Crackbolter

I am one who bolts cracks. Especially ones easily protected by knifeblades or #0 rp's.

quote: Originally posted by greghinemeyer: i have to ask what does the good dr. of proctology listen to ? sHAKE THE sHACK!!! How about Bill Frizell? Bill Monroe? Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, Ella Fitzgerald, Steely Dan, G.D., Tool, Marley, Grizman Quintet, Yonder Mountain String Band, Bob Dylan, Flatt and Scruggs, etc You know, your typical American POP

quote: Originally posted by COL. Von Spanker: I wa glad I brought my down jacket. I see why they call them belay jackets. This is when you are supposed to say, "I was glad I brought my 800+ fill goose down Feathered Friends down jacket with Epic by Nextec shell fabric. Man, you guys gotta get one!!! I see why they call them belay jackets"

quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: that is what I thought tony. You were just trolling for some fun with your buds. After your guys comments I hope both your racks get stolen next time you go climbing. Thanks Ray. We just thought it was funny that we were there when "someone" found your cam. I didn't reply previously because I thought that you were Uli Gaper and Gaper #1. Had you been friendly, I probably would have said something. Sorry.

So does everyone else Ray. You are an asshole.

quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: quote:Originally posted by HeadSpace: yeah, booty gear, like 00 metolius tcu's at the gates Nice troll Too bad he isn't the one who got it! (Neither did I)

E) Crackbolter's bolted crack? [ 09-30-2002, 09:20 AM: Message edited by: Crackbolter ]

Cleaning instructions for down bags, comforters and jackets. Down bags, comforters and jackets should be cleaned when they start to accumulate oils. If your bag has started to lose loft, or if the fabric is badly discolored, it is time for the bag to be washed. Body oils, hair oils, lotions and cosmetics all are acidic, and will slowly decompose down. The same goes for the cotton shells on down comforters. Oils also contaminate waterproof/breathable laminates, and heavy contamination seems to be a factor in delamination. The down in your sleeping was carefully processed to the correct oil/acid balance. We feel that either Thunder Down or Down Suds are the best soaps for restoring down to its optimum oil and acid level after use. It is essentially the same soap used by down processors with some added stain removers. Other down cleaning products on the market work fine, but cost much more per wash. Do not expect down suds to remove all the stains. You can spot treat stains soon after they occur with soap or cleaning solvent. After time, the stain bonds with the nylon and cannot be removed without causing damage to the down. You can use solvents to remove sap, tar, or concentrated oil and grease spots. Try to move the down away from the spot you are treating. Use an absorbent cloth on the reverse side, and use many small applications rather than flooding the area and spreading the stain. Waterproof/breathable laminates do not require different treatment than other fabrics, except that they make products harder to rinse and dry. Do not dry-clean your sleeping bag. Either wash the bag yourself by carefully following the detailed cleaning instructions, or have an experienced cleaner WASH your bag using a special down soap. Feathered Friends can wash your bag for you if there is no one in your area able to do the job properly. FEATHERED FRIENDS CLEANING SERVICE Abbreviated price list. Call 206-292-6292 or 206-292-2210 for details. Sleeping bags. $14-$22, based on weight. Goretex or Gore Dryloft or other PTFE 40% surcharge. Bags requiring a double wash $5 extra. Jackets vests, and parkas. $7 to $12 based on weight. Heavily soiled or requiring special spot cleaning $5 extra Down comforters. $15 to $35 based on weight and style. It is necessary to remove down from some styles before cleaning to prevent baffle damage. Unless this is necessary, cleaning costs normally do not exceed $25. Detailed cleaning instruction Spot clean when possible. You can use stronger detergents or solvents to spot clean, even with Waterproof/breathable fabrics. Move the down aside as much as possible before spot cleaning. Do not dry-clean. Dry-cleaning strips an excessive amount of oils from the down. In addition, dry-cleaning fluids remain in the bag for weeks. Breath tests can determine if someone has merely been inside a dry-cleaning shop weeks previously. We are sure you do not want to be zipped up inside a bag giving off carbon tetrachloride or perchlorethelene. And, this may surprise you, dry-cleaning usually does not even get the bag clean. The fluid is re-used many times. Exterior stains may be removed, but residue is left in the down. Dry-cleaning clogs pores in waterproof/breathable laminates. In many cases, machine washing is possible. With jackets, small comforters and lightweight down bags machine washing is no problem at all. Use a specialized down soap in any machine. Apply the soap directly to stained or heavily soiled areas. Soak for 15 to 60 minutes. Run through a normal cycle. Goretex/Dryloft items will have to be positioned nylon side out in order to spin properly. It is important to have the load balanced. For particularly soiled items, you may want to add more soap and run through another wash cycle before the rinsing starts. When it is finished, if you can still squeeze out suds, rinse the item again. For larger bags use a front loading machine, preferably a double or triple load commercial machine. Again, soak if possible. If not, plan on running through two complete cycles. Sleeping bags are tougher than you might expect. The tricot baffling we use is nearly as strong as the nylon shell. Problems in washing nearly always come from the shell catching in the machinery or seams raveling out. You should not have the latter problem with a Feathered Friends bag. To guard against snags monitor the wash closely. Hand washing is safest of all. In fact it would be difficult to damage a bag in hand washing. It does require considerable effort. Use a large tub or bathtub. Soak for up to an hour, but not longer. You will need to work at getting all the down submerged. The nylon is so tight it traps air. Rinsing is more difficult by hand. Multiple rinses with a small amount of water are better than one big rinse. You will need to squeeze out most of the water each time. Except with the largest bags and quilts, you can extract most of the remaining water with the spin cycle of a washing machine. In warm sunny weather you can dry the bag outdoors if you have room to spread it out. This will cause the least wear on the down and fabric. A final fluff cycle in a dryer will re-loft the down. Warning. Excessive sun drying can fade and weaken nylon. The sun drying option is given with the assumption that you are washing your bag infrequently. Tumble drying is a dryer will take hours. You need moderate heat. Most home dryers will not get too hot. Laundromat dryers often get hot enough to melt the nylon. Be sure to check, especially when the bag starts to fluff enough to fill the dryer. If the fabric or zipper is too hot to touch, you need to lower the temperature setting. Make sure the end bag is really dry and free of clumps before you store it. If down is left wet it support growth of bacteria or mildew. If you notice any off smell, wash the bag again immediately, and get it really dry. We have washed our rental bags 10 to 30 times, and the down seem no worse for it. Do not believe anyone who says that cleaning hurts the down. More.... DETAILED CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS Local Stains You can spot treat stains soon after they occur with soap or cleaning solvent. After time, stains will bond with the nylon and cannot be removed without causing damage to the down. You can use solvents to remove sap or tar. Try to move the down away from the spot you are treating. Use an absorbent cloth on the reverse side, and use many small applications rather than flooding the area and spreading the stain. DryLoft and Gore-Tex do not require different treatment than other fabrics. Dry-Cleaning Warning At the risk of repeating ourselves, DO NOT DRY-CLEAN! Dry-cleaning strips an excessive amount of oils from the down, and down will not fully recover its loft after even one trip through the dry-cleaners. In addition, dry-cleaning fluids remain in the bag for weeks; breath tests can determine if someone has merely been inside a dry-cleaning shop in the last week! We are sure you do not want to be zipped inside a bag giving off carbon tetrachloride or perchlorethelene. And worse, dry-cleaning usually does not even get the bag clean. Exterior stains may be removed, but residue is left in the down. Dry-cleaning clogs PTFE laminate pores and renders them non-breathable. Machine Washing With down jackets or the Rock Wren liner bag, machine washing at home is possible. Use Down Suds or Thunder Down in any machine. Use no bleach or fabric softeners. Apply the soap directly to stained or heavily soiled areas. Soak for 15 to 60 minutes, then run through a normal cycle on gentle, with cold water. PTFE-laminate items will have to be positioned nylon-side out in order to spin properly. It is important to have the load balanced. When it is finished, if you can squeeze out suds, rinse again. For larger bags, use a font loading machine, preferably a double or triple load commercial machine in a Laundromat. Again, soak if possible. Plan on running through two complete cycles, the second time without soap to thoroughly rinse all suds out of the bag. Hand Washing Hand Washing is the safest of all. It would be difficult to damage a bag in hand washing. However, it does require considerable time and effort. Use a large tub or bathtub. Soak for up to an hour, but not longer. You will have to work at getting all the down submerged, since the weave of our nylon is so tight that it traps air. Gently knead the bag from one end to the other, to ensure that all the down is thoroughly exposed to the soap. Rinse several times in cold water, then wring out all the excess water. Drying Once the bag is cleaned, it is time to dry it. Wring all excess water out of the bag. Use care when moving as soaked sleeping bag, as the down weighing against the baffles is at its heaviest. It is safe to put a PTFE-laminate bag into a large commercial dryer set on permanent press or air fluff. The danger is too much heat. If you feel the shell is getting hot, either select a lower temperature or air dry the bag. During washing, the down will collect in clumps. Periodically during the drying process (at the end of each drying cycle or every few hours if air drying) it is important to go through the entire bag and pull apart these down clumps, distributing the down more or less evenly through the bag. This only takes a few seconds, and will ensure that the down dries quickly and evenly. Feathered Friends sleeping bags are tougher than you might expect. The tricot baffling we use is nearly as strong as the nylon shell; and we use stronger but more time consuming tuck-stitch construction. Problems in washing nearly always come from the shell catching in the machinery or seams raveling out. You should not have the latter problem with a Feathered Friends bag. To guard against snags, monitor the wash closely. Washing a sleeping bag is a somewhat time-consuming, though not particularly difficult process. It is the most important element in bag longevity. With regular washing, you can expect many years of service from your Feathered Friends sleeping bag. That is all I have in my files. CB-

Hey, I might be in the Icicle on Sat & Sun. Anna, what kind of music can you play? I would love to jam it out around a campfire if I have another jam partner. I do grassy-dead-folky-kind of tunes. I can sing too. (Caution: Dogs will howl from miles around) I jam with folks all the time but mostly traditional bluegrass tunes that everyone knows.

[ 09-19-2002, 03:35 PM: Message edited by: Crackbolter ]

quote: Originally posted by rbw1966: Gore dryloft baby. Did you know that laminates have been around for 20 years? You still use laminates for everything? Try Epic by Nextec. This is the newest technology for use in down products. It also works well for super light shells and down jackets. Lighter More breathable More durable Greater water saturation level Loftier (stiffer fabrics loft less) Better feel (more comfortable) More colors available (important?)

quote: Originally posted by jhamaker: FF is designing my bag! It will be a beautiful light-weight bag w/ no fill in the floor. Could come out to be less than 14oz! Hound them about it so they will get it into production before next summer. We are on the third edition. It will need about 10 more remakes before we put it into production. Definately before your special trip.

Speaking of unclimbed Faces.... I just can't resist...weather is looking good. FA, FA, FA, FA!!!!! [ 09-19-2002, 10:25 AM: Message edited by: Crackbolter ]

Feel free to call me with any questions as well. I am always interested in helping out our local guys with gear. Sincerely, Tony Bentley Customer Service Feathered Friends 1119 Mercer St. Seattle, WA 98109 phone:206.292.6292 fax:206.292.6403

This isn't porn. Show me some beautiful naked girls bouldering in various erotic positions. That's porn. This is the closest I could find: [ 09-11-2002, 04:26 PM: Message edited by: Crackbolter ]

I must say, I just about spewed my coffe after reading the Beckey stuff. No offense Ray. This shit is funny!

Bummer... I hate to see this subject come up. Dan, Your experience was not abnormal. Check your P.M. INBOX. Drop me a line.

AMEN

"Sisu" is my favorite. P.1- 5.11d+++ sceary 5.10 mantle!!! P.2- 5.10b+++? P.3- 5.10c+++? P.4- 5.11a+++? P.5- 5.10 belay move (don't combine pitches!) P.6- 5.11a+++? P.7- 5.8? Rap off sport wall like D.H/L.A. or T.C. Overall, it is very enjoyable and I am greatful to have such a wonderful and challenging multipitch route in our area. [ 08-27-2002, 08:41 AM: Message edited by: Crackbolter ]

Doc, Check out the link at the start of this thread.

Obtaining 900 fill doesn't surprise me. It is just a matter of time when there will be 900+ fill power available. The birds are being raised for the purpose of the feathers which means that they will continue to breed the best birds until they acheive the results that the market needs. In this case, we all would like .5 ounce fabric that is waterproof but very breathable and durable and we would also like to have 1000+ fill power so our garments and bags weight next to nothing. It just a matter of time before the market will be able to produce these results. Currently the lightest material that is usable is .85 ounce ripstop nylon. Unfortunately, it is very easy to tear and has very little water resistancy. It is a great interior fabric though. Feathered Friends will be using a .9 ounce Pertex nylon taffeta next year which will be lighter than their standard 1.3 taffeta. This will be a great improvement which will allow people to have a very light interior fabric that has the same qualities like durability and feel (comfort) yet knocks some weight from the bags and garments. Any more questions?

quote: Originally posted by citizen dragon: Dear Mr. Down... There are other companies using 800+, yes even 900 fill down, feathery friends and w. mtneering do not have the exclusive corner on the down market. Does feathery frnds actually test their down or just claim that it is blah-blah fill power. I would like to know where one would find 900+ fill power GOOSE down. Eider duck is around 900 to 1000 fill power but this material is boycotted to save the species. We test our down if the quality looks questionable. Most of the time it exceeds 800 fill and sometimes acheives 880 to 890 fill. This depends on the batch. You are correct about cornering the market on the fill power. We have cornered the market on custom products though. Let me know if you need something custom tailored. Care for a tour?

One opinion is plenty... I appreciate it. I am kind of bummed that they can saturate easily considering that they are for snow travel and all of my other boots don't give me that problem. They will be put to the test this weekend...Thanks again! CB

Does anyone own these boots? Does anyone have any feedback? I am considering these and they fit like a glove but they have no history and no one has given them a good or bad review yet. If you own them, could you please give me some honest feedback and tell me what conditions you have tested them in? Sorry for not posting in the gear topic.

quote: Originally posted by chucK: I'm confused here . Doesn't REI still have their "satisfaction guaranteed" policy? Once the customer-service puke started stonewalling, couldn't you have just said, "And also, besides the obvious defects, I'm not satisfied with this product"??? You got it Chuck! This is the saving phrase.