Hydrophobic down and big walls

Fairly common knowledge: you can get ticketed in places like Yosemite if you are rescued off a climb and are found to be using down sleeping bags instead of synthetic...

So I am just wondering if these new Hydrophobic down bags are being accepted as a suitable alternative to synthetic? I realize they haven't been on the market very long, so even if anyone cares to chime in with their experience with Hydrophobic down in wet conditions, that would be sweet! Thanks

This doesn't answer your question but why can you be ticketed for being rescued off a climb with a down sleeping bag?

Willie Wilson wrote:This doesn't answer your question but why can you be ticketed for being rescued off a climb with a down sleeping bag?

The caveat the OP did not add is that you can be charged for the rescue (not necessarily ticketed) if you are rescued off El Cap as a result of water-induced hypothermia from a wet down sleeping bag. If you break your leg on El Cap, YOSAR is not going to care what kind of sleeping bag you have.

I have not used any of the Gortex-type down bags, but the answer should be simple—do they legitimately work when wet?

20kn thanks for clearing that up. I have heard that YOSAR maintains the right to ticket people for using down bags in the event of a rescue, but it is probably largely situational.

This topic is not about sleeping bags with a Gore membrane. Those have been around for a while. Hydrophobic down is entirely different.

I don't own one but: The reviews that I have read have all said that they are not a suitable alternative to synthetics, and that they are good for minimizing the effects of minimal wetness/condensation but that they don't cut it when truly wet.

I've used treated down jackets and they seem to work fine in mildly wet conditions. Personally I'd never take one on a wall though, or a treated sleeping bag. Too much potential to be sitting in a puddle, and even with the new treatments the down is eventually going to get wet.

I'm down with the bags of hydroponics and I definately wouldn't go up the wall without it.

A bit OT, but does anyone know if there is any difference between various synthetics and their ability to keep you warm when wet? As in, is the cheap synthetic fiber used in say a Colman sleeping bag going to provide the same level of protection when wet as the synthetic material used in an equivalently-rated Mountain Hardware bag? I have always been under the understanding that synthetic is synthetic, and as long as the bag is synthetic, it is sufficient for applications where the bag might get wet, assuming of course the temp rating is appropriate for the weather.

Synthetic materials differ from brand to brand and even within them. Primaloft has Primaloft One, Alpha, Eco, Synergy, etc. and they all have different characteristics.

North Face claims their new thermoball synthetic fill insulates as well as 650-fill down.

Mountain Hardwears new Thermal.Q is supposedly pretty awesome in terms of warmth/weight.

It's all measured on the Clo scale which sounds like something someone made up and the industry stuck with it...smarter people speak to this!