Down is the perfect natural insulator as it gives almost twice the warmth/weight performance as synthetic filling. Down will also retain its loft at least twice as long as synthetic wadding. As a result down is more expensive than synthetics but over time is cheaper once resilence is factored in. The big drawback is that down takes a long time to dry when wet.

Synthetics still offer insulation when wet and dry a lot quicker. Synthetic insulation is cheaper and if the sleeping bag won’t be used frequently, the loft loss is not a factor. In extreme cold, gear with synthetic insulation is bulkier.

In conclusion synthetic is your best bet for infrequently used gear due to its lower price or if there’s a high chance of getting your gear wet. Otherwise go for down.

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 3rd, 2007 at 11:52 am and is filed under sleeping bags. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.