It’s amazing how little thought people put into choosing a camping sleeping bag. Most of the time their first sleeping bag is either a hand me down or one they bought from Walmart because the color was nice and the price was right.
If all you do is camp in the summer and all need is basically something to sleep on top of. Just about any old camping sleeping bag will do. On the other hand, if you want a sleeping bag that will truly serve its purpose of keeping warm or possibly cool. Then you need to understand what it takes to get find the perfect sleeping.
Sleeping Bag Temperature Ratings
The first thing to consider when looking for the right sleeping bag is the temperature rating. Every sleeping bag has a suggested temperature rating that it’s suggested you use it in.
Now, these ratings are a mere suggestion. One that you should be careful with. A bag rated down to 30 degrees is not designed to you keep you toasty warm in just your underwear at 30 degrees. In fact, there’s a good chance many of us will feel cold sleeping in that bag at 40 degrees with a single layer of clothes on.
On the flip side, a cold-weather sleeping bag rated down to 0 maybe a little too warm to do anything but sleeping on top of in warm weather.
The best suggestion is to choose a bag rated 20 degrees cooler than the coldest you plan on sleeping in. Just to be safe. This is one time where it’s better to be too warm than too cold.
Bag Shapes and Why the Difference
There are basically 2 different shapes of sleeping bags. Although there are plenty of variations on these 2 different shapes.
Rectangular
Rectangular sleeping bags are pretty much the standard in sleeping bags. When you think sleeping bag that’s what you are going to picture. They are roomy enough to allow you to move around a little bit while sleeping. Normally having a zipper that unzips down the side and bottom allowing the bag to open completely. This allows you to turn your bag into more of a blanket.
The head of the bag is completely open allowing for plenty of heat to escape. Which is why they are normally limited to warmer weight sleeping bags. As with the extra room you have to sleep in, you also have that same about of air to warm up and keep warm. In cold weather, this isn’t the most desirable thing.
Mummy
A Mummy bag is basically a body shaped sleeping bag. Hence the name, you wrap yourself up in it and look like a mummy. A true mummy bag covers your head with a drawstring to make sure you have almost no skin exposed to the air.
As you can imagine mummy bags are for cold weather camping. Depending on the materials in the bag they will keep you warm well below freezing.
Insulation, and Material Types, What Works Best
Most new camping sleeping bags are made of synthetic materials, with synthetic insulation. Although some are still made with cotton inside, synthetic materials outside and even down feathers for filler. This a little different from older bags that were made with cotton or canvas with down insulation.
Weight and Size Once Packed
Depending on what type of camping you will be doing the size of your sleeping bag can make a huge difference. Not to mention the weight of the bag. You really don’t want to be backpacking with a sleeping bag that weighs 10LBS. Likewise, if you trying to fit camping gear for 4 people into your car. Having 4 sleeping bags that take up more space than your cooler is can be a problem.
This is where you need to look at how much space your sleeping bag takes up when packed. Does it come with a stuff sack? Can you fit it in a compression sack? How much is it going to weigh if you need to carry it any major distance?
Granted if you are camping out of a Suburban with just your self and a friend. None of this matters. However, if you are through-hiking the Appalachian trail than size and weight will make a huge difference. So consider it before picking a camping sleeping bag.
Brand Matters Sometimes
For the most part, the brand doesn’t matter that much when it comes to choosing a sleeping bag. When it comes to lightweight summer sleeping bags the brand matters little if any. A no-name cheap bag is going to let you sleep just as well as a high dollar Kelty or Teton bag.
In fact, the only time the brand matters when it comes to down to ultra-lightweight cold weather sleeping bags that you want to last. That’s when you get what you pay for and you will pay for the names like Teton mummy bags.
Suggestions For Summer Weight Sleeping Bags
Coleman makes some of the best inexpensive summer-weight sleeping bags on the market. The Coleman Green Valley is a good quality sleeping bag rated 30 to 50 degrees. Great for 3 seasons camping. While it only measures 5’11” it is 33″ wide giving you plenty of room to get comfy in your sleeping bag. It even comes with a 100% cotton flannel lining to make things more comfortable in everything but cold weather. Ad a no-snag and you get a great sleeping for most of your basic camping needs.
Another good three-season camping sleeping bag is the MalloMe Camping Sleeping Bag. This sleeping bag is rated from 35-85 degrees. With a compression sack to store your bag in. It also has a hood to help keep your head a little warmer when it does get cold. The best part is that it’s fully made of polyester to help you stay warm in the cold and yet breaths when it gets warmer out. The best part is that it’s in the $30 range so it won’t break the bank.
Suggestions For Winter weight Sleeping Bags
Unfortunately, a true high-quality cold weather sleeping bag rated to keep you warm in temperatures you’d rather not camp in, are not cheap. The TETON Sports ALTOS Mummy Sleeping Bag is not cheap but if you buy it with down filling you will be warm down to -10 degrees F. That kind of warmth is good for just about any normal cold weather camping even when weather person was wrong. Of course, you can defiantly save close to $100 by going to a synthetic filler and sacrifice some warmth. Either bag from Teton will last you a long time and treat your right.
Now if you need a cold-weather bag to keep you warm for a very few select camping trips the Coleman North Rim is rated to 0 degrees. While the price of under $50 is extremely cheap, Coleman is known for inexpensive and good value camping gear. This means you will defiantly get your money’s worth from this inexpensive cold weather sleeping bag.
Conclusion
When it comes to buying the perfect camping sleeping bag, there really isn’t too much to it. You want to make sure it’s rated for at least 10-20 degrees cooler than you intend on sleeping in. Once you’ve done that it’s all a matter of price you can afford, and maybe color if you really want to worry about it. Sleeping bags pretty simple as long as you understand the temperature rating and know that price doesn’t always mean better.