Friday Giveaway Roundup, Happy Labor Day

Welcome to another edition of the ever popular "Giveaway Roundup". This week we have some new stuff to throw your way. With it being September, there are some new ones up at the sites that offer monthly giveaways like OutdoorInformer.com. So be sure you visit all these locations and get in on the fun and hopefully win something. In the meantime, we will be busy around the house this long holiday weekend so we hope everyone has a safe, fun, and Happy Labor Day.

Now to the giveaways...

For the month of September, Jason and his squad at Outdoor Informer have a really sweet giveaway going on as always. You can enter once a day to win a Suunto M5 Watch and a pair Salewa Firetrail GTX shoes. All you need to do is head over to the giveaway page and click the "Enter to Win" button and fill out the form. Voila you're in. Make sure to enter every day to increase your chances. Now if they will pick the winners from the big G4 giveaway from last month. I'm certain my name will be drawn. :P

Next up is over at the Coleman Facebook page. They are giving away some Coleman Instatents  and a nice grand prize package of camping gear just in time for the Fall Camping season. Just head over to their Facebook page and hit the contest tab to enter. Fill out the necessary info and that's all there is to it.

Another sweet little contest is going on over at Outgo's Facebook page. Thanks to CampingGearTV.com for this one. Outgo is giving away some Towels and waterless wash along with a free entry to any mud race in the country. Of course they are not providing travel accommodations, so be sure to choose a mud race you can get to. Head over to Outgo's Facebook page to enter.

Another great giveaway is going on over at the Daily Hiker. Branden and Sarah have a lot of gear in their closet they are trying to give to people who love being in the outdoors. They've given away some really sweet gear over the past couple of weeks and this week is no different. Head over to their Daily Hiker blog for all the details on how to score the Sierra Designs Pyro 15 Sleeping Bag.

Finally, PAHikes.com for the month of September is giving away an Ultralight First Aid Kit by Adventure Medical Kits. All you have to do is fill out the entry form to enter and then wait until the first of October to find out if you won. What are you waiting on? Go enter already. :P

That's all we have for this weeks giveaway roundup. Good Luck and we hope everyone has a great long weekend.

Happy Trails,
Tim and Robin

More Outdoor Gear Giveaways

Ladies and Gentlemen, Kids of All Ages, welcome to the latest edition of outdoor gear giveaways. In this installment there are several great prizes to get in on. Anything from hiking books, t-shirts, sleeping bags, and fishing gear. If any of this sounds enticing to you then let's not delay any longer.

Photo: Courtesy of BrianGreen.net

First in the list today, Brian Green of Brian's Backpacking Blog is giving away a set of Kupilka gear. The set includes the Kupilka 21 Cup, Kupilka 55 Bowl, Kupilka 44 Platter, and Kupilka Cutlery set. The criteria for this giveaway is listed on Brian's Blog so head over and get in on this great give-away opportunity. You only have until April 30th to get your name in the drawing.

The next featured giveaway is happening over at our crazy fisherman friend's blog OwlJones.com. Owl is giving away a nice Fly Rod, Reel, hat and more in a great package. You can get all the details of the prize package and what you need to do to get in on the fun at his blog. You have until May 6th on this one.

Photo: Courtesy of
outdoorbloggernetwork.com

In the same vein of fishing, fly fishing to be exact, our friends Rebecca and Joe at the Outdoor Blogger Network, have another fantastic gear review opportunity for the fly fishers out there. This week they have some camo fly gear from the Montana Fly Company. Up for grabs is a fly reel and a fly box. There's one restriction on the gear review opportunities over at the OBN, you must have an Outdoor blog, and you must be a part of the OBN blog directory to enter. You have until Sunday April 10th to get in on this one.

Jim @ The Husky Hiker has a book out, "Best Easy Day Hikes: Berkshires" and is giving away a copy to one lucky winner. You just need to head over to the blog and comment on the giveaway post where your favorite day hike is. You better hurry too, he picks the lucky dog on April 10th.

Photo: Courtesy of HikingLady.com

The Hiking Lady is at it again. This time she's managed to get Eureka! to giveaway one of their Casper 15 Degree Sleeping Bags. You just have to head to Eureka's facebook page and leave a wall post. Check out the Hiking Lady's blog to get the right phrase. You only have until April 13th to get that post on the wall.

Finally at the Hiking Boots blog, they recently reviewed the Hi-Tec Men’s Salt Creek Shirt. They were so impressed that they've decided to give one away. The lucky winner has until April 19th to enter, so head over to their blog to get the scoop.

That's all we have for this edition, so hurry and get to entering before you miss out. There's plenty of great opportunities out there. If you know of any others, drop us a line at appalachiaandbeyond (!at) gmail (!dot) com. We will feature them in our next gear-giveaway roundup.

Good Luck,
Tim and Robin

Spring Cleaning Your Gear: Sleeping Bags

Clean, clean, clean. Don't neglect your gear! It's time to get that musty, storage smell out of your bags! I know it was time for ours to go through a good cleaning.

This is a very delicate topic. Most people are more than a little timid about washing their own sleeping bags, and for good reason! You spend good money on them, they work wonders to keep you warm, they fluff well, they're cozy and perfect, and one bad washing cycle will have you shopping for a new bag. Oh Nooooooo! But it's not as complicated as it's made out to be, and if you're still uncomfortable with it, there are professional bag cleaning services available.

First, the do NOT's:

• Never put a sleeping bag in a machine with an agitator. 
• Never dry clean a sleeping bag. The chemicals are just too harsh.
• Never use harsh detergents.
• Never use any detergent in high quantity.
• Avoid washing with hot temperatures.
• Never dry your bag on a hot setting.
• Never use dryer sheets.

Now, the do's:

• Do use a large capacity front loader. This may mean going to a laundry mat.
• Do spot clean any hard-to-remove stains prior to washing the bag in the machine.
• Do use a gentle liquid fabric softener in the wash.
• Do an extra rinse to make sure all the detergents are rinsed out.
• Do press extra liquid out - don't wring.

Those rules apply regardless of fill type. Tim and I have synthetic-fill bags. Down bags have a couple extra guidelines to follow (like using down soap), but generally - if your cleaning in a delicate way, it will all be okay.

I'm lucky enough to have a ultra capacity front loader (4 cu. ft.). When we shopped for new washing appliances, I wanted the ability to wash comforters, quilts, and pillows. It was a bonus that a sleeping bag would fit comfortably as well! So thankfully, I don't have to make a trip out in order to wash our bags. Most sleeping bag guides are going to suggest you use a front loader, but that's because they don't have an agitator. If you happen to have one of the newer, top-loading machines that doesn't have an agitator, you can use that as long as the capacity is large enough for the bag. Your bathtub also makes a great vat to hand wash a bag.

When I wash our bags, I unzip them all the way and turn them inside out (even unzipped, ours still stay together at the foot). Then I tuck them inside the washer, and set it for a delicate cycle with a gentle spin and an extra rinse.

I use a little less than 1/2 cup of Borax for the wash cycle, a half-cap-full of gentle fabric softener, and if the bag is particularly smelly, I'll use just a teeny-tiny bit of HE detergent in the pre-wash slot. Woolite is really nice to use (I've read), but I've had allergy issues with it in the past.

After the washing is complete, I usually run an extra spin cycle set on gentle or low to get any extra water out.

You can choose to tumble dry your bag with the lowest heat setting. Just add a tennis ball to the dryer to fluff up the bag. I choose to line dry our bags, and it is the safest way to dry. Plus, the dryer takes just as long on that lowest setting, and then I'm not consuming any unnecessary energy!