Synthetic or down

No way I would rely on down in any area that gets wet and has high humidity

Check out wiggys bags

Synthetic for wet areas. I love down and it lasts longer, but unless you camp a lot a good synthetic will last a long time. Just don't store it compressed.

Wiggy is crazy as a run-over dog but his stuff is good. It's not, as he'd have you believe, OMG THE BEST EVER ANYTHING ELSE IS RISKING YOUR LIFE, but it's good. I don't know what his prices are like these days, though.

Synthetic. Down is great but as long as you don’t leave it compresses you will be fine. I live in AK and still grab my 12 year old synthetic anytime It’s below 20 degrees.

Down every time for hiking. I've hiked and camped in some of the wettest hardest rains imaginable and I've had no problems keeping my bag dry. Just have to be smart about packing and setting up camp. If the temps are really cold I would use a synthetic jacket as a backup.

Car or river trip I'd be fine with a big heavy synthetic.

If I were to choose one it would be a nice down bag. Will last you the rest of your life. I have a 20 year old Western Mountaineering bag that's been used 100s of nights and is just as good as the day I bought it.

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With the advances in down, is anyone using a down sleeping bag for camping primarily in the south?

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Frankly, I would not.

First, warmth for weight just isn't the factor in the South.

Second, there have also been advances in sythetics, to the point where it is a very fine distinction. Sure, in very rare circumstances, down will still well outperform synthetics.

Sythetic is still generally cheaper, easier to maintain and functions fairly well when wet and will dry relatively quickly. For high performance (and ethically sourced if you care about such things) down that also has enhancements for wet performance, I think you're overpaying.

Down is still probably coziest and highest possible warmth for weight, but in the rainy, humid South, I just don't think down wins the A/B comparison.

My bonafides: I was a Boy Scout in Louisiana for 3 years, in an active camping troop, a Boy Scout leader with my son's troop including a long trek at Philmont (2 weeks, 80 miles backpacking), plus 30 years of military experience, including 18 months forward deployment and 5 years in a National Guard combat unit resulting in many weeks of field time.

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Not many advances.

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I don't know, man, they have that new stuff that looks like down under a microscope. Patagonia has that more continuous weave stuff that can get very, very close to down performance for weight.

Of course, they have the coatings and treatments for down that give it at least "better than horrible" performance when wet.

They're getting closer together, for sure.

I mean, if I was relying on it for life or death, I would go with a down bag (probably synthetic jacket though) and just keep it dry. But, in the South, I just don't think down is worth the tradeoffs.

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I’m pretty sure Patagonia uses primaloft which hasn’t changed.

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They use Primaloft in a lot of stuff. Heck, I think they helped with its design or was one of the earliest big customers of it.

But, they use other synthetic fills for various applications - the new stuff "Plumafill" compresses more like down (I think that is the continuous weave stuff, but I'm not 100%
certain).

Thermoball (which they call Primaloft Thermoball), is in balls and clusters like actual down. I'm not sure if it is exclusive to Patagonia or not. The Plumafill is.

I'm sure it is marketing to a degree, but these are different from classic Primaloft/Primaloft gold applications.

(ETA: I have been looking at jackets lately - not sure how much of this synthetic tech is making it into sleeping bags - I haven't shopped for bags in years. Or tents, for that matter.)