How does a Mont Sleeping Bag look after 30 years? Pretty good after a down rejuvenation service.
This 1984 Mont Telemark Down Sleeping Bag was returned to us for a down rejuvenation after 30 years of use. The bag was brought back to its former glory and made ready for another lifetime of use in the wild.
“Over 30 Years and my beloved Mont Telemark is still performing!
My Mont Telemark sleeping bag, purchased way back in 1984, has been a faithful companion for over 30 years now. It has travelled all over the world with me and kept me comfortable and warm in many situations, from a snow cave on Mt Loch, sleeping on the beach in Cape Leeuwin WA and waking up covered in sea foam, behind a waterfall at the bottom of Dandongadale Falls, an attic room in Sweden, under a lean to on the Greek islands, a year backpacking around Europe and the kids even borrow it for sleepovers. When I bought it, it was one of the more expensive bags available for Australian conditions but I knew it was worth paying extra after a brush with hypothermia while using inadequate gear and I also liked the fact that it was made in Australia and believe it is worthwhile supporting local suppliers.
Sewn by Thai at the Mont Factory in Queanbeyan, NSW, Australia on Wednesday the 29th of August 1984.
However, after shivering through the night on a couple of recent XC Ski trips to Mt Stirling, I thought my beloved Mont Telemark might be past it’s use-by date. I started looking around at my options and was delighted to find that Mont are still in business and still making the Telemark. The current models have a few nice new features and come in more fashionable colour schemes but I looked at mine again and thought “it’s in such good condition maybe it just needs extra down?”. I contacted Mont who suggested sending it in to be refurbished. Well I’ve just got it back and it’s as good as new! They added 300g of 800+ loft goose down and replaced the zipper. It’s now back to the same condition as when I first bought it. I reckon it’s good for another couple of decades.
One of the original sewing machines used to produce the first Mont adventure equipment.
I always used an inner sheet, only washed the bag a handful of times using proper down soap, and dried in the shade over a couple of days with a few hours in the sun. I recently heard of a new trick to restore the loft after drying: put the whole bag in the clothes dryer on the lowest heat setting with 3 or 4 tennis balls, then take it out and give a vigorous shake to redistribute the down back to the top of the bag. Good for another few trips to the mountains!
If you buy one of these and look after it, it may well serve you for a lifetime! I can highly recommend the Mont Telemark and my thanks to the Mont support team.”
If you have a Mont Sleeping Bag in need of some TLC get in contact with the Mont Team to find out about the Mont Sleeping Bag Rejuvenation Service.
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I had brought my Mont Helium 680 with me. A luxurious bag rated to -12°C for warm sleepers, it is perfectly suited to Tasmania’s cooler months. Ice crusted the ground and tent the next morning and checking my temperature sensor I was surprised to see that the temperature had dropped to -7.7°C overnight. That is remarkably cool for late October in Tassie!
At Mont Adventure Equipment, we believe that quality gear, people, and the planet deserve care. That’s why we only participate in only one yearly sale event that falls on Black Friday.
Tasmania has had a burst of late snowfalls recently and I headed up into the mountains yesterday to take advantage of a patch of fine weather. Unfortunately, the snow has coincided with very windy weather which makes conditions in the mountains challenging (but invigorating) for photography.
