Real?
I didn’t say anyone was going to die. My choice is synthetic, because kayaks are obviously around water and there’s a pretty fair chance the bag will get wet someday. My bag and a comfortable week’s worth of gear fits easily in my NDK Explorer, so I don’t need anything smaller either. Seems pretty logical to me, but to each his (or her) own.
Hallelujah, and…
another thing to remember is that if using a down bag makes the difference between carrying the bag inside the kayak or sitting on the deck, or between being able to do a cold-night trip or not (due to down’s higher insulation value for a given volume),
then worrying about the small risk of getting the bag wet is counterproductive. Put it in a good drybag, store it INSIDE a hatch, and GO LIVE LIFE!
This is like not using an efficient, seaworthy kayak because it’s “tippier” than some others. The trade-offs are worth the risks.
Wekayak… So what’d ya get??
Enquirering minds want to know…
Paddle easy,
Coffee
anuther option
http://www.wiggys.com/
Great bags that will perform under ALL conditions. or you could just pack you old bags in the hull with out a protective bag. unless you have really really leaky hatches!!
Wiggy’s
used to make bags for Paul Petzoldt. Used em in the Wind River range in early 80’s. Nothing technologically special about them. Big synthetic bags… BTW Paul was a friend who spent time in my home.
Well have just started to shop
around now that we got the info. We have some time yet since the latest status as of today is that our boats won’t arrive until around Christmas. Hopefully the sleeping bag purchase will be made within the next few week and I will post something! 
Hi Salty, is Paul the gentleman
at the following link?
http://www.nols.edu/about/history/paul_petzoldt.shtml
Sure is…
Great old guy. Learned a lot from him at the start of my guiding career. He founded NOLS, then later Wilderness Education Association. Most folk don’t realize that he also helped bring Outward Bound programing to the US.
2nd Vote on Wiggys
The wilderness program I work for uses all Wiggy’s.
They are far from the lightest, but in our experience have the strongest construction and zippers. Our gear is on the trail for at least 6 solid months per year. Wiggy’s are the only bag we can get 3-4 years use out of (the North Face bags lost signifigant loft after 2 seasons of hard use).
I have the double bag system. I use them for year round camping and have always been comfortable.
Mine is going on its’ 2nd decade
and shows little wear and tear or loft loss. Yes bigger and heavier then other bags, but really shouldn’t be an issue as your packing a 90 gallon boat and not a 30 liter backpack.
Wiggy’s hype?
I have seen some detractors say that Wiggy’s “proprietary fill” is actually just the old Polarguard fill, same stuff that is in my 29-year-old SnowLion bag. (Not to diss it, the stuff IS durable.) Reliable and inexpensive, but not very compressible.
Wiggy’s plugs its durability, not its compressibility. Without actually being able to visit a Wiggy’s store (there are only TWO of them), it would be difficult to assess whether a bag adequate for one’s cold tolerance would also fit inside the kayak hatch.
Caveat emptor.
One contiuous strand
– Last Updated: Nov-30-05 2:26 PM EST –
If I understand it right they do two things differently from others. I think you are right that it is identical or very similar to traditional Polarguard. The differences seem to be that they cover/bond/coat the fiber with a silicon product so that the fibers are less likely to interlock and matt down on each other. Second rather then chop the fibers into set lengths that are bonded to another fabric then stiched in rows to the outer fabric, he just lays out the fiber as one contiuous strand till the depth and sqaure area of the bag are established. This large sheet of this contiuos fiber is sewn to the outer sheet with no baffles and seems to stay put uniformly over time and the silicon seems to keep the fibers from compressing. I have been amazed as to how well it has held up for me compared to other bags I've used. Would be tougher to fit through smaller rounder hatches, but shouldn't pose any problems for an oval hatch. I Love down, but have had some damp trips with it and have worn out the loft on some fiber filled Cats Meows by North Face. They all will work and not saying Wiggy's is the best, but did find it was the greatest return on the buck from an investment point of view. Of course when I bought mine they were less then half what they are now. Unless somebody intends to push the seasons or go to exotic places, a department store bag would most likely do the trick.
Wiggys - made in USA
I have a Wiggys Desert Bag for summer use, it has met my needs well. Stuffs well into a drybag, lofts back up when taken out.
Wiggys bags are made in USA.
That matters to me. I have not checked every brand, but most other bags seem to be made offshore.
Paul