RE: [Paddlewise] Down VS Synthetic

"David Jenkins" <davej_at_acanet.org> wrote:

>> I will concede that in some circumstances a synthetic bag may be the best
choice, but I still maintain that such is the exception, not the norm.  I
have never been in a situation where the humidity was so consistently high
and the rain so constant that a modern down bag would lose its performance.
If you keep the bag in a dry bag, take it out only once your tent and
sleeping pad are set up, and stuff it while still inside the tent, it
usually stays plenty dry. >>

David, this Dave must paddle in places very different from where you paddle.
As Tibensky's notes, a rain forest multiday trip almost surely mandates some
damp sleeping unless one is fanatical about excluding moisture.  Yeah, at the
end of two weeks of rain, my TP is still dry, but my synthetic bag is usually
a leetle damp ... and others who paddle with me feel I am obsessive about
keeping clothing and sleeping gear dry.

I am sure I could succeed with a down bag, but given "stuff" happens (leaky
dry bag, leaky tent while you are away, the dog vomits on it [grin]), my
defacto choice is synthetic __where I paddle__.

Where do you paddle?  After two weeks of every-day rain, how is your bag?

--
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR

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