Originally Posted By: hikermor
From the concern over getting a bag wet, one would think wet sleeping bags are a common occurrence. Well, they are not.

If you are the least bit careful with your down bag, it will stay nice and dry through many a stormy night. I have been using down bags for more than fifty years, and I have wetted my bag exactly once, by choosing to pitch my tarp in a depressed area. The bag wetted after a night time shower. We were back home the next night, so I dried it there. I could have had it dry by nightfall, if required.

hikermor,

I am going to push back ever so slightly on this. I agree that with carefull use, the risk of getting a bag wet is not as great as people might think. However, I think that is somewhat dependent on the sort of climate one is out in. Much of my camping experience has been in the Pacific NW and Alaska. In these places it can rain hard and steady for days on end. In a small backpack type tent, one almost inevitably brings a small amount of water in every time you enter or leave the tent. Over time, gear gets damper and damper. I've found it isn't so much the one time soaking that gets you as it is the slow, day to day getting damper and damper issue that gets you. I've become quite fond of synthetic bags in those conditions.
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