I read different things on different days.

Do i unroll everything to store it until i use it? I saw an exped guy on youtube that says to unroll my air mattress and lay flat.

Should not hurt sleeping bags and blankets to be rolled up,,should it?

What about tents?

For sleeping bags you want to store them in a large laundry type bag either solid or mesh. You can purchase them at dollar stores. Another option is a very large pillow case or a Rubbermaid type tub. As for tents during the off season I store them unrolled and loosely stuffed in a laundry type bag. Fir pads my self inflating pads are left with the valves open and inflated and stored flat. For blow up pads they are left unrolled.

Not sure about down, but synthetic sleeping bags are usually recommended to be stored unrolled/hung. Inflatable pads are usually to be stored unrolled with the valve(s) open. My bag and pad aren't hung up but laid on top of my guest bed. My canvas tent recommends being stored hung-up as well; I drape it over an old ironing board in my basement. Thermarest pillow is stored ... um, unrolled? Ya know--not in pack mode.

Sleeping bags and pads on hangars in a unused closet
Mine are down and synthetic . Otherwise they can lose loft if rolled for long periods
Tent loose over rafters . Otherwise coatings can stick together

I do not roll anything. Sleeping pads are unfolded/unrolled on dowels in a closet. Sleeping bags stored in the large cotton bags (not stuff sacks) that come with purchase. Tents and tarps hang in garage space along walls when not in use.

If the manufacturer sent me a storage bag for say, a sleeping bag, I use it. Otherwise I use the largest size stuff sack I have on hand, or I just use whatever sack it came with.
My exped & a self inflating REI pad live under the couch. The pads my kids use, an insulated & uninsulated Big Agnes, are stored rolled in their sacks in the camping closet.
Nemo pillows are stored unstuffed hanging by the loop on the side from one of the knobs on the closet door, valves open.
Tents are stored in their bags, rolled like how they came from the factory.

Everything is thoroughly aired out after an outing, typically several days to several weeks depending on the kids laziness factor.

Maybe some day when I have space for rubbermaid bins for the tents or bags I'll use that. For now it fits in the space I'm allotted for keeping that kind of stuff.

In the end, do what works best for you as long as you're following any explicit instructions from the manufacturer (like properly sanitizing your filter after the trip, etc).

yellowcanoe: "Sleeping bags and pads on hangars in a unused closet"

What is this "unused closet" that you speak of? And others speak of "under bed" and "under couch" - do others not store large quantities of cat and dog fur there?

if I stored all my gear the way everyone says I should, I would have to build a separate, 15'x20' climate-controlled shed, or do a house addition just for gear storing purposes. As it is, I feel fortunate to have am approx. 16x7 room at the back of my garage. My tents are stored in the bags they came in. My Exped DLX mat is rolled up (gasp!) in the bag. My Thermarests - ok I have those unrolled but (!) inflated with the valves closed, so they'd stay rigid and in place up against the ceiling where I have some ropes holding them up. My sleeping bags, some I have in a loose stuff sack, but some are in the original, compact bags they came in for the trail. Otherwise, it would just take too much space. I'm always organizing/reorganizing/cleaning up after some project left my gear room in disarray. But I don't have space to have all my bags hanging, my tents hung up, my mats open & against a wall, and each wool sock on its own felt-coated hanger. Whatever works with the space you have, as long as not overexposed to humidity, mice, and so on...

One of the bestest things about divorce; gear room! I bought a twin over full bunk bed off CL so it can still function as a guest room. Sleeping bags and pads are piled loosely on the top bunk when it's not in service. It rarely is. Wire shelving with plastic totes full of WW paddling gear and camping gear on one wall , a closet full of drysuits, wetsuits, PFDs, waders, etc. and fishing gear and coolers in plain sight but stacked/piled neatly in corners actually doesn't look half bad. Throw a few Barney Fife and Sasquatch prints on the walls along with pics from past adventures and it's Little Deuce approved!

Everything I have, except sleeping bags, stays in stuff sacks, remains in a pack and is hung in the garage. Sleeping bags are loosely stuffed into the bags they came in and sleeping pads remain rolled up.

I have a lot of gear that I use that I purchased in the 80's and still works just fine. Now you have me worried that I'm doing something wrong. Lol

awbrown: "Everything I have, except sleeping bags, stays in stuff sacks, remains in a pack and is hung in the garage. Sleeping bags are loosely stuffed into the bags they came in and sleeping pads remain rolled up.


I have a lot of gear that I use that I purchased in the 80's and still works just fine. Now you have me worried that I'm doing something wrong. Lol"

I personally think it's preferable to store tents loosely packed and sleeping pads unrolled, but I don't think it's critical. The main thing is insuring sleeping bags aren't compressed, which you already have covered. The thing I've most come to appreciate is the ability to quickly and easily select items that are appropriate for a given trip.

Pants hangers work great for sleeping bags and pads, hang em in a closet. My tents get loosely stuffed in drybags. Shelves in the garage hold all.

butthead

arm2008: "

yellowcanoe: "Sleeping bags and pads on hangars in a unused closet"

What is this "unused closet" that you speak of? And others speak of "under bed" and "under couch" - do others not store large quantities of cat and dog fur there?"

Mwhahaha. We're retired so don't have closets of kids toys
Sure you gotta figure out what you can do
I'm not looking under my sofa. There's probably 17 years of fur under there
When we moved here we realized we needed a boat barn. And workshop
First big home improvement
The grey toilet stayed for many years till we got around to bathroom remodel
We store our tents loose out of a learning experience
The stink factor from a rolled up tent was once horrific
So now on the second floor of the boat barn/workshop over the rafters are ghostly shrouds
Best not to go there at Halloween or after watching A Christmas Carol

HowardSprague: "if I stored all my gear the way everyone says I should, I would have to build a separate, 15'x20' climate-controlled shed, or do a house addition just for gear storing purposes. As it is, I feel fortunate to have am approx. 16x7 room at the back of my garage. My tents are stored in the bags they came in. My Exped DLX mat is rolled up (gasp!) in the bag. My Thermarests - ok I have those unrolled but (!) inflated with the valves closed, so they'd stay rigid and in place up against the ceiling where I have some ropes holding them up. My sleeping bags, some I have in a loose stuff sack, but some are in the original, compact bags they came in for the trail. Otherwise, it would just take too much space. I'm always organizing/reorganizing/cleaning up after some project left my gear room in disarray. But I don't have space to have all my bags hanging, my tents hung up, my mats open & against a wall, and each wool sock on its own felt-coated hanger. Whatever works with the space you have, as long as not overexposed to humidity, mice, and so on...
"

THIS

HowardSprague: "if I stored all my gear the way everyone says I should, I would have to build a separate, 15'x20' climate-controlled shed, or do a house addition just for gear storing purposes.
"

...which still seems like less space than you need to store one motorboat.

my stuff- sleeping bags, in larger breathable bags, cotton. sleeping mats-deflated and folded in thirds. tents, hammock gear- in larger, breathable bags. bags are hung in my closet.

NotLight: "

HowardSprague: "if I stored all my gear the way everyone says I should, I would have to build a separate, 15'x20' climate-controlled shed, or do a house addition just for gear storing purposes.
"

...which still seems like less space than you need to store one motorboat.
"

True. Still, I'd like to have that problem some day!

I roll the pads, even though the suggested method is to leave them inflated under a bed or something. Sleeping bags I stuff into the sack. Tents I roll and then stuff. Never had a problem yet.

I don't unpack anything to store it. Not the tents, packs, pads or bags. I have always heard how you should keep the bags in a laundry bag in the off season but never have.
I have 4-5 bags.
One of them is used 1-2 trips a year and works great. I bought it in 1973 and have traveled overseas with it for a total of 12 months use and taken it on dozens and dozens of trips.
It works great to this day and will be used again in 2018 a couple of times. So, no, I am not a big believer in the need to unroll a bag to store it.

GraniteCliffs: "One of them is used 1-2 trips a year and works great. I bought it in 1973 and have traveled overseas with it for a total of 12 months use and taken it on dozens and dozens of trips.
It works great to this day and will be used again in 2018 a couple of times. So, no, I am not a big believer in the need to unroll a bag to store it.
"

I'd be curious about this bag's construction. Storing bags packed is especially bad for modern synthetic-filled bags because the insulation will lose its loft permanently over time. As far as I know, down fill (which I believe was common back in the 70's) can be more resilient and have loft fluffed back into it.

Other reasons for why the storage guidelines are what they are:
Reduce moisture build-up in pads/tents and prevent fungal growth
Reduce repetitive stresses on creases/folds in fabrics
Better foam/self-inflating performance from sleeping pads when stored unrolled and open; when they are stored packed, they have a hard time inflating, and the foam can actually develop a memory for its compressed state or even start breaking down prematurely.

I have a synthetically insulated double sleeping bag and a double sleeping pad. They are not cheap, and I HAVE had bags that lost their insulative properties from being stored in a packed state. I have also had a sleeping pad have its outer layer detach from its inner foam likely due to moisture build-up, so I do not take any chances anymore.

Wick –
I have been camping for about 40 years.
You are asking good questions on the board.
Don’t be shy about asking ANY questions on the board.
Any trolls who give bad answers or call a question stupid are generally called out by all the good people here.

?

I don't see any such answers or comments on this thread.