How To Choose a Sleeping Bag?

Probably, choosing a sleeping bag from the entire list of equipment is the most difficult thing. You have to keep a lot of variables in your head: purpose, temperature, price, size and shape, weight and volume. And to all this is added a modern abundance of assortment in stores. Therefore, now we decided not to plunge into the jungle and not analyze every aspect of choosing a sleeping bag in all details. There is too much information, and it will only confuse beginners. Instead of it, we have put together a quick guide to help you quickly reduce the entire range of sleeping bags to a few suitable options. At the same time we will focusing your attention on the most important technical parameters.

Sleeping Bag Purpose

If you are going to the store for a sleeping bag, then you already at least in general terms imagine why you need it and where you will use it. There are four basic scenarios, each of which we will look at separately.

• Camping
• Tourism and mountaineering
• Winter hiking
• Undecided

Camping

Do you want to communicate with nature, beautiful landscapes and gatherings around the fire, but without the burdens of hiking? Maybe you have chosen the Oregon Coast Camping. Then you need to deploy a comfortable stationary camp. Thanks to modern equipment, it is almost as comfortable as the home environment. Hence the main principle when choosing a camping sleeping bag: it should be as comfortable as in bed at home. You can don’t think about its weight and volume, since the priority is the most comfortable sleep. Just carry all the equipment by car, and not carry it on your own shoulders.

Choose a sleeping bag so that it is comfortable for you to lie in a familiar position, and its fabric does not cause unpleasant tactile sensations. Most modern camping sleeping bags are blankets that you can use as a blanket. But there are also advanced cocoons that are not inferior to them in terms of sleep comfort.

You will have to think about the weight and volume of a camping sleeping bag only in case of luggage restrictions. Not every thing can be fit in the trunk of a small car, motorcycle bag or bag for air travel. In order not to deny yourself a comfortable sleep because of this, it is best to take a duvet sleeping bag.

Despite the external simplicity, camping sleeping bags differ from each other in a mass of details. Designers still have plenty of room to turn around to ensure a comfortable sleep. As a rule, the more expensive a camping sleeping bag is, the more difficult it is to cut, the zippers and ventilation are more thoughtful. The fabric is more pleasant to the touch, as well as the more durable insulation that does not migrate or fall off.

Tourism and Mountaineering

When you need a sleeping bag for hiking and mountain climbing, then all the main agony of choice comes down to one thing – finding the optimal balance between weight, heat and price. There is no clear dividing line between backpacking and climbing sleeping bags, but the modern industry is abundant, and you can find a specialized model for any conditions.

Need a raw wall climbing sleeping bag? There are weightless narrow cocoons with superior quality hydrophobic down and membrane upper fabric. Need a sleeping bag for a multi-day trek with overnight lodges? You can pick up a downy or synthetic cocoon weighing within 1 kg, in which it is not cramped to sleep. Do you need an inexpensive sleeping bag for your first hikes, fishing or hunting? You can choose from a whole list of weighty bags with synthetic insulation. There are a lot of different variables and nuances in choosing a sleeping bag for tourism, and therefore they deserve a separate material.

Winter Hiking

When the temperature drops below -20 ° C during the night on a hike, there is no room for compromise on the price and weight of the sleeping bag. I want one thing – at least to survive, but it is better to sleep off in a warm place and gain strength before the next difficult day. Not all companies run the risk of producing really warm sleeping bags: the market is small, the risks are high, and the price of their production is frankly rather big. Therefore, extreme sleeping bags in severe frosts are a major league in which the brand’s reputation, which expeditions and a long history confirm, influences the choice.

Almost always sleeping bags for winter hikes are downy and crammed with all the available parts designed to stay warm and durable. They are distinguished by an abundance of insulation, a complex design of downy bags, an obligatory thermal collar, a well-thought-out cut of the compartment for the legs and a hood, and there is also enough space inside them to sleep in outerwear.

Undecided

Usually no one knows if he will continue to hike or if tourism will become just a passing hobby. In addition, it is often difficult to accurately determine your preferences. For example, it is sometimes difficult to understand what you like more: physical activity and the opportunity to see new things every day or a measured life in a parking lot with a well-functioning way of life, short weekend hikes or expeditions for a couple of weeks.

For this purpose, many companies have a range of basic sleeping bags that are suitable for simple hiking and camping. They are relatively inexpensive, lighter than camping sleeping bags. At the same time they are looser in the fit of most travel models, and are often fitted with extra details to enhance sleep comfort.

Sleeping Bag Temperature

The most important thing to look out for when choosing a sleeping bag is is it warm enough for your hiking trips? All other parameters are secondary. We assure you that when you wake up in the middle of the night from the cold, you will not care about the weight, size, insulation and purpose of the sleeping bag.

The temperature range of most modern sleeping bags is determined on the basis of a thermal dummy test. The regulation of it is described in the standard. Now we will not dive into the jungle of testing methods, but we will tell you what useful information it gives.

According to the test results, the sleeping bag is assigned a temperature range, usually consisting of three to four values, which the manufacturer is obliged to publish.

T, max

The upper temperature limit at which you can comfortably sleep in a relaxed position in a sleeping bag without significant sweating. In this case, the sleeping bag does not have to be fastened to the end and put on a hood. Manufacturers are not obliged to publish the T, max value, since it does not affect the safety of human life and health. But sometimes it can be found on labels and tags.

T, comfort

The upper temperature at which you can sleep comfortably in a relaxed position inside a fully closed sleeping bag. In the range between temperatures T, max and T, comfort. Even frosty tourists will be able to sleep, and it is conventionally called the “zone of women’s comfort”, since a “female” dummy is used in its definition. This value is mandatory for publication on the sleeping bag label.

For whom? Girls and frosty tourists who do not tolerate the cold should be guided by the value of T, comfort. At temperatures above or equal to it, you are guaranteed not to freeze. Chilly can be only under aggravating circumstances – hunger, extreme fatigue, hypothermia, altitude sickness.

T, limit

The lower temperature limit at which a male user can sleep without feeling cold, curled up in a ball. As a rule, at this temperature border, short awakenings are already possible because it becomes chilly. It is really comfortable to sleep at this temperature for physically hardened and experienced enough tourists. They are able to choose sleep clothes appropriate for the weather.

This parameter is required for publication by the sleeping bag manufacturer. If only one value from the entire temperature range is indicated, then it is precisely T, limit. It characterizes the limiting conditions under which the sleeping bag is still able to provide safe sleep.

For whom? Most male tourists will sleep comfortably at temperatures between T, limit and T, comfort. Moreover, the closer the nighttime temperatures are to T, limit, the greater the risk of waking up from a slight feeling of cold. So you should take care of additional insulation. The T, limit value can also be targeted by people with a large physique. They generate more heat, which is then held by the sleeping bag.

IMPORTANT

The difference between temperatures T, limit and T, comfort for sleeping bags that have passed EN / ISO testing is small and averages 4-6 ° C. In fact, it illustrates the difference in the perception of cold between the average man and woman. Male and female thermal manikins are used to determine these parameters, respectively. If the run-up between these temperatures is large, the sleeping bag clearly did not pass the EN / ISO test. In this case, it is at least incorrect to compare it with certified models. It is also a good reason to doubt the conscientiousness of the manufacturer himself and to suspect him of overestimating the temperature rating. Especially when it does not provide a clear method for calculating the given values.

T, extreme

A value that a beginner might not even look at. The test center give it to show the extremely low margin at which the sleeping bag provides any reasonable thermal insulation. At temperature T, extreme comfortable sleep is no longer possible – at best, half-asleep with multiple awakenings from cold and shivering. There is also a risk of hypothermia and health complications. Using a sleeping bag at temperatures below T, extreme is life-threatening.

For whom? When choosing a sleeping bag, never use the T, extreme value! With severe weight savings of equipment, tourist can sometimes use the sleeping bag at temperatures below the T, limit value, but this is the prerogative of seasoned and well-trained athletes. For an unprepared organism, this can be a dangerous test!

IMPORTANT

Sometimes manufacturers include T, extreme in the name of the sleeping bag model, which can be confusing. Therefore, before buying, be sure to check the declared temperature regime!

Note that thermal dummies during testing are dressed in thick thermal underwear and socks. Therefore, tourists use sleeping bag with a set of sleeping clothes, rather than sleeping naked. Otherwise, the sleeping bag will feel a little colder than advertised. We analyzed all the details and nuances of testing sleeping bags in a separate material.

More useful information about tourism read here.