[pct-l] Sleeping Bags, Down vs Synthetic

[scrookham at hotmail.com (Sean Crookham)]

As always you guys have great answers and viewpoints, I appreciate all the 
input. I suppose I'm being cautious because of experience. It seems like I 
face snow, rain and hail on every backpacking trip. I have never been in any 
danger however and have always been more than comfortable. It would seem my 
worries are unfounded so perhaps I will give down more consideration.

As far as falling into rivers goes.... I'm the guy who does that sort of 
thing. I was backpacking through the PCT/JMT area of the Ansel Adams 
Wilderness early May 2003. Well I'm the guy who went hopping across and fell 
into the creek. It was freezing, everything was still covered in snow and 
ice.

Sean


>From: Christopher Willett <chwillet@indiana.edu>
>To: Sean Crookham <scrookham@hotmail.com>
>CC: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
>Subject: Re: [pct-l] Sleeping Bags, Down vs Synthetic
>Date: Fri, 21 Nov 2003 15:39:29 -0500 (EST)
>
>Others may disagree with me on this, but I thought I'd offer a
>contradictory view.  I really don't think you should worry too much.
>Here is my weather report for the trail this summer.
>
>For the first 700 miles of hiking, you'll be
>crossing some very dry land indeed.  While it is true that the Idyllwild
>area can get some storms when thruhikers are passing by (like this
>year), the chances are you'll see very little precip, unless you
>start somewhat early.  I started May 9 and got about 5 minutes of rain
>near, of all places, Mojave.
>
>The Sierras have about the best
>mountain weather in the world and, I think, the greatest danger your
>bag has of getting wet comes from falling in a river.  No precip
>between Kennedy Meadows and Tuolumne this year.  This was June 10 to
>June 21.  On June 21, I got about 2.5 inches of snow in the early
>evening just before Benson Pass.  No problems there.  When it was
>time to stop hiking, I put up my tarp and got under it.  Bag didn't
>get wet.  From then until southern Oregon, no rain at all. I got
>about 20 minutes of pounding rain the night before Crater Lake,
>but I was under my tarp and more
>or less dry.  A few bits of misty rain in Washington, and that
>was that.  Now, I finished on Aug.21 and so avoided a lot of
>the weather related problems that people finishing a month
>later had.  I put up my tarp about a dozen times during the
>length of the trail and only needed it 4.
>
>So, I would say go with a down bag and don't stress.
>Or, go with a synthetic.  Just go.  You'll have a great time.
>
>Chris
>
>On Fri, 21 Nov 2003, Sean Crookham wrote:
>
> > I have been thinking long and hard about the pros and cons and whether I
> > will use a down or synthetic bag on my hike next year. Down is the 
>obvious
> > winner in the weight vs Heat retention category. I know I will have at 
>least
> > 1 pound excess weight due to synthetic. However, synthetic will retain 
>heat,
> > even when wet. This seems like a huge issue to me because I've heard and
> > read so many horror stories about hikers with wet sleeping bags. It 
>would
> > seem to me that for the sake of morale and comfortable rest that 
>synthetic
> > is the winner.
> >
> > I think that the exhaustion, low morale, discomfort and even illness 
>that
> > could be attributed to a wet sleeping bag makes me choose synthetic over
> > down. What are everyone else's thoughts on the subject? Also does anyone
> > know of any low weight quality synthetic bags out there?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Sean
> >
> > _________________________________________________________________
> > Is there a gadget-lover on your gift list?  MSN Shopping has lined up 
>some
> > good bets!  http://shopping.msn.com
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > pct-l mailing list
> > pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
> > unsubscribe or change options:
> > http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>----------------------
>Christopher Willett
>Department of Mathematics
>Indiana University
>831 East Third Street
>Bloomington, IN. 47405-7106
>(812)-855-1883
>chwillet@indiana.edu
>mypage.iu.edu/~chwillet
>

_________________________________________________________________
Say “goodbye” to busy signals and slow downloads with a high-speed Internet 
connection! Prices start at less than $1 a day average.  
https://broadband.msn.com (Prices may vary by service area.)