Down vs. Synthetic sleeping bags
 

I own two down bags. I have never owned a nice synth bag.

Down is lightweight and packs small. Very warm

Down has one big downside. Useless when wet.

A persuasive argument for synth was provided by those idiot campers in the Northwest that snowed in and wet, and only one person had a synth bag, and they used that to survive.

Seems to me that for life-saving camping, synthetic should be the choice.

ability to stay warm when wet is why I switched to a syhtetic bag, although I don't use it in extreme, manly conditions, as you know.

I am a down bag fan too. For the same reasons.

I am always curious how people get their sleeping bags wet. Incontinence?

Reminds me of another story. Several years ago I went backpacking in the Uintahs with my brother. He had just purchased an expensive new synthetic bag that was rated to +15 deg F. Every morning he would get up shivering and cussing. He said he would give anything to get his hands on the guy who claimed that the bag was rated for 15 deg and make him sleep in it one night.

Usually some moron using a Dragonfly or coleman stove spills something or dumps water on it.

I only have one bag for now. A cold weather synthetic that is a little heavier than I like for backpacking. But I need to pick up some other equipment before I put more money to getting a second lighter bag.

I have never, not ever been cold in it. I think it is technically a 5-10 degree bag that I picked up for hunting trips. In January I took it on the Klondike Derby. Not sure how cold it got, but it was only 8 degrees at 8:30 the next morning. Slept warm the whole night.

A down bag is tempting for how small they get. But I think ultimately I'll end up with a synthetic just in case something I wasn't planning for happens and it gets wet. Nearly all of my backpacking is in the Uintas, and you never know when it will rain, hail, or snow. You can rest assured that it will do one of the three each and every day. You just don't know which or when.