Cold Weather Sleeping Bag

There are a few things you should consider when buying a cold weather sleeping bag.

Camping is a great adventure for many of us, but if you’re going to do it outside of the warm summer months, you’ll need to know that you’ll be comfortable. That’s why a extreme cold sleeping bag is a good choice for anyone who camps in the winter, early spring or late fall. Let’s take a look at some things you need to know before you choose a bag.

Sleeping bags keep you warm by trapping air between you and their shell. This air is heated by your body. Bags with a higher loft will keep you warmer - that’s why down has been such a popular filling for so long. Narrower bags, such as the mummy style, which fits close to the body, will provide more insulation than rectangular bags. That’s because these cold weather sleeping bags aren’t wasting any heat by warming up space you aren’t using. They can be less comfortable than a rectangular bag if you’re prone to move in your sleep, however.

Depending on your priorities, you’ll choose either a down fill or a synthetic one. As mentioned above, down is a good insulator, and is one of the most common choices for cold weather sleeping bags. It has a high loft, but is very compressible, is extremely warm, and is much lighter than synthetic fills. Of course, people with allergies will be unable to use down bags, as will people with concerns about products derived from animals. Down also doesn’t work well if it’s allowed to get wet. That means that if you’re camping in wet conditions, you need synthetic fills.

Synthetic fillings have come a long way in the past few years, and are getting much lighter while still retaining warmth. They’re cheaper than down, and will continue to work even after they’ve become wet. They’re made from petroleum sources, which may be a concern for some, and have a shorter lifespan than down. They also weigh more and don’t pack down as well. This makes them less common for ultralight and cold weather sleeping bags.

When you look for a cold weather bag, you’ll probably see a temperature rating on it. This is a general idea of how well the bag will keep you comfortable or how well it will keep you alive. Remember to find out if the bag’s rating is for comfort, or for extreme temperatures. A bag labeled for extreme temperatures to negative twenty would still be pretty cold inside, but you’d survive. You should also keep in mind that calculations can be made differently, and may assume you’re using a sleeping mat, and that your body will deal with heat in different ways than other people. When in doubt, buy a cold weather bag that’s rated for lower temperatures - you can always unzip if you get hot.