Spring cleaning: Dust off your gear

by Rocky Thompson

Spring cleaning for your gear closet.

The first day of spring has come and gone, and soon you'll be swapping one seasonal sport for another. But before you bust out your hiking gear there are a few steps you can take to prevent misery in the backcountry and lengthen the life of your gear.

Get your down sleeping bag ready.

Washing your sleeping bag will make it seem like new. Natural oils and dirt from grimy hiking pollute the down and make it loose its natural loft. Over time, the bag will look less puffy and loose some of its insulating properties.

Whether you're washing your winter bag prior storing it for the season or finally washing your nasty summer bag, the procedure is the same.

Western Mountaineering recommends hand washing your sleeping bag in a bathtub at home, but you can also use a front loading machine at a Laundromat. Most home washing machines are too small and could damage the sleeping bag.

If you're in a Laundromat, run the washer once to remove any bleach or chemicals. Set the cycle to warm wash, warm rinse and add a special down detergent such as those made by Nikwax. Rinsing down is extremely important so you'll want to run at least two rinse cycles.

To wash your sleeping bag at home simply fill your clean bathtub with warm water and add the down wash. Put your sleeping bag in a stuff sack, put the whole thing underwater, and pull out the bag. This will prevent it from floating. Agitate it with your hands gently before pulling the plug to let the water drain out. Fill it back up with clean water and rinse it at least twice. When you're done rinsing resist the urge to lift up your dripping wet sleeping bag. Instead push out as much water as possible with your hands and throw it in the dryer.

If you have a big sleeping bag you might need to use a commercial size dryer at a Laundromat, but you can rely on your common sense. Stuff your sleeping bag into a dryer on low heat and run it for - get ready - four to six hours. Remember to add some clean tennis balls or balled up socks so the down will fully dry.

"It's extremely important to get the down completely dry," said Leta Sharp of Western Mountaineering. "Make sure you can't feel any lumps of down inside the bag, if you can, it's not entirely dry."

Remove it from the dryer as soon as it stops so you don't burn the fabric and you're all set.

Get your rain gear ready for spring.

So you left your old rain jacket balled up in a stuff sack all winter and now it's time for it to shine. Well, you might want to give your jacket a little attention before shipping off to the Amazon.

Luckily most rain jackets and pants, whether they use a laminate like Gore-Tex or a spray-on waterproofing, are easy to clean and rejuvenate.

The first step is to simply wash your gear. Use a warm wash and warm rinse in your machine at home and add any specially formulated tech-wash or a mild powder detergent such as Dreft. Using liquid or powder detergents that contain fabric softener or color brightener can clog the pores of Gore-Tex meaning you may as well go back to wearing a garbage bag.

After you've washed your jacket and pants stuff them in the dryer on low heat for about 45 minutes. Make sure you grab it as soon as it's done because sitting on hot metal in your dryer could damage the fabric.

Can you get my back?

The next step is rejuvenating the fabric so water beads up like you put a new coat of wax on your Trans Am. Gore-Tex cautions against wash-in treatments and recommends the spray-on variety. Follow the instructions of whatever treatment you buy, but most recommend coating the jacket and pants, and then some require time in the dryer to fix the treatment. In either case, your gear's ready for another year of rainy trips.

Get your stove tuned up for summer backpacking.

If your stove has ever turned into a massive fireball, read closely. Basically, there are two things you can do that will help prevent stove problems in a major way, according to Steve Anderson who runs Thrifty Outfitters, a Minneapolis, Minn. shop specializing in gear repairs and second-hand gear.

"People leave old fuel in their stoves that breaks down with oxygen and they don't oil their pumps," he said.

Oiling the pump cup

Any stove with a remote fuel canister that has a pump needs to have the pump cup oiled. Pull the plunger out of your MSR pump and simply add 3 in 1 oil. Coleman stoves have an oil port, but they work much better if you remove the plunger and put oil directly on the pump cup.

If you buy a gallon of white gas, but know you won't use it in a year, put it in separate fuel bottles filled to the top so there's no air to break it down. Steve also recommends adding a teaspoon of Gum-Out carburetor cleaner to your fuel bottle about once a year, it will help clean the generator and keep things running cleanly.

Finally, check all the seals. If any of the o-rings are cracked, replace them. Check out this maintenance kit from MSR. Pay special attention to the o-ring that seals the stove's fuel hose to the fuel bottle. If there's a leak the whole thing will start on fire and the pump will melt inside the fuel bottle. Bad news.

If you use an iso/butane stove there's not much maintenance. Check the fuel valve and make sure it's not loose or leaky. If it is, there's usually some kind of nut to tighten it up. Thrifty Steve says that if your iso/butane stove works, just leave it alone. "But if it doesn't seem to be working right try to find the jet and clean it out with a piece of wire," he said.

The most important thing for every stove is to find the instructions and follow them closely.

Seam seal your tent.

There are worse things than having to seam seal your tent. In fact, it can be downright enjoyable. Set up your tent in the backyard, grab a couple beers and go to town.

Of course, some tent manufacturers say their tents don't require seam sealing. North Face, for example, heat tapes all their seams so they're ready to use straight from the factory. But gear veteran George Farkas, sales and marketing manager of McNett who produce Seam Grip, has a different story.

"There are two places on a tent that the factory can't seal: the perimeter seam where the sidewall meets the floor which is the most common source of leaks, and the guy-out points mid-way up the rain fly," he said.

Friend's don't let friends sniff seam sealer

Seam sealing your tent is easy, permanent, and a one-ounce tube of Seam Grip is enough to seal the critical seams on most two-person tents. Seam Grip contains trace amounts of solvent so make sure you find a well ventilated place to set your tent up. Apply Seam Grip to the inside of your tent fly and tent body in beads wide enough to cover stitch lines and fabric folds. For single-wall tents apply the seam seal to the outside.

It takes about 8 to 12 hours to dry so make sure you have enough beer. If you're in a hurry you can add McNett's Cotol-240 Cure Accelerator, so it will set up in only about 2 hours.

Good luck staying dry and warm in your down sleeping bag and newly seam sealed tent this spring. Hopefully you won't need to use your rejuvenated rain gear much, but if your stove does explode when you're cooking, hopefully it's in a downpour so it goes out without starting a forest fire.

No Play in that old Playboat?

Are you losing ground--not to mention bragging rights--to your buddies in their sleek new playboats? Has your trusty old kayak been dinged and patched so many times it's beginning to resemble a crash test dummy? Or are you new to the sport and looking for your first whitewater kayak?

If so, you might consider purchasing your next boat from one of the online merchants. Retail paddling shops are great if you can find one, but most only carry one or two brands, and expect to pay the full retail price. Online merchants, on the other hand, often carry several brands and dozens of kayak models, and usually at very competitive prices. They have secure ordering systems, good warranty and return policies, and will ship virtually anywhere in the world. And you won't have to spend a weekend driving all over town in search of that perfect new boat.

If you've got a moment, check out one of our recommended merchants. You'll be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

Backcountry.com
Shop Backcountry.com for a great selection of name brand whitewater kayaks, including Perception and Dagger.

Tips & Tricks

Testing new equipment.

Always test new equipment before going out on the
water. A seat cushion may come loose and get jammed
forward when you reenter the cockpit. That new bilge
pump you just bought may be defective. Or the
batteries that came with your new VHF radio may only
work for 20 minutes. The same rule applies to gear
that's been in storage for a long period of time.
Always test, and you won't be surprised at a
critical moment on the water.