SLEEPING BAGS ADVICE

About Sleeping Bags

Being comfortable and warm at night is crucial for enjoyment of the outdoors, so a good sleeping bag is a vital piece of camping equipment. It's hard to appreciate a beautiful dawn when you've spent most of the night shivering in an inadequate bag. So here's some advice on helping to choose a sleeping bag.

First and foremost, a sleeping bag must keep you warm. The sleeping bag filling is of importance here, but so is design. The closer fitting a sleeping bag, the warmer it will be so the best shape is a tapered one (or mummy style sleeping bag). An adjustable sleeping bag hood is needed too, as much heat is lost through the head. However, for comfort, you also need a sleeping bag you can stretch out and curl up in rather than one that feels like a strait-jacket. The big decision to be reached is about the filling. There are three choices: waterfowl down, polyester fill and fibre-pile. Each has advantages and disadvantages. Down Sleeping Bags Vs Synthetic Sleeping Bags Down sleeping bags have the best warmth for weight ratio, packs up smallest and is long lasting, but loses all warmth when soaked, is slow to dry, hard to clean and is quite expensive. Polyester sleeping bags using materials such as Hollowfil, Quallofil and Polarguard are quick drying, resistant to damp and reasonably priced but bulkier and heavier than down for equivalent warmth and are shorter lived. Fibre-pile is warm when wet, quick drying, long lasting and inexpensive, but again bulkier and heavier than down for equivalent warmth.

Where weight is critical, down is the best choice, For shorter trips or car camping, polyester is suitable, whilst for bivouacing or snowholing where your bag is likely to get damp, pile is worth considering. Whatever the fill, sleeping bags come in various weights with season or temperature ratings. Be warned, these are guidelines only. Cold sleepers may need an extra 'season' to ensure a warm night, whilst warm ones may be able to get away with a lighter bag than that suggested for the time of year. You can of course 'stretch' the warmth of a bag by wearing clothes in it, using a sleeping bag liner, and all sleeping bags will perform better if used with an insulating mat underneath. Sleeping bags are manufactured by most of the top outdoor manufacturers including: Snugpak, Cumulus Sleeping Bags, Mountain Equipment, RAB and The North Face.

Sleeping Bag Season Rating

This tells you, roughly, at what time of the year the sleeping bag can be used comfortably. However, the season rating cannot be too specific as toleration of cold varies from person to person.

1 season sleeping bag - use in summer 2 season sleeping bag - use from late spring to early autumn 3 season sleeping bag - use through spring, summer and autumn 4 season sleeping bag - low level use all year round

The above refers to general use, not high level mountain use, i.e. 4 season sleeping bags are sometimes not suitable for winter expeditions. Please call 01925 411 385 to speak with a member of the CheapTents.com's expert team for more information on which sleeping bag is most suited for your needs if you have any doubt.

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