MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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Is it as good in the wet as synthetic?
A work around IMO. Like DWR coatings, I presume it get's overfaced with wet and wears off with time. Brilliant at first I expect.
This is a guess and view, not from first hand experience....
Would some of the new synthetics such as Primaloft Gold not offer the majority of down performance with none of the worry?
I think there's (at least) two questions here.
One is about the amount of water it will soak up and retain and then how long it takes to dry out. The other is about how much insulation it provides whilst still wet.
Coupled with a DWR coating on the outer, it may well take a while to soak out but I'm really waiting to hear more feedback before I'd buy some myself.
matt_outandabout - MemberA work around IMO. Like DWR coatings, I presume it get's overfaced with wet and wears off with time. Brilliant at first I expect.
As I thought.
Would some of the new synthetics such as Primaloft Gold not offer the majority of down performance with none of the worry?
Probably, but I don't see them going cheap anywhere!
There are some mix/hybrids too...
I've also got no direct experience of them however I reckon the real excitement in the industry a few years ago about it combined with the lack of excitement about it now and the underwhelming impact it's made speak volumes.
duck down is meant be a bit sturdier and better if it gets wet than goose and less likely to compress. my canada goose parka is duck down and it’s far warmer than my rab but then the rab packs down to a melon size and is only stitch through construction.
I'm always a bit meh about hydrophobic down.
If you know there is a high risk of getting a bag wet enough for it to affect its ability to keep you warm - take a synthetic one
If you're only worried from a "what if my bag gets wet?" perspective - use down and better systems for keeping it dry. I struggle to see how you can get a down bag wet enough to lose heat if you don't pull it out of its dry bag until you're in your shelter? I suppose bivvying presents its own challenges though, so if you're continually struggling to keep a bag dry on bivvies then you need to either find a better system or use a synthetic bag...i'm not sure hydrophobic down is the best option.
Ta all - it's for a jacket and as it gets worn a LOT it's bound to get wet now and again.
I've been pretty much living in my ME Fitzroy I bought about a month ago. Was lookig for a synth jacket really, but the Fitzroy fitted better than anything else, and read after I decided, but before I ordered that the insulation had changed this year to Primaloft Gold. Wasn't put off. Not got mine properly wet yet, (no ill effects from rain showers) do can't comment personally.
If you search for reviews, you'll find one with some very unreal world testing - scrunched in tub or water, completely soaked, wrung out, left for 10 mins - 90% lofted. They seemed pretty impressed.
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I've been pretty much living in my ME Fitzroy I bought about a month ago
I had one of those for years and loved it, eventually replaced it with a bastion which I've lived in more or less ever since.
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Plus 10% of the price as credit for future orders.
Ta all - it's for a jacket and as it gets worn a LOT it's bound to get wet now and again.
In that case...synthetic every time đŸ™‚
These got a mention on here a while back: http://www.jottnar.com/men/fenrir-chestnut-m
No idea how well they work, I can't afford to find out, sadly.
SoI ended up finding another TNF thermoball cheap đŸ˜€