Living in North Carolina, where winters can be very wet at times, I tend toward synthetic bags. As a Scout Master, I tend to guide the parents away from down bags for the kids. I have had a lot of wet bags, especially with the kids. In a good synthetic bag, some of the kids will not even wake up if they get wet, only when they get cold. I have down and synthetic myself, and take what I need for the environment. Down is fantastic if taken care of properly.