Down advantages - packs smaller , lighter, generally drapes better , better longevity . With a good DWR getting it wet from the outside takes effort or unfortunate circumstance
Synthetic advantages - Insulates better when wet, cheaper
I'm not an expert, but here are some of my observations on the recent state of the market.
Dry Down and the like, not sure, we will need to see how it does over years. The problem is , some of the dry down coatings allow them to call it a higher loft than it really is. So my question is how good is the coating ? If it wears off, or degrades then the value is not there. After about 750 -800 fill with down, the return starts to become smaller.
The Climashield type quilts and bags are effective and inexpensive . In my experience, having built a couple, I think lamination is the way to go (ala wiggies , or ultra lamina). There are a lot of differences in the various Climashield types, but they are all pretty similar just different densities.
The fact synthetics perform better when wet does not mean they do not have some performance loss when wet. They will dry much fast though.
IMO, I think the best balance is a light synthetic exterior over a down quilt or bag. A light overbag is not really weight efficient though to get to the best temperature rating because it effectively has four layers of material on top vs two. However, when compared to pure synthetic, the weight advantage of down makes it close to a wash.Statistics: Posted by kevin_t — Mon Aug 04, 2014 7:24 am
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