Body heat (and therefore it's associated humidity) rises - so more humidity would gather in the top quilt than the bottom. Unless heavy fog is rolling in...but if it's heavy enough then everything under your tarp will be wet, too.
BPL (I think) tested down and synthetic bags by soaking them and letting them dry. IIRC, the results were very close...my membership has expired or I'd look it up.
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- Designer, Jeff's Gear Hammock / Pack Cover by JRB
IMPOSSIBLE JUST TAKES LONGER
Originally Posted by Just Jeff
i've had 2 experiences where i had 2 bags get moderately wet. one was down and one was synthetic. i wasn't cold at all in the syn, although it was my second backpacking trip, the temps were warmer, the bag was probably solid fiber too.
when it was with the down, i was using the skimpiest hammock tarp ever, and got caught in freezing rain/mist, sometimes it was frozen, sometimes it was liquid, but it was all tiny droplets that were coming in nearly horizontal, the sides and bottom of the hammock got soaked, which soaked through onto my down bag, the bag had huge cold spots where the down got wet, and clumped in some spots, while other spots seemed almost empty, it was a horrible night, the coldest i've ever been, if i hadn't had a friend with a tent nearby, i would have started to get really worried, but i stayed in the hammock all night, even got a little sleep towards the end of the night, then we had to bail the next day because of it.
that's the main difference i see between down and synthetics, if down gets wet enough, it will clump, and you may have bare spots. sheet synthetic will stay put and have a consistent coverage over it's whole area no matter how wet it is, and just what i've noticed from pulling articles made of both out of the spin cycle, (soaked, then wrung out) that syn has alot more percentage of its loft intact, and again, the down is all clumped together, in fact, just wringing or spin cycle will bring a good portion of the loft back to synthetic, not as much so with down, and since warmth is related to loft and even coverage of the fill, i don't see how a wet down bag could compare.
this is something else that would be perfect for a backyard test, if someone has 2 similarly rated bags, which i don't.
I forgot to say and show:
In winter, I always use a synthetik ponch liner as a roof over the ridge line. This reduced the amount of water on the sleping bag in relation to the underquilt, which was totally exposed to the fog/low clouds which soked it.
The other main reason on using down on top for me is the much better "micro climate" (for want of a better word) of the down. I sweat much less under down than under any other synthetik insulation, with any given range of insulation.
If memory serves ( I should look it up), they were more comparing loft after soaking and various drying periods, than they were actual warmth when wet. And of course, there is that entire debate about whether loft tells the whole story comparing syn to down. So the main thing was that since, at a given weight, you started with more loft with the down than syn, so even thought the syn gained a higher % of original loft much more quickly than the down did, you still had more loft with the down after a reasonable amount of drying time.
But the other thing about that test that I(think I) remember: the test conditions were somewhat more optimal than likely to be encountered in the field. I think they were putting these out to dry in sunny Arizona weather! Now how likely is that to match most field conditions where you find yourself with a very wet garment/bag, but it is still cold gray skys or still raining/snowing? Would the down dry as well as syn just from body heat, in cold conditions with high humidity? Personally, I sort of doubt it.
Conversely, one way they did NOT test down ( different test ) was when they were field testing synthetic jackets and vests. At the end of the day, they would submerge the vest in the lake, wring it out, put it on, and get in their bag for the night. Though results varied depending on insulation, they slept warm and woke up bone dry.
OTOH, a down comparison I do remember ( at BPL also ) was testing a syn vs down vest during a climb and all day belay. At the end of the day, the weather deteriorated and they had to retreat off the mountain in either ice cold rain or snow mix. By the time they got to camp, they were both soaked. For the sake of the test, they both got in their bags with the soaked vests. The syn dried quickly and added warmth thru the night, being bone dry by AM, but the down vest stayed collapsed and was pretty useless.
All of this is from memory, so don't hold me to the details. I'll look it up again if I find time.
How thick is this UQ, and what is the weight?
Oohh Snugpak are Beauties!! I have an Expedition Softie sleeping bag, 4/5 season. I'm a super cold sleeper and for £80 it's the best piece of kit I've ever had. It is so toasty warm! And when I rang them up to get advice on which sleeping bag to buy they were so helpful.
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