This is my first post here, so hello! Just wanted to tell you how A-frame ladders are great for air drying sleeping bags.

Okay, so you are fearful that washing your expensive sleeping bag will decrease the loft... so afraid, your bag has now become almost uninhabitable from the accumulated odor. The truth is that occasional washing, when done right, can renew the loft in your bag. REI offers an excellent guide on caring for sleeping bags, but I wanted to toss in just one tip on drying your bag.

Avoid using a machine dryer, unless the heat can be turned off entirely or you check the bag every few minutes. One of my friends borrowed my first sleeping bag and afterward, decided to "do me a favor" and wash and dry it. The bag literally melted to the inside of the dryer. Not good.

The method I prefer is good, old fashioned air drying. Depending what the temperature and cloud cover is like, this can take 4-12 hours, so consider it a project. I wash my bag once every thirty camp-nights or so and hang it to dry on an A-frame ladder. This allows me to angle the bag at the sun, and holds the bag open to air out.



I posted this same thing on my hiking blog:
http://www.walksomewhere.com/2012/03/cleaning-and-drying-sleeping-bags.html