[at-l] Sleeping bags

[garyticknor at starpower.net (Gary Ticknor)]

A follow up to my own post: A sleeping bag stays cleaner if the hiker 
stays cleaner. Most (alas, not all) hikers learn that staying clean is 
not an option. Chafing can knock you off the trail. Many a hiker heads 
behind the shelter for a bath or Dundo shower upon arrival at night.

- Greenbriar

Gary Ticknor wrote:

> Only a pound? ONLY a pound? You are talking >>16<< ounces, there!
> 
> Down is light. Down is warm, down is soft and cuddly, and down is light.
> 
> Most people keep their down sleeping bags dry. If you can't, go 
> synthetic. Most worry, even obsess, but I just don't hear many soaked 
> down sleeping bag stories. Yes, down can get wet, no, it does not 
> respond as well as synthetic, but it is LIGHT. With prudence (and a 
> trash bag, I ALWAYS wrap mine in a trash bag inside the stuff sack) you 
> will keep it dry. If you don't, worse case, spend the night hiking out.
> 
> While talked about recently, cleanliness is not that big an issue. A 
> bag, with airing, will survive even a thru hike not smelling too ripe. 
> Down is expensive, so cleaning it is of interest, but LDH's will put up 
> with a LOT to shave off 4 ounces, not to mention a pound.
> 
> You are right about insurance - but most feel the premium is too high in 
> this case. I mean, after all, 16 ounces!
> 
> JMHO
> 
> - Greenbriar
> 
> 
> David A Jones wrote:
> 
>> People who know the most about hiking, and sleeping bags in 
>> particular, seem to talk about choosing a sleeping bag like it's a 
>> matter of choosing which down bag to get.  I also hear a lot of talk 
>> about not getting down wet.  I may be completely ignorant, but it 
>> seems pretty wet out there to me.  Are there just a lot of people 
>> confident that they will not get their down bags wet?  Or does  down 
>> actually respond as well to dampness as any other material?  
>> (Actually, I think geese do get wet.)  I don't hear anybody saying 
>> "down kills".  Nobody is talking about down like some talk about 
>> cotton?  I would think the best bag be the one that is still warm when 
>> wet, or the one that will dry most quickly, or at least one that won't 
>> self destruct if it gets wet?  I'd use this sort of logic to choose a 
>> wool sweater over a cotton sweat shirt.  How does wet logic apply to 
>> sleeping bags?   Easy cleaning of a synthetic bag would be a second 
>> consideration to me, but still a valuable one.  I just don't get it.  
>> So down is light.  How much more weight are you really lugging when 
>> you choose synthetic?  A pound?  Isn't that extra weight kind of like 
>> wet insurance?  Never mind the cruelty thing.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> at-l mailing list
>> at-l@backcountry.net
>> http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/at-l
>>
> 
> _______________________________________________
> at-l mailing list
> at-l@backcountry.net
> http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/at-l
>