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[at-l] re: sleeping bag

hi diana:

i love down.  comfy, light, compressible.  but ya gotta keep it dry!

i did most of my thru hike with a down SD bag, and it held up well.
HOWEVER, when i switched to a quollofil 40* bag in PA, an amazing thing
happened.  i felt like a real burden was lifted - i didn't have to worry
about my down bag.  i didn't know i *was* worrying, but there sure was a
noticeable carefree attitude that i *really* appreciated.

i picked up the down bag again in hanover, but i don't recall picking up
the extra weight of worry -- very strange.

since then i've done all my hiking with down.  i've had one bad experience
when my bag got soaked thru in a poorly seam-sealed bivy. c-c-cold and
c-c-clammy.  i've recently bought a FF rock wren with dryloft, but have yet
to use it (my first trip with it will be at trail days - see you there!!).
dryloft is not bombproof, i don't think it would have helped my leaky bivy
problem, but it does a great job of keeping off dew, other condensation,
spilled coffee, etc.  ie, you don't have to *worry* about all those things.

i often wonder if i worry just a tad too much about this wet down thing,
but i've been caught a few times, and my experiences with wet down were no
fun.  luckily, each time i was only 1 or 2 hiking days (ie only 1 extra
night) away from a dryer.  i'd hate to be caught with a wet bag say in the
whites or the hundred mile wilderness.

i'd recommend dryloft, for sure.  but it's not necessary if you can be anal
about protecting your bag, and be comfortable with being anal.  i'd
definately recommend the 0* down bag, dryloft or not.  i only use synthetic
when weight is not an issue, ie summer bags of 30* - 50* range.

mike
ke kaahawe



=========================================================
Michael Henderson		mikeh@royalrobbins.com

We cannot know what we can do in advance.  The only way 
to find out is to go all-out trying, thinking only success.
     - Royal Robbins
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