Down or Synthetic?

[shaca]

Im getting ready to set out for for a nobo on the AT in mid March. What do people usually use for sleeping bags. Synthetic or Down? I know that its not good to get down wet, and you will def be getting wet on the hike. Currently im looking at the mountain hardware ultralamina +15 synthetic bag. Any suggestions?

[Seeker]

do a search, and you'll come up with several threads. in a nutshell, down is lighter and more compact, synthetic fill will not compress as badly (losing insulating value) if you get it wet. IF is really the point. the two schools generally disagree along these two lines of reasoning:

'you have to try really hard to get it wet' or
'once you do, you're screwed'.

personally, i do shorter trips and i favor down. for the AT, when it comes time to make that trip, i will use down. in other (wet/humid) environments, or for trips with no access to a dryer every few days, i would consider synthetic (though i might still keep the down bag).

[Frog]

I have never had a time when my down bag got really wet. Taking care of making sure it doesn't get wet. I have a M H Phanthom 15 which i love. Very toasty. I used it on Ga hike and we got 4 inches of rain in three days and we all had down bags and no problems. Mostly get a bag that you trust. If you think syn is better for you then get that. but i haven't used a syn bag since 1978

[scope]

Yeah, lots of discussion on previous threads here, but I'll add my 2 cents...

Basically, down or synthetic, get it wet and you're going to be miserable anyway, even with the insulative value of the syn. There are simply too many methods to be able to keep your bag dry so that getting it wet really shouldn't be an issue. Weight and bulk are the main issues, but down to me just feels better.

[slowandlow]

Down,Down,Down

[BrianLe]

I have no objective data for this, but my sense from reading, talking, and doing is that as folks gain more experience and related confidence, they move to down if not already using it from the start.

I agree that either wet bag alternative is miserable --- a wet bag is no fun regardless of type. Fortunately my limited experience with this was quite some time ago (and a synthetic bag at the time). I guess the synthetic adherents would point out that their real issue isn't whether it's "fun" or not, but whether you're safer in a synthetic bag in such conditions. I live in the Pacific NW --- an area known to get wet --- and have used strictly down in recent years. If my bag got wet to the point where I was concerned about safety, I guess I'd use a couple of plastic yard waste bags and duct tape to try to cobble together a poor-man's VB (vapor barrier) liner, and my insulative clothing is all synthtic (FWIW).

I would be very unhappy carrying a heavier and bulkier synthetic bag --- I'd far rather take a little extra care to keep my down bag dry.

[Tagless]

My wife and I just completed our thru hike (March 3 to September 23) using 40 and 15 degree down bags. We never had a problem despite the fact that this was a very rainy year to hike the AT.

We both used flex garbage bags as pack liners which kept our bags and other contents dry.

[Doooglas]

Down bags are great in very cold weather.
Synthetics are even better !

[ShelterLeopard]

Down for me- I've have a great synthetic 0 degree Sierra Designs mummy for the last couple years, but it's time to change to down. As long as you keep it DRY. Down is lighter, more compresible, and more comfortable (in my opinion). But you have to remember to store down bags unstuffed- very important for down.

[ShelterLeopard]

I have never had a time when my down bag got really wet. Taking care of making sure it doesn't get wet. I have a M H Phanthom 15 which i love. Very toasty. I used it on Ga hike and we got 4 inches of rain in three days and we all had down bags and no problems. Mostly get a bag that you trust. If you think syn is better for you then get that. but i haven't used a syn bag since 1978

That's the one I'm getting! How compressible was it?

[skinewmexico]

I've come to consider synthetic bags to be more or less disposable, since every time you compress them, they lose a little of their temperature rating, until your 15 degree bag is a 45 degree bag in a couple of years. A good down bag is pricy (WM, FF, Nunatuk, Marmot, Montbell), unless you realize you can use if for 20 years if you take care of it. And like mentioned before, it just isn't that hard to keep one dry.

[Rambler]

Usually where the bag gets wet is on the foot end when it sneaks out from under the tarp because the terrain was slightly sloped. I would doubt you would ever get your whole bag soaked. Most down bags now have DWR shells that help resist water. Down bags are lighter because less fill is needed to get you the same degree ratings as synthetic bags. Down bags can be compacted down to a much more manageable size than synthetics, too. Go with down, if affordable.

Ditto, Scope's comments above.

[tammons]

Get a down bag.

Synthetic is too heavy and too bulky for a thru and the insul breaks down etc.

That said if you are set on synthetic the UL 15 would be a good one.

I have had one premium winter bag since the 70's and its still in good shape.
Also have owned a polarguard bag since the 80's - its deflated a good bit.

The trick is to not let a down bag or anything else in your pack get wet in the first place, so pack and hike right and you wont have a problem.

They are better now with DWR coatings etc and that makes a lot of difference IMO.

Take an extra set of cloths and keep them dry.

I read an experience that made sense for synthetic bag. A guy living on the trail for an extended period in winter and liked synthetic because you could climb into a synthetic bag icy and wet and during the night the moisture would drive through. In that case in an extended period where you would not be concerned so much with weight or volume or stuffing it everyday I think a synthetic bag would make sense.

Of course if you stay dry that does not matter.

[Spokes]

Why not the best of both worlds? Get a down bag for winter then switch to a 40 degree synthetic in summer.

[brooklynkayak]

I do paddle trips and tend to be more likely to get my bag wet than backpackers, but I still only use a down bag, one with a good water resistance. I also only wear synthetic clothes so if my bag should get soaked, I'd still have some protection.

I also use a light highly breathable bivy when I tarp camp so am doubly protected.

[brooklynkayak]

PS I had at one time considered layering a light synthetic over a down bag, but nixed it when I saw how heavy and bulky a light synthetic bag was.

[brooklynkayak]

Of course there is Ray Jardines' opinion:-)
http://www.rayjardine.com/ray-way/Qu....htm?g_page=18

[tammons]

I think a synthetic over quilt over a down bag makes sense in extreme cold winter where you can have condensation problems in the outer layer of the bag. IE it would settle and freeze in the over quilt rather than the outer layer of the down bag.

In the summer a synthetic quilt makes a lot of sense.

[garlic08]

I think there's an article on WB about this, with a great line: "Down is always better, except when synthetic is better", or something like that. That pretty much sums it up.

I really love my down bag and it did very well on the AT last year in lots of rain, and on the Pacific Northwest Trail this year in lots of rain. But yes, there is a potential for problems if you make an error.

[Doooglas]

Of course there is Ray Jardines' opinion:-)
http://www.rayjardine.com/ray-way/Qu....htm?g_page=18

This guy and Wiggy hit the nail on the head.
In my neighborhood a down bag will fail while hanging in the closet and your leather boots will be green if you don't wear them for 2 weeks !

Even when I lived near Catawba.....you thru hikers know where that is.....I could not imagine pitching a tent in a torrential downpour and crawling in, into a down bag.

BTW. Synthetics only break down if they are built wrong. As nearly all are.