Synthetic or Down?

If you decide to go with a synthetic bag stay away from any bag that uses Primaloft!! Primaloft is a brand of synthetic fill which is marketed as having the same loft and insulating capabilities as down...from experience it doesn't!I had a primaloft bag rated to -5; after a year of use (and storing it unfolded/unstuffed) it wasn't even keeping me warm on moderate summer camping trips! The fill seems to clump and its insulating properties deteriorate rapidly.

I have used a down Capestorm Mosquito bag with a thermal inner (inners rock!) for most of my trips over the last two years and have yet to get the 5am shakes. I think it would be a bit nippy for winter escarpment trips though. having used both I would stick with down due to all the pros mentioned by others, having said that my Dad still uses his 20 year old Backpacker synthetic bag and has no complaints during most three season trips.

My FA Ice breaker is fantastic. Used it last weekend in the snow, even when my self inflatable went down in the night .

I've had it for a few years now and used it plenty times. It has started to loose a bit of its loft, I assume I just use proper down soap, bought from a local retailer, and wash it in the bath?

From leaning towards Synthetic I'm now back on the fence between down/synthetic

The weight issue is of less concern to me as it would be 500g at worst. I'm willing to haul the extra 1/2kg of a synthetic, and have the pro's of easy(er) drying, better when moist/wet, and not having to worry about wear and tear as much compared to an R2k+ Down bag. There is no doubt that that Down has got better insulation capabilities than synthetic, this is uncontested even for an anti-down guy like me. The only reason I'll buy Down is because Technical Synthetics are hard to come by. The best I could find so far, is the Mountain Hardware Pinole -7 @ 1450g. Now this seems to be a very good bag for a flippen cheap R900. But will this be sufficient for a mid winter Berg hike?

What cheeses me off is there is no one standard which bags are rated/tested to. I've seen -5 bags for R340, -10 bags for R600 (Bushtec), come on!!!! This is BS and misleading info. Why are all bags not tested to one standard? It would make things real simple when shopping.

To sum up my thoughts for now:
1.Washing a sleeping bag must be done once a while, not neg! Washing and drying Down sucks - Big time!
2.Inner's/Liners lessens the frequency of washing but tangles and strangles you inside the bag.
3.Down will outlast Synthetic but I'm not marrying the bag and would want a new every 4/5 years or so.

I still want a bag that can merge with another (LH/RH) for cuddling and some high altitude canoodling when my wife tags along. I still couldn't find out if this is possible with the MH Pinole but consider this is a must for my next bags.

O'ja. One other thing, do you wear your thermal underwear in the bag or more or less? Lets assume a average -5(ish) escarpment hike.

As much as I know this forum seems to hate K-Way, all their bags are alledgedly connectable (I have never had a reason to test this though due to my lack of a wife). My view on bag liners is based on Cape Union Mart's R100 cotton bag liner (designed to keep the bag clean, it adds temerature, but isn't advertised to do this). My main issue with it is that its too narrow at the top, you can't put your arms in it without feeling like you are in a straightjacket...

Okay so one of the con's of synthetic is compress-ability, maybe not

Look at this



Roman Palm Passport -5 1.4kg

It is available at Trappers and originates from Australia. According to their website they have been in business for 50 years.

The down side of the bag is the rating though. I would like a -7 or better.

What do you think, can a -5 do the job with a good liner added and have anyone ever used Roman products that can vouch for their quality?

I still want a bag that can merge with another (LH/RH) for cuddling and some high altitude canoodling when my wife tags along... do you wear your thermal underwear in the bag or more or less? Lets assume a average -5(ish) escarpment hike.

@Boerkie The amount of thermal underwear depends directly on the amount of canoodling involved and depends not on the weather conditions, but on when you next expect your tent to be slashed by a voyeuristic herdsman.

On a serious note has anybody had the opportunity to check out the FA Icebreaker in the large (compared to regular) size. I have always felt claustrophobic in my old standard size bag and thought the extra size would be worth it, and the extra weight tolerable. The hard part is finding one ... everybody stocks regular, half of them have never heard of large, but C.U.M was happy to order me one if wanted at an extra R400 or so. Of course how does the standard size fit up for you guys who have used it - must admit it seems quite spacious.

I have also wondered about a large Ice Breaker, I also find sleeping bags are too small to put my arms into, so I end up sleeping in gloves and having frozen hands when I wake up, not to mention the lack of comform encountered when sleeping with gloves on...

Eish! Looks like I'm the only anti-Down bag guy around? That's okay I'm still not converted. Maybe I should freeze my but off in a sythetic before switching to Down.

@Jonwells
Thanks for the link and yes those are shitty reviews indeed. Enough to scrap this bag from my list even for other uses than the Berg. But that being said I've read bad reviews of pretty much any and every piece of hiking equipment, including the MSR stoves, La Sportiva Tibet boots, etc. you name it and there is a bad review of it somewhere.

I now would like to know who is using a synthetic bag in Berg (Winter conditions) and what bag you are using.Also who is using liners and what model with commentary about it's performance.

It seems the only Technical synthetic available is the MH Pinole -6/7 ???

A sleeping bag for mid-winter escarpment hikes is probably one of the most important items for survival and I would not want to found wanting.

Thx for your input guys.