High Sierra Topix

Just washed one of my Exos 58s in prep for sending in for biennial repairs. I'll bet at least 2 oz. of dirt and pine needles emerged!

Mike

I washed my Big Agnes Fly Creek tent this year for the first time. It was required before they would repair the tent. I did not realize how stained the tent had become, and I told the rep, this tent has been cleaned, but no one would really call it clean, cleaner, but not clean.

I hose out my backpack every ten years, whether it needs it or not.

I hose off the tents if they ever get mudded or even gritty. I'm not so concerned with stains, but abrasion from dirt. If food's been spilled, definite hose & dry.

I spend a day at the giant commercial wash-n-dry with our down bags once they get a little oily looking on the interior or get a good sweating from some kind of mistake, etc... We're pretty good with bag practices and this takes a few years to come up.

On trail, I wash my underwear and socks every day I've got plentiful water to haul up and away to the wash site, swapping them for my alternate set as they dry.

After every trip, I turn my tent inside out to get out the dirt and pine needles and then wipe it down inside and out with a damp sponge. It then hangs over a rack in the garage to dry before going back into its stuff sack. Other gear gets the same treatment if it looks dirty.

Wait...You are supposed to wash your gear?

Other than my sleeping bag - (Every 4 or 5 years or so... and only if/when needed) -
I always wash my tent when camped - every time it rains.

Seriously though, I usually wash (hose down) gear at the end of the season...maybe.
Important that all gear is bone dry before packing anything away.

I do wash my sleeping bag each year. If I ever stop working 7 days a week I will get to it. Other than that not really. I have washed a pack before but I don't do that much. I never wash my tents either.

I wash my clothes... once in a while.

Oh, and I hosed off the tent the other day. A couple nights under some tamarisks and it looked speckled and the floor had a lot of the needles inside.

Rarely, and only when needed.

I hosed out a tent a couple years ago, but that was it for gear. Like the others I do wash my sleeping bag once every couple seasons. I do wash my hiking clothes between trips. I rinse my clothes out during my trips though too.

the tents and packs have only been shaken out. never washed. obviously, the pots/pans and clothes get washed. But then, i don't have to send my tioga in for repair biannually.

Sleeping bags gets washed depending on use/sweat factor. Usually every other year. 3 years on the Badger so far and no wash. A sleeping bag wash is a slow soak in a tub. no Machine will touch the badger or my other bags.