How to Choose a Camping Sleeping Bag
In the confusing world of sleeping bags, picking the right one can be daunting. We’re here to help you find the best bag for car or backyard camping in the great outdoors. On the most basic level, it needs to be warm enough for a good night’s sleep and roomy and comfortable to accommodate the way you like to sleep.
Designed for Camping or Backpacking?
There are really just two main categories of sleeping bags. Down sleeping bags designed for backpacking that compress small enough and are light enough to carry around in a pack on your back for days, and (mostly) synthetic camping bags.
Sleeping Bags for Camping
A camping bag is first and foremost designed to be warm and comfy to sleep in. They are inevitably bulkier and heavier than a backpacking bag, and most often are rectangular in shape. A camping bag is designed to be roomy and deliver a more pleasurable and better night’s sleep. Few people describe their backpacking bag as cozy, but the top camping bags are downright snuggly. Camping bags use relatively inexpensive synthetic fibers for insulation and more durable fabrics, which also makes them much heavier and bulkier than a down sleeping bag.
The bottom line also differs, since top quality camping bags are sold for much lower prices. There are many 0-degree camping bags that sell for close to, or less than, $100.
Backpacking Sleeping Bags
Being the backcountry for days or weeks at a time has its limitations. The most significant of all are space and weight. Backpacking for several days requires lightweight, slim-fitting, down-insulated, mummy-shaped sleeping bags. The mummy-shaped design minimizes weight and, more importantly, creates a tighter shell around its user, creating more warmth because there is less air to warm. Down is the best insulator and is incredibly lightweight. Backpacking bags are expensive, starting around $170 and the top performing bags are in the $300 to $500 range.
Do I Need to Buy One?
Not necessarily. You can easily use a backpacking bag for campground camping. So if you’ve got one, don’t hesitate to use it. While a camping bag may provide a more comfy and roomy sleeping experience, it is not a necessity. However the converse is not true: a camping bag is a poor choice for backpacking. They are simply too bulky and heavy.
Types of Camping Bags
The rest of the article will focus solely on sleeping bags for camping, and what to consider before making your purchase. There are several different types of camping bags, and each type has its list of pros and cons to consider that we will break down for you. The big differences in design approaches in a good sleeping bag are its shape, size, warmth rating, and type of insulation.
Shape
The image above shows a few of the different shapes of sleeping bags available. There are also a few crossover sleeping bags that can be used for both basic backpacking and car camping. However, for the sake of this article (and your sanity), we focus on two of the most basic shapes: rectangular bags and mummy bags.
Rectangular Bags
This is the most common shape for traditional sleeping bags. Rectangle designs allow maximum space to move around, resulting in maximum comfort. This is a time-tested design and is preferred by most car-camping enthusiasts. Traditional rectangle bags have rugged cotton exterior shells and cozy flannel linings. Weight and packed size are not as much of a concern when car camping, which allows many rectangular bags to be over-sized, thick, and plush. If zippers and sizes are compatible, two rectangle bags can be zipped together to create one large bag for two.
Size: Is More Room Always Better?
Warmth is a very individual measurement. Every person has their tolerance for cold when the sun goes down, and the mountain air falls into the valleys. However, one general rule of thumb with sleeping bags is bigger isn’t always better. A sleeping bag does not create warmth. It’s only as warm as its ability to hold in body heat.
Larger bags, especially oversized rectangular bags, are comfortable because of the extra room they provide, but that increased volume leaves more area for body heat to warm. Think of your body like a wood-burning stove. The smaller the room where the stove sits in, the warmer the air will stay. However, trying to heat every room in the house with one central stove has its limits.
Larger bags have more interior air to be heated, and a smaller body just can’t heat it all, leaving cold spots or an overall colder interior temperature. In warmer sleeping conditions, this doesn’t create much of a problem, but that changes if nighttime temps are lower than 40 degrees.
All told you should consider your natural metabolism (do you normally sleep warm or cold), the size of your body, and the type of weather and climate where you usually camp. Additionally, it’s important to consider the shelter you prefer. Tent camping and fifth-wheel camping have different warmth considerations.
In the end, using a double bag is strictly a personal preference. Some sleepers don’t mind sharing the space, while others need a little alone time for better sleep. If you are interested in this type of sleeping system but are unsure, we recommend you consider going with two single bags that can be zipped together to form a double bag.
Warmth Ratings
What do the temperature ratings mean? If you’ve ever wondered, you’re not alone. Does a rating of 0-degrees always equal a comfortable night’s sleep when temps are 0 degrees? Generally speaking, no. Temperature ratings mean that the average person will not be comfortable at temperatures any lower than this rating. It also assumes the sleeper is wearing long underwear and is using a sleeping pad. For those reasons, we’re almost always chilly well before the temperatures drop down to the rating.
In the confusing world of sleeping bags, picking the right one can be daunting. We’re here to help you find the best bag for car or backyard camping in the great outdoors. On the most basic level, it needs to be warm enough for a good night’s sleep and roomy and comfortable to accommodate the…