By Doug Gantenbein Life used to be so simple. These days, a much wider range of bags is available, so the avid camper may choose to purchase several. They're warm enough to keep you cozy when the thermometer flirts with 20 or below, yet still comfortable on those warm evenings when you can stay up late watching the stars with little more on than a pair of shorts and a favorite T-shirt. But, they aren't very good when wet.
Synthetic bags work well in damp conditions and cost less than down bags.
But they aren't quite as snuggly as down, and can lose their loft after a few seasons of heavy use as the fill, which comes in sheets, begins to separate. Still, today's synthetic bags are remarkably down-like and fairly durable. The fill of choice is Polarguard 3D, the newest edition of a long-popular sleeping bag insulation. That's what you'll find in The North Face's Cat's Meow 3D , the latest iteration of one of the very first modern synthetic-fill bags to hit the market. It comes with a soft Pertex nylon lining, an iridescent shell that is both durable and snazzy-looking, a watch pocket near the head of the bag, and a handy pocket for stuffing clothes to form a pillow.