Down actually ruining a hunt?

I used to have the same problem until I switched to a hammock. For me, laying on a pad that doesn't breathe makes me sweat, then I get cold. Hammocks breath all the way around and with a good quilt on top and a good underquilt below I can stay warm with a breathable system. It took me awhile to dial in my hammock setup but it's helped eliminate the sweating. Your issues may be entirely different than what I was dealing with but it's something to think about.
I have yet to figure out a good cold weather system, truck camping in the back of my grand cherokee I have tried sleeping in nothing and with base layers, I am either freezing because I am cold or cold due to sweating.

I have put my mummy bag inside my wifes rectangle bag so I know I have enough insulation with that set up but still freeze, My mummy is a north face cats meow which I know is not very well rated for winter camping but inside another bag I would think is enough insulation.

Going to try sleeping in synthetic sitka base layers and see how that goes this year. Also looking into a new bag and was going down until I heard that podcast.

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So this riuning a hunt thing got me thinking;

I have seen where a buddy was freezing his ass off in a damp down bag. We were in my tipi, no floor over damp ground. He was on a tarp with an inflatable pad- the one that looks like a inflatable grid...so very little actual R value.

In his case it was a cheap 650 fill cabelas bag....20 degree I think ...and we were on the Alaskan peninsula in continual damp conditions for many days. I wish i had a picture of it....his bag was not lofting much....about 1 1/2" and clumped due to the damp fill. Soggy is the best term to describe it. He had to wear every piece of clothing he owned.

So yeah, in this case.....I'm sure he would admit, his hunt was not exactly wrecked...but much less enjoyable....... Tim is one tough dude.
 
So this riuning a hunt thing got me thinking;

I have seen where a buddy was freezing his ass off in a damp down bag. We were in my tipi, no floor over damp ground. He was on a tarp with an inflatable pad- the one that looks like a inflatable grid...so very little actual R value.

In his case it was a cheap 650 fill cabelas bag....20 degree I think ...and we were on the Alaskan peninsula in continual damp conditions for many days. I wish i had a picture of it....his bag was not lofting much....about 1 1/2" and clumped due to the damp fill. Soggy is the best term to describe it. He had to wear every piece of clothing he owned.

So yeah, in this case.....I'm sure he would admit, his hunt was not exactly wrecked...but much less enjoyable....... Tim is one tough dude.

Good god that sounds awful. You've got me thinking about my choices... yeesh.
 
Good god that sounds awful. You've got me thinking about my choices... yeesh.

Well FWIW, I was using a good down bag in the same conditions....800 fill Montbell stretch bag....with a better pad [exped] and I was careful to keep away from the tipi walls and the condensation. I did lose some loft...and my bag felt heavier....a little cooler is all, but with my merino on I was toasty.

So bottom line...a lot of this depends on the many factors. You can't make a blanket statement that down is terrible in damp conditions....so sorry if thats how you took that. I was mainly referencing the OP's premise.

We've had nightmare trips with syn bags getting soaking wet back in the day. Tube tent or just a tarp laying over us.......and an old Coleman cotton print sleeping bag that got soaked while backpacking [in 1972] not only were those bulky as heck....they weighed a ton, especially when wet.

My buddy just bought one of those cowboy bedrolls that besides the good canvas outer...it ain't much different than those old Colemans.

In fact its bigger and heavier!
 
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