Hydrophobic down sleeping bags

[matthewpearce]

Hi guys, was wondering about people's opinions of Hydrophobic down sleeping bags. Trying to find a light weight sleeping bag, but apprehensive about down sleeping bags. Hydrophobic down seems like a happy medium between down and synthetic insulation. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

 

[Squidders]

Hydrophobic down is apparently more resistant to damp than untreated down. That said, as long as you treat a regular down bag well you shouldn't have a problem. I use a Thermarest down blanket... just keep it in a roll top bag and only open it under cover and you're good to go.

 

[sunndog]

I'v got hydrophobic down in my top quilt......i hope i never find out how good it works!


Lots of people seem to be down phobic when it comes to the damp.....its honestly not an issue, if you can afford it, down wins hands, err.....down

 

[Squidders]

Ah hah! I se what you did there.

 

[Big G]

Mate you'll be fine, i use a couple of Quilts with Hydrophobic down, as long you don't get them soaking wet.

Give them a good airing either at camp or when you get home.

Store them in a large mesh sack so the down can loft.

 

[Old Bones]

Trying to find a light weight sleeping bag, but apprehensive about down sleeping bags.

You'll see the statement that down bags are useless when wet repeated over and over again (as if synthetic is somehow toasty when wet), even though the bulk of high level bags are all down! I suspect that its one of those meme's which will never die. Thanks to DWR coatings, treated down, plus a decent drybag, chances are that everything will be fine.

BTW - Go Outdoors did have some good deals when I last looked on Rab bags, with the Ascent 700 for £189, which is a very good price http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/rab-asc...gclid=CJmMuMXe59ACFRITGwod4B8NIA&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[BigMonster]

It works like this:
-You still have to protect your sleeping bag in a dry bag.
-It will loose all thermal properties when wet.
-It will take longer for the down to get wet.
-It will dry out quicker than untreated down.

It does give an extra layer of protection but it's not a miracle solution. I would compare it to impregnating a cotton jacket, helps with a occasional shower/spill but it's not waterproof.

 

[Scotty Von Porkchop]

I've found hydrophobic down to clump much more than untreated, natural down, more of a problem in jackets that sleeping bags though. It's worth noting that wetting a quality down is much harder than you'd think as when I first started making quilts I thought adding damp down would be a bit easier, even with a tap it doesn't get fully wet.