Craig takes on the holy grail topic... down vs syn... for both sleeping bags and jackets. He believes that goose down jackets and bags/quilts should stay home except for car camping. In my opinion he nailed this issue. I have wanted to do a video on this topic but was, admittedly, rather apprehensive to do so. Craig takes on this topic much better than what I would have put together in a video. You should really watch it. He nails probably 97% of the issues with great accuracy. After too many years of having my goose down gear get wet here in the Redwood forest of Northern California, late last year I finally made the switch to synthetic gear. I went with the Mountain Laurel Design Spirit 28 for my quilt and the MLD APEX Balaclava has replaced my long beloved Nunatak Down Balaclava. Since I got my Spirit 28 it has been used here in the Redwoods of Northern California and down in the Mojave Desert of California. While using it it has encountered over 14 inches of rain. For three nights my sleeping system got wet and while that sucked, it would have sucked a LOT more if I had a down sleeping system with me. I also switched up both of my MontbellUS down jackets with Montbell synthetic jackets. I went with the U.L. ThermaWrap for day to day use and I went with the Montbell TheraWrap Guide for when it gets, well, really cold, and while it is a beast, it is truly an amazing cold weather jacket. I now only own two pieces of gear that is down. An Enlightened Equipment Revelation (which I am keeping for another three weeks to offer to my sister and if she doesnt want it, its going up for sale) and the Nuntak Down Balaclava, which I am not sure if I will ever sell, its rather special to me, used it a lot and it has served me well - I went with the Epic fabric so its pretty dang water resistant, but it has gotten soaked through a few times. https://youtube/watch?v=mRXShaa52gw MDL Spirit 28 Quilt - mountainlaureldesigns/shop/product_info.php?cPath=42&products_id=133 MLD APEX Balaclava - mountainlaureldesigns/shop/product_info.php?cPath=42&products_id=220 Montbell UL Thermawrap - montbell.us/products/disp.php?p_id=2301182 Montbell ThermaWrap Guide - montbell.us/products/disp.php?p_id=2301144 (note: montbell is a sponsor, and I bought both jackets. mld is not a sponsor and I happily bought that too!)
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 10:28:37 +0000