“went with the synthetic sleeping bags instead of the down and I'm glad I did after reading this account,…”

Synthetic bags are good for wet conditions and other abuses; but not for the weight and short loft life. When my son is with the scouts, he uses a synthetic bag because scouts seem to do funny things to bags; so I prefer it to be cheap.

But when he’s on a serious backpacking trip (with me <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />), we take down. It takes a lot of water to get a Western M bag soaked—and that’s hard! Sleeping bags will always stay dry if you pack it right AND have the right shelter setup <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />. Even my WM Flight jacket got soaked once while backpacking and I was still warm in it <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

You only have to buy a Western M bag once (or twice <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />) in your lifetime. In the end, down is cheaper for the habitual backpacker.

-Barry