The age-old question: What insulation do I need for my sleeping bag or quilt? As with most outdoor gear, the answer depends on your personal preferences and needs. It ultimately comes down to three crucial factors: price, weight-to-warmth ratio, and water resistance. This blog is here to guide you in choosing the best option for your individual requirements.
Price
One of the biggest deciding factors in any purchasing decision as we all have a budget to work to. Typically down has been more expensive over the years and the technology that has gone in to finding the best down products has certainly increased. That said, there are some great options for a cheaper down sleep system that still performs like the best of them. Synthetic obviously being the cheaper of the two has attracted many people to start using synthetic systems and as the demand went up for synthetic, the technology and features got better.
Verdict: If price is your deciding factor over everything else then synthetic will be your best option.
Weight to Warmth Ratio
Hands down (no pun intended again... I promise!), the best warmth to weight ratio is down. The key factor to consider is fill power, which measures how much down is packed into a given space. This measurement is done scientifically in a lab. The higher the fill power, the better the warmth-to-weight ratio, and the fluffier or loftier the sleeping system will be.
Synthetic insulation, made from fibers, generally has a heavier warmth-to-weight ratio compared to down. This means it doesn’t compress as well. In simple terms, if you have a synthetic sleeping bag or quilt with the same temperature rating as a down equivalent, it will likely be heavier and bulkier.
Verdict: If you're focused on minimising weight and space, down is the best choice for you.
Water Resistance
Many people might still hesitate to choose down due to its lower water resistance. If you're concerned about moisture, rain, or not always being able to carefully manage your gear, synthetic sleep systems might be a better choice. Synthetic insulation is designed to retain its insulating properties even when wet and dries much faster. You'll often see thru-hikers with synthetic quilts attached to their packs in the morning to dry them off. In contrast, wet down is notoriously ineffective and can be a very frustrating experience.
This may be starting to change as more down is now being treated to make hydrophobic down. This is like the down used in the Therm-A-Rest Hyperion. They use Nikwax Hydrophobic Down that stays drier and maintains loft up to 60 times longer than untreated down. This adds next to no weight and a lot of resistance compared to the usual down that is untreated. A synthetic sleep system will still outperform hydrophobic down sleep systems though.
Verdict: If you are going to be putting yourself in the way of moisture regularly and/or camp out like a cowboy under the stars and it's likely to rain then synthetic is certainly your best buy.
If you are struggling for ideas or can't find that perfect combination, please reach out to us in the usual places - @valleyandpeakuk on Instagram, @ValleyandPeak on Twitter, ValleyandPeak on Facebook or on support@valleyandpeak.co.uk for email.