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Sleeping Bag Buyers' Guide

Few things feel as good as crawling into a nice cozy sleeping bag after a long day on the trail. However, trying to find just the right sleeping bag for your next adventure takes zen-like patience and a thorough understanding of insulations, features, and a less-than-ideal rating system. Much like your hike, getting there is the hard part. This guide provides a leg up to help you chose the ideal bag for your backcountry adventures.

Insulation Type

Down Insulation Synthetic Insulation
Synthetic Sleeping Bags

Advantages

  • Lightweight: Down sleeping bags weigh far less than their synthetic counterparts, which makes down the insulation of choice for anyone obsessed with saving weight.
  • Compressible: Despite all the advances in synthetic insulation, no one has yet made a synthetic bag that compresses as small as one filled with down insulation.
  • Long lasting: Down withstands the torture of repeated compression and retains loft far better than synthetic insulation. This means that down bags tend to stay warm longer than synthetic bags which lose a little loft each time they get stuffed into a pack.

Advantages

  • Relatively inexpensive: Synthetic insulation prices run the range from ultra-cheap to may-as-well-be-made-from-gold, but on average it tends to be much cheaper than down insulation. However, synthetic sleeping bags need to be replaced sooner than down ones, so the cost-savings aren't as impressive as they appear.
  • Insulates when wet: Some say synthetic insulation is "warm when wet." but this isn't really the case. Any sleeping bag feels like a sack of wet pancake batter when wet and makes for a miserable place to sleep. Unlike down, however, synthetic fill retains a good portion of its insulation properties. You won’t sleep well, but you won’t be nearly as miserable as your friend who dropped his down bag into the river.

Disadvantages

  • Poor insulation when wet: Sleeping in a wet down-insulated sleeping bag is a miserable experience. Soak the insulation completely, and the down actually steals your body heat. If you’re using a down sleeping bag in wet climates, you need to take every precaution to keep it dry. If you do get your down bag wet, it may take a very long time to dry completely.
  • Expensive: Down sleeping bags almost always cost more than their synthetic counterparts. However, since they last longer, the cost difference becomes minimal over the longer term.

Disadvantages

  • Short life: Synthetic insulation loses a bit of loft each time you cram it into a stuff sack. If stored properly, a synthetic bag lasts several years of occasional use. Someone who goes out every weekend can easily wear out a synthetic sleeping bag in a single season.
  • Heavy: Even the lightest synthetic insulation weighs more than down.
  • Bulky: While some of the new insulations have made progress on the problem, synthetic sleeping bags just don't stuff as small as down-filled ones. While compression sacks help this issue, they also wear out sleeping bags faster than regular stuff sacks.

Get One If:

  • Weight is your primary concern.
  • You can take the hit to your checking account.
  • You have enough attention to detail to keep your bag dry.

Get One If:

  • You're on a tight budget.
  • You plan on spending lots of time in wet environments.
  • You're more concerned with idiot-proofness than weight.

Other Factors

Temperature Ratings Construction/Materials Care Features
Temperature Ratings
Construction and Design
Care
Features
  • For the most part, you'll want a sleeping bag rated to the coldest night-time temperatures you expect to encounter on a trip. Ounce-obsessed users some times sleep in all their clothes and carry a lighter bag to save weight. Unfortunately, there exists no standard way to rate a sleeping bag's insulation value, so ratings tend to vary from brand to brand. Some companies use conservative ratings, while others make notoriously over-rated bags. The amount and location of insulation, construction type, features like draft collars, and whether or not you sleep warm or cold all have an effect on the accuracy of a sleeping bag's rating. Ask around and get your friends' input if you can.
  • Baffled Construction: This design eliminates cold spots in a sleeping bag by covering all seams with insulation. All high-quality, cold-weather sleeping bags use baffled construction or another design that accomplishes the same thing. Ultralight summer bags don’t necessarily require baffled construction because a cold spot isn’t important on a 50-degree night.
  • Waterproof Shells: To offset the disadvantages of down insulation, many companies make bags with waterproof breathable shells to keep out moisture. These fabrics ease concerns about condensation and in some cases allow you to head into the hills without a tent or bivy sack. Unfortunately, moisture from your clothes and body causes a problem as moisture cannot pass freely through the shell. Don't get soaked and crawl into a waterproof bag.
  • Storage: Repeated and long-term compression wear out a sleeping bag faster than anything else. Never store a sleeping bag in a stuff sack of any kind. Either hang it up, lay it out on the floor, or put it in the large storage sack provided with your bag.
  • Washing: In addition to the dirt that collects on your sleeping bag as you use it on camping trips, it also absorbs oils from your body. Both of these components collect in the bag's interior and compromise insulation quality. Don't be afraid to wash your sleeping bag when it gets dirty. Clean your sleeping bag in a bathtub or front-loading washing machine (never a top-loader) using warm water and soap specifically designed to clean down or synthetic insulation. Air dry the bag or use the low-heat setting on your drier.
  • Draft Collars: Most sleeping bags rated to below-freezing temperatures include an insulated draft collar. This puffy tube wraps around your neck to create a seal which prevents warm air from escaping your sleeping bag and cold air from working its way in while you sleep.
  • Expansion Sections: For campers who find sleeping bags claustrophobic, a stretch fabric or zippered expansion baffle mey help. These features increase the slepeing bag's internal area to increase comfort for anyone who doesn't sleep perfectly straight and on their back. Weight becomes the major concern, as both of these options add several ounces to a sleeping bag's heft.
  • Zippers: Two matching bags can often be zipped together for extra comfort with your significant other or more warmth on a desperate alpine bivy. Some bags also use half-length zippers or no zipper at all to save ounces.

Top Brands

Brand Specialties
The North Face Sleeping BagsThe North Face Sleeping Bags

Constantly trying new materials, insulations, and desigs to progress sleeping bags.

Marmot Sleeping BagsMarmot Sleeping Bags

Making sleeping bags since 1971 and continues to lead the charge in product innovation.

Marmot Sleeping BagsBig Agnes Sleeping Bags

Unique designs which eliminate insulation against the ground and replace it wth a sleeve for the sleeping pad.

Marmot Sleeping BagsMountain Hardwear Sleeping Bags

Expedition-tested designs for everything from a weekend camping trip to your own month in the moutains.

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