Haselmaier

Man do I love THIS rationale! Genius! "Honey - we're spending $70 on a big bulky bag for the little one and $500 gazillion dollars on a feather light (literally) bag for me." I'd been assuming we get the same thing for each, but what you helped me remember is, when it's your money, you can do whatever you want! Thanks.

We live in CO. We currently have heavy 0 degree bags which work just fine for winter and car camping. However we're preparing for an 09 backpacking trip and I need to get a 20 degree bag for my son. He is 13, probably pretty average for a 13 year old in terms of responsibility, having a broken brain, etc. :-) I'm struggling with the down vs. synthetic decision. I know all the pros and cons. I'm interested in getting some real world, "on average" types of input such as "Boy - I've seen some scouts really get in trouble because they weren't diligent enough keeping their down bag dry." or "The extra weight and size of synthetic is more than a reasonable price to pay to ensure they can keep warm.", etc. Any words of wisdom? Thanks. jim