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<blockquote data-quote="Pdvdh" data-source="post: 178232" data-attributes="member: 4191"><p>I'm using a synthetic fill sleeping bag from R.E.I. currently. I think it's filled with hollow-fill or quallo-fill. My synthetic fill sleeping bags are not high cost sleeping bags. I have one rated for -10 F that I use down to about 20 F. I have one rated to 20 F that I only use when the temperature isn't expected to fall any less than about 35 F. If these bags wear out or lose their loft, I'll replace them for $150.00 or less, which won't break the bank. </p><p></p><p>Yes, synthetic bags weigh a bit more than down sleeping bags for equivalent loft and they don't compact as tightly when packing them around. But I don't consider either of these items a hardship. By comparison, hardship begins after the game is killed and an additional 90-100 lbs of cape, horns, and meat now needs to be packed out, in addition to camping and hunting gear. </p><p></p><p>I will state right off that I've never purchased a gore-tex wrapped down sleeping bag, so I can't comment on these new down bags. But I have a goose down sleeping bag from R.E.I. rated to -25 F. I used it on a caribou hunt in Alaska in 1976 when I had to overnight away from our tent. We used a piece of polyethelene as a temporal shelter / cover. It snowed that night and I woke up with my head in a water puddle. I was so tired from packing caribou that day that I didn't wake up until there was a couple inches of water puddled under my head. If you've ever washed a down garment or sleeping bag, you'll know what I mean when I say if your down sleeping bag gets wet in a cold environment, you're dead. To my recollection, down sleeping bags were generally the preferred sleeping bags when I bought my down bag in 1974. Then synthetics became the standard sleeping gear in Alaska. To my knowledge, that's still the standard when hunting in unheated tents/camps. If you're going to pack a heating stove with you then you're not hunting sheep in the country I hunt. Also, if you're packing a heating stove, I don't think the type of sleeping bag you purchase is very critical by comparison to save weight, stay dry, or to keep you warm. Most Alaskan hunting camps don't have heated tents/camps, unless you go with a guide. You often hike or fly in to your hunting area and don't have the luxury of bringing in a lot of gear, unless you just want to set up a main camp and live there for the duration of the hunt. When sheep hunting, it's pretty common to hunt out of spike camps so you can cover enough ground to locate and kill a ram. No heated tents there unless you've paid a guide to take care of you. I learned on my own the hazards of goose down sleeping bags in wet & cold climates. A wet synthetic bag isn't any fun to sleep in either, but compared to a wet down bag, it would be like paradise. </p><p></p><p>Down bags may be making a resurgence with the gore-tex like fabrics, but I still don't see them in common use for the remote on-your-own type of hunts experienced in the wet, windy wilds of Alaska. I could accomplish the same thing with my down sleeping bag and a gore-tex bivy sack, but I don't. I use a decent tent or bivy-type tent that increases my odds of keeping my sleeping bag and gear dry in wind, snow and rain, AND a synthetic fill sleeping bag, just in case the bag gets wet in spite of my best efforts to keep it dry. If you get stuck out in bad weather for several days, you'll find it difficult to keep your gear and bag dry. They may not get soaked, but they will pick up moisture. </p><p></p><p>No matter which type of sleeping bag you decide to purchase, it's critical to keep that bag dry, should you hunt in a remote area where you are truly on your own after the plane drops you off and flys away. I don't take many chances that risk getting my sleeping bag wet, but if it does get wet, I have a chance of surviving in a synthetic. Just one man's opinion. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Geeze, my longest post in quite some time.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Pdvdh, post: 178232, member: 4191"] I'm using a synthetic fill sleeping bag from R.E.I. currently. I think it's filled with hollow-fill or quallo-fill. My synthetic fill sleeping bags are not high cost sleeping bags. I have one rated for -10 F that I use down to about 20 F. I have one rated to 20 F that I only use when the temperature isn't expected to fall any less than about 35 F. If these bags wear out or lose their loft, I'll replace them for $150.00 or less, which won't break the bank. Yes, synthetic bags weigh a bit more than down sleeping bags for equivalent loft and they don't compact as tightly when packing them around. But I don't consider either of these items a hardship. By comparison, hardship begins after the game is killed and an additional 90-100 lbs of cape, horns, and meat now needs to be packed out, in addition to camping and hunting gear. I will state right off that I've never purchased a gore-tex wrapped down sleeping bag, so I can't comment on these new down bags. But I have a goose down sleeping bag from R.E.I. rated to -25 F. I used it on a caribou hunt in Alaska in 1976 when I had to overnight away from our tent. We used a piece of polyethelene as a temporal shelter / cover. It snowed that night and I woke up with my head in a water puddle. I was so tired from packing caribou that day that I didn't wake up until there was a couple inches of water puddled under my head. If you've ever washed a down garment or sleeping bag, you'll know what I mean when I say if your down sleeping bag gets wet in a cold environment, you're dead. To my recollection, down sleeping bags were generally the preferred sleeping bags when I bought my down bag in 1974. Then synthetics became the standard sleeping gear in Alaska. To my knowledge, that's still the standard when hunting in unheated tents/camps. If you're going to pack a heating stove with you then you're not hunting sheep in the country I hunt. Also, if you're packing a heating stove, I don't think the type of sleeping bag you purchase is very critical by comparison to save weight, stay dry, or to keep you warm. Most Alaskan hunting camps don't have heated tents/camps, unless you go with a guide. You often hike or fly in to your hunting area and don't have the luxury of bringing in a lot of gear, unless you just want to set up a main camp and live there for the duration of the hunt. When sheep hunting, it's pretty common to hunt out of spike camps so you can cover enough ground to locate and kill a ram. No heated tents there unless you've paid a guide to take care of you. I learned on my own the hazards of goose down sleeping bags in wet & cold climates. A wet synthetic bag isn't any fun to sleep in either, but compared to a wet down bag, it would be like paradise. Down bags may be making a resurgence with the gore-tex like fabrics, but I still don't see them in common use for the remote on-your-own type of hunts experienced in the wet, windy wilds of Alaska. I could accomplish the same thing with my down sleeping bag and a gore-tex bivy sack, but I don't. I use a decent tent or bivy-type tent that increases my odds of keeping my sleeping bag and gear dry in wind, snow and rain, AND a synthetic fill sleeping bag, just in case the bag gets wet in spite of my best efforts to keep it dry. If you get stuck out in bad weather for several days, you'll find it difficult to keep your gear and bag dry. They may not get soaked, but they will pick up moisture. No matter which type of sleeping bag you decide to purchase, it's critical to keep that bag dry, should you hunt in a remote area where you are truly on your own after the plane drops you off and flys away. I don't take many chances that risk getting my sleeping bag wet, but if it does get wet, I have a chance of surviving in a synthetic. Just one man's opinion. Geeze, my longest post in quite some time. [/QUOTE]
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