I have the original series Dridown 15 degree bag, and have seen the Cal series.
It is fantastic in use. I spent a night in my backyard where it got down to 2, in light long underwear, in the sleeping bag and one of the Sierra Design bivies. The bag was frozen to the inside of the bivy with frost, but it still had most of its loft. The inside of the bag was still pretty damp.
Yeah, it'll keep you warm, but (haven't tested this for sure) if you pack it wet, I'm sure you'll still potentially damage it and decrease the loft.
They are big, too. Regular size is big enough for my girlfriend and I (although we're pretty small) to use it quilt style down even below freezing... below about 20 the draft collar is really nice. I can comfortably get dressed and undressed in it fully zipped, something I could never do in my Marmot down bag.
Packability is fantastic, it compresses down to the same size as my 20 degree Marmot bag, although it's about a pound heavier.
Unfortunately the materials and build quality leave a little to be desired. The material is comfy on the inside, but everytime I pull it out it seems to be spewing down from a new place. The shell material is just slightly too thin, especially for such a long distance trek. The zipper snags more than any other bag I've owned, which gets really annoying, especially when I'm in my bivy. I've also had the zipper snag and tear the fabric for about 1/2".
They work great, but if you need to rely on a piece of gear for that long in the backcountry, it would be worth it to get a higher end bag, a Marmot, or even better, a Western Mountaineering or Feathered Friends.
The Dridown bag is already in rougher shape than a 20 year old Western Mountaineering bag I inherited, which probably has close to 1000 nights in it by now. My 15 year old Marmot bag has held up better, too, but it's losing loft. I still trust that WM bag down down to its rating, 20 degrees.
With all that being said, it really depends on your sleeping arrangements. Hammock? Bivy? Tarp? Tent?
I wouldn't use a regular down bag in bad weather in a bivy, it would just get soaked. I use the Dridown bag in my bivy if I'm alone good or bad weather, but wouldn't totally trust that combo in bad rain. The Didown really shines if you take a minimalist tarp type approach; enough room to breathe and keep it from getting soaked, but no biggie if it's a little in the splash zone. (Just pack it loosely if it gets wet)
If you're taking a tent, it's not worth it. It'd be better to save weight and get a traditional down bag, and use that weight to take a more robust tent.
With durability a concern, the WM MF series bags are basically bombproof. I've considered replacing my old WM with the new version, but there's no reason to with the shape it's in:
westernmountaineering.com/i…
I really like the new Marmot higher end (not the 900 fp ones), Helium, Lithium, etc. Most other's I know have one of those, and their psuedo WPB shell does a decent job.
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