Are Down Bags Really So Dangerous?

Any Tenderfoot knows that down sleeping bags are really good. They are light, warm, and stuff down really well into a small stuff sack. However, down sleeping bags have one really big flaw. When they get wet, they lose their ability to insulate and if you try and pass the night in a wet down bag – you can get really cold, really fast. Synthetic sleeping bags, on the other hand, are made from petroleum-based products and are naturally more water resistant.

Down sleeping bags are discouraged, despite their benefits.

Down sleeping bags are discouraged in Scouting, despite their many benefits.

The danger does not come from dropping a down bag into a river while attempting a risky crossing. Moreover, the bag does not have to be completely soaked to cause problems. Down sleeping bags absorb moisture out of the air. So at 80-90% humidity, a 20 degree down sleeping bag can lose 30% of its loft overnight, effectively turning it into a 40 degree bag. A sweaty Scout, a leaking Camelbak, or contact with snow and rain can also seriously degrade the insulation of a down bag, with potentially serious consequences. That is why most Troops do not allow their Scouts to take them on high adventure outings.

However, this year the outdoor industry has introduced a new line of down sleeping bags (and jackets) that minimize or eliminate the “wet down” problem. As a result, down products are going to become a lot more acceptable on Scout backpacking trips.

Most sleeping bags sold over the past decade have been made from goose down. However, goose down is being replaced by duck down as the feather of choice because duck down is cheaper and more sustainable. Unfortunately, duck down sometimes smells funny, especially when it gets wet. So vendors like Kelty and Sierra Designs have been looking for a way to clean the duck down and eliminate the odor.

At the same time, chemical engineers at these companies have long been thinking about ways to reduce the problems associated with wet down. Recent advances have led to a cleaning process that produces duck down products that are much more water resistant than common goose down bags. This treatment is done on the molecular level and leaves a polymer coating on each duck feather that resists moisture and inhibits the “feather clumping” that reduces loft and insulation. These new down bags also dry much faster if they do get wet. Amazingly, the process works without adding cost or weight to a typical down sleeping bag.

Since these new down sleeping bags are being manufactured by some of the most environmentally conscious companies on the planet, they probably have tested everything to make sure there are no chemical hazards to users. Given the many benefits, it is a sure bet that most of the other outdoor product suppliers will be introducing their own “Dry Down” products in coming months.

DriDown resists water and does not clump up like regular duck down

DriDown resists water and does not clump up like regular down

There are a few different labels today. Kelty and Sierra Designs use a process called DriDown. Big Agnes calls theirs DownTek. According to the DriDown website, a down sleeping bag that uses their “hydrophobic” treatments will stay dry 10 times longer than normal down, retain 2.7 times as much loft when it gets wet, and dry 33% faster than untreated down.

This makes DriDown comparable to synthetic sleeping bags in terms of their ability to deal with moisture. Consequently, there are going to be a lot of Scouts and their parents who will want to purchase them to get the inherent benefits of a down bag – despite the higher cost of down versus synthetic sleeping bags.

Many Scouters are set in their ways, and in the mistaken belief that they are protecting their boys, they often resist new backpacking products and techniques. Scoutmasters will doubt that DriDown is about as safe as the synthetic sleeping they have been using for years. So the question is, “How long will it take Scout leaders to allow their boys to use the new treated down products.” It’s just a matter of time until they start showing up at summer camp – or on a 50 mile backpacking trip.

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Five Degrees of Winter Camping

Snow camping is a popular winter activity for sturdy Boy Scouts. Every year, thousands venture into snow covered fields and conduct a variety of maneuvers, all designed to prove that they can survive and thrive in cold conditions that cause their parents to mutter about hot tubs and hotel rooms. However, while cold weather outings can be challenging, not all winter outings can be called snow camping, no matter what your leaders tell you.

Winter is a great time for Scout outings.

Snow camping requires, at a very minimum, that Scouts build shelters in the snow and sleep in them. These could be tents, Ice or Hop Houses, Quinzies, Snow Trenches (sometimes called Ice Coffins) or the most popular of all – the classic Snow Cave. Anything less than spending the entire night in one of these shelters is just a winter outing with snow involved.

To clear up any confusion, here are the degrees of snow camping clearly defined – from easiest to most difficult.

Zero Degree: Staying in a cabin. Gentlemen, this is not snow camping. No matter how many times you go outside and walk around in snowshoes or how cold you get making snow angels wearing only your boxer shorts, it’s not called snow “camping” when you sleep in a “cabin.” Even your little sister knows this. Give it up and try again next winter.

First Degree: Car Camping. Adults drive you up to the mountains and park near the snow. You get to pitch tents or dig snow caves right next to the cars and keep all your shovels, extra tools, snacks, water, and tarps in the trunk, grabbing them as needed. Adults sit in a Winnebago preparing hot chocolate and there is no need to dig out a cooking area because there is a propane stove in the back of the truck. Often you have KYBOS nearby, but you have to be brave enough to use them, partly because of the frigid temperature inside.

Second Degree: Tent Camping. After arriving, Scouts pack up their equipment and leave the parking area to find a campsite. Travel from the cars can be via snow shoe, cross country ski, or by booted foot. Upon arrival at a suitable location, snow is cleared or smoothed and tents are erected with “dead men stakes” covered by snow. Gear is stowed in the tents and the group works together building a common kitchen area and latrine before heading off to explore the frozen lake. After dark, Scouts climb into their tents and hope that the temperatures outside do not drop below 30 degrees or that it doesn’t snow too much. If it does, they shiver in their sleeping bags and think about digging real snow caves next time.

MD Snow Cave

Digging a Snow Cave is much more difficult than just erecting a tent - but is usually more comfortable.

Third Degree: Cave Camping. Scouts load their backpacks, fasten on their snow shoes, and carry all their equipment across the snow and away from the parking lot until the desired separation is achieved – usually when the weakest camper drops from exhaustion. (The longer the hike, the more adventurous the outing.) After testing the snow with an avalanche probe for hidden large rocks and other surprises, Scouts spend hours sitting or lying on tarps digging caves using snow shovels, saws, and their gloved hands. During the afternoon, volunteers takes turns sculpting a kitchen area near the shelters. Someone makes sure the cooking stoves are constantly lit and that snow is being melted into drinkable water. After dinner, everyone climbs into their cave, lights their glow stick, and settles into a soundless trance until morning.

Fourth Degree: Cave or Tent Camping as part of an extended trek. This is full metal jacket snow camping and only for the strongest and most prepared youth in the Council. In addition to carrying a heavy backpack full of food and supplies across the snow on snow shoes, Scouts have to get up early every day

MD Snow Camping Levels of Difficulty

Leaving the vehicles for several days is the most challenging kind of fourth degree winter outing.

(when it’s really, really cold), break camp, and start moving so they arrive in camp in time to create new shelters and melt snow for drinking water before it gets dark. On top of the significant physical and psychological burdens, everyone has to navigate across a frozen and alien geography where trails and landmarks are covered in snow, rending most maps almost useless.

Of course additional “manly” points can be earned when something difficult happens an any of these outings. For example, when a storm unexpectedly dumps two feet of snow on your shelters overnight collapsing tents or forcing campers to dig out of their caves in the morning. Likewise, when adults inexplicably insist that everyone buckle their snow shoes after dinner for a night hike in sub-arctic temperatures.

Now that you have a snow camping barometer, what kind of winter camping does your unit do?
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