Gear Guy: What's the life expectancy of a sleeping bag?

Q: How long should you hold on to a sleeping bag? When cleaning out our attic, we came across some sleeping bags that are from our college days (we're 35 now). Is it time to retire them?

SARAH, Frisco, Texas

A: Hey, if they are in your attic, all bets are off. My brother has a sleeping bag, a Feathered Friends Swallow, that I bought in 1987, and it is in near-mint condition.

Here is the general deal: For a down bag, there's no set lifespan. Buy a good-quality down bag like the Swallow (currently $344 in standard shell), keep it reasonably clean, leave it to expand when stored, and you can expect lifetime service.

As for my rules, give it a wash with down cleaner once every year or two, wear long underwear to bed so you don't grease up the lining, and store it in a loose cotton bag. That will do it.

Synthetic bags have a bit less of a lifespan, but the same rules apply: Clean it only when needed, do what you can so it doesn't need to be cleaned often (laundering will in time break down the fiber connections), and store it loose. But in time you will see the loft go down.

So, here's my advice for the bags you found. Give the bags a good shake and lay them on the floor. If they still are nice and fluffy (unscientific wild guess: 5 inches of loft for a 30-degree bag), then you are good. They aren't that old and probably have roots in the modern era. If they are as flat as pancakes, well, it is time to retire them.

LIGHTENING YOUR LOAD

Q: My wife and I are trekking in Chile and Argentina next summer, so we've decided to exploit the circumstances and replace most of our equipment with newer and lighter items. Can you build the ideal shopping list for us?

YONATHAN, Tel Aviv, Israel

A: I love to shop and spend money, so I'm happy to spend your money as well. This isn't an exhaustive list, but it's a good start:

Backpack: About 4,000 cubic inches should be right. Osprey's Atmos 65 ($240) is exactly that, and it has lightweight but rugged construction, an excellent suspension and handy features such as a sleeping bag compartment. Your wife might like Gregory's Deva 60 ($250), which is slightly smaller than the Atmos and is fitted for a woman. Great suspension, convenient loading features, and ruggedly made.

Tent: The Big Agnes Seedhouse SL 2 ($320) weighs just around 3 pounds and sleeps two. There's a lot of mesh on that tent, so if you want something suitable for cooler nights, I like the Marmot Aeolos 2P ($335). And Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight CD 2 ($180) combines light weight(4 pounds) and rugged all-weather construction. The one trade-off is that it is not free-standing.

Sleeping bag: The Marmot Arroyo ($250) is a super-light (1 pound, 11 ounces), 30-degree down bag. If you prefer synthetic for any reason, Mountain Hardwear's Ultralamina Plus-32 bag ($180) is warm, light (31 ounces) and compressible.

Pad: You can't go wrong with the Therm-a-Rest ProLite 4 ($95).

Clothing: Well, you have thousands of options here. I would build my outfit around a set of Patagonia Capilene 1 ($38 for long-sleeve tops, $36 for bottoms); 200-weight Polartec fleece (REI Woodland Fleece Jacket, $38); sturdy hiking pants (Arc'teryx Gamma LT pants, $150 but you will thank me later) and a light rain shell (REI Shuksan Jacket with eVent fabric, $289). You can add outdoor or trekking wear (shorts and that sort of thing) from makers such as Ex Officio to round things out.

This should get you started. Light, useful, and comfortable stuff, all of it.

Douglas Gantenbein, better known as the "Gear Guy," writes for Outside Online. Go to www.outsidemag.com to review answers or ask the Gear Guy questions. Many of the products mentioned in this column are available locally.