeping bags.

But I don't have the space to have mats and sleeping bags billowing everywhere in my cupboards, whether in a mesh bag or not - I have a lot of stuff in this flat and they take a fair amount of space.

If you make sure stuff is clean and very dry before you pack it away, and then air it again before you plan to use it, is it really so bad to store it in its nice compact stuff sack? Or will it kill it?

My flat is being taken over by stuff 

[redshift]

The only problem I've found with storing sleeping bags in the stuff sack is that mine can be a little cool on the first night of a trip.  It's like the longterm compression takes a day or so to spring out of the feathers, whereas the overnight compression lofts up in no time.  Of course, that could simply be that the first night out is acclimatisation!
When you store it at home, you could maybe release the straps so that it's not completely crushed?

The self-inflate mat I have doesn't care at all about being kept rolled up in its bag.  The tent gets hung out to dry thoroughly, and is then stored in its bag - so far that's also caused no problems.

[toekneep]

I'd be particularly concerned about storing a sleeping bag for months tightly packed. I store mine in a pillow case in a fairly inaccessible cupboard. The filling in a sleeping bag only works by being expanded and full of air so compressing it for months on surely can't be a good thing. Any chance you could find someone with loads of space that could store it for you?

[andrewc]

You are not supposed to store sleeping bags compressed as the insulation will lose it's loft & become less effective.  A similar thing for inflatable mats.

Try sliding mats into the gap behind a wardrobe & laying the bags on top, protected from dust by a couple of bin liners.  Under the bed would probably work as well.

Another flat dweller with too much stuff

[teethgrinder]

If you make sure stuff is clean and very dry before you pack it away, and then air it again before you plan to use it, is it really so bad to store it in its nice compact stuff sack? Or will it kill it?

My flat is being taken over by stuff 

I keep all my sleeping bags in their stuff sacks and it's never caused any problems. Two of my sleeping bags are over 10 years old. I have some £5 sleeping bags from the supermarket too. They get abused a lot. I use them when I sleep rough without a tent. At that price, they are disposable, but they last for years in spite of being always packed in their stuff sacks, somtimes when they are a bit damp.
I have a tent that hasn't been out of it's bag since 1987 which I'll be checking to see if it is still OK soon.

[mark]

Down sleeping bags (or down clothing, for that matter) should not be stored stuffed. Synthetic insulations are apparently less sensitive to this kind of mistreatment. Tents should be aired out and dried, I believe they can then be packed pretty tightly for storage.

Do you have room in a closet where you can hang your sleeping bag?

I ended up renting a storage space for things like out of season sports gear, winter tires for the car (when it's not winter) and seldom used tools. Pedestal beds with big storage compartments underneath, or loft beds if you have the ceiling room, are another good option.

Yet another flat/apartment dweller with entirely too much stuff.

[clarion]

Our camping stuff never spends long in storage

[toekneep]

Our camping stuff never spends long in storage

Good answer. 

[Mike J]

I've always stored sleeping bags and mats in their stuff sacks and have never had any problems with them.

[Notsototalnewbie]

This is all synthetic stuff. No room in the wardrobes for hanging, our clothes barely fit in in them as it is.

The tent was soaked with dew when we took it down yesterday morning, and only got packed away after an afternoon baking in the garden when it was bone dry. So that's ok.

True, the mats are not so much of a problem as they are flat. It's the sleeping bags that are the problem, mostly. A pillow case is quite a good idea though.

The fact that we have four bikes in a studio flat isn't helping, particularly, but I've not yet found a satisfactory way of getting the buggers out without laying them open to either theft or malicious damage.

[numbnuts]

I wonder how long a down sleeping bag stays in the stuff bag from manufacture to the time you buy is

[mark]

I wonder how long a down sleeping bag stays in the stuff bag from manufacture to the time you buy is

Mine have all been shipped to me in a loose fitting storage sack. Not as loose as I store them, but not nearly as tight as the stuff sacks I use. The local mountaineering shops display them hanging up, not stuffed at all.

NSTN, if your sleeping bags are synthetic then storing them stuffed isn't nearly as big an issue as it would be for a down bag.

[andygates]

I store all mine packed up tight.  Apart from the thermarest having a crease down the middle, nothing minds. 

[jogler]

The tent & thermarests are stored,packed.The sleeping bags not

[Zoidburg]

I keep my down jacket in roll top dry bag, the dry bag has more capacity than needed so it keeps the jacket stored away neatly but not compressed.

[Butterfly]

It'll all be fine . The only time there is a real problem is if you have down bags. So long as it is all completely dry, it'll be ok.

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Wherever you store inflatable stuff, keep it out of reach of cats.  I keep mine rolled up theses days.

[Kim]

The inflatable stuff, I hope, not the cats...