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Posted by Bill S on September 26, 2007 at 11:39:22 am EDT
In reply to cold weather sleeping bag posted by Gear Selection (Guest) on September 25, 2007 at 3:33:47 pm EDT

raftingwoman,
The best current fill for synthetic bags (compressibility, warmth for weight) is Primaloft. While I have only gotten one of my Primaloft bags wet accidentally (other times when washing them), they do absorb very little water and you can roll them tightly to squeeze most of the water out, which boosts the warmth considerably over a wet bag. So good choice for rafting. (The accident was getting caught in a heavy downpour/thunderstorm while setting up camp in a hurry in the Uintas - about like being in a firehose, and I got myself soaked in the few minutes it took to get my raingear out and set up the tent).

Anyway, Integral Designs and Marmot are top-quality companies that make cold weather Primaloft bags. Most other companies that make quality synthetic bags use Polargard. The two newest versions of Polargard (Delta is one of them) come close to Primaloft, but I find are not as compressible (you should try stuffing your candidate bags in the store, although since Integral Designs sells mostly by mail order, you might have a hard time finding one of their coldweather bags in a store outside the Pacific Northwest). ID's Emperor 0degF is 4lb14oz in the standard size $285US), which is close to the same as many down 0deg bags. Take a look on the ID website under Expedition Gear, sleeping bags. They do down bags as well, though you don't want those for rafting.

Marmot, Mountain Hardwear, and North Face have 0deg synthetic bags as well. There are other brands and cheaper ones, of course. But stay away from Hollofill and Quallofill bags. These two synthetics do not have the warmth for weight or compressibility.

Hmmmm, I have a North Face Bigfoot (Polargard bag that is/was rated at -10F) that I don't use. Maybe I should sell it ($100 plus shipping?)? I got it when I was doing a lot of winter camping with Boy Scouts. It is not a good idea to have a youth using a down bag, and I as an adult leader have to set the example. The kids see an adult using something (like a down bag) and tell their parents they have to have it - and of course, boys being boys, they drag the wet snow into the tent, which means the down bag becomes useless.

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