Sleeping Bags

Area of use of your sleeping bag: sleeping of course! What else?

Obviously, your main goal is to sleep well and comfortably, to stay dry and warm. So first, you need to figure out where you are planning to take your sleeping bag. Where you are going to sleep, what season it is and how you are going to sleep. Sleeping bags always tell you the intended temperature range. The comfort temperature gives you the temperature at which you can comfortably sleep in it. The limit temperature tells you at which temperature you will still be able to sleep at night, but it won’t be too comfortable. And the extreme temperature tells you at what temperatures the sleeping bag will keep you warm enough to simply survive the night, that means it will still be very, very cold and you certainly will not get much sleep.

So the first step is to find out at what temperatures you will be sleeping outside. There are sleeping bags for extreme colds (-35 degrees) and these have a special coating to keep condensation water and snow from soaking in. There are sleeping bags filled with down and those of other materials – more on this later. The thinner your sleeping bag, the warmer it needs to be outside, and the lower the weight and the packaging.

Sleeping bags also come in different forms. There are rectangular ones, egg or mummy ones. Rectangular ones are handy when you want to turn them into a regular blanket. Then there are those with hoods to lace up to keep your head nice and warm. And sleeping bags with stretch materials that give you more freedom of movement. And of course, sleeping bags come in different lengths and there are specific ones for women and kids.

©Down sleeping bag by Mountain Equipment

Filling of your sleeping bag: Down, synthetic or wool

Usually, sleeping bags are filled with either down or synthetic material. Both have their advantages and disadvantages:

Down sleeping bags are lighter and isolate very well. At the same time, the packaging is smaller. Meaning of course easier to take with you when backpacking. But these need to be taken care of properly. The bag needs to be aired out and dried regularly. Because when it gets moist, the down will agglutinate! That is why these sleeping bags are not that well in areas of high humidity. Also, they need to be stored in a storing bag and not always be kept in the packsack because that would break and ruin the down. You can also wash and dry the bag. With this, it gets back the fluffiness! Down is usually mixed with feathers and the ratio of these is always given. 90/10 for example means 90% down and 10% feathers. These are put in separate compartments in your sleeping bag, usually v-formed ones, to keep the filling from going into one large pile within the bag.

The synthetic sleeping bag also isolates well and is a bit cheaper. But it is larger in its packaging and heavier. Also, it is not as good in extremely cold temperatures. On the other hand, you can easily just store the bag in its packsack all the time and do not need to worry about any care-taking. Since the filling does not agglutinate, it is better when it is humid or rains a lot than down is.

Then there are wool sleeping bags. These offer you an especially good and comfortable sleeping climate.

©Sleeping bag of wool by Grüzi

Sleeping bag liners, bivy bags and sleeping bags

But not only sleeping bags are sleeping bags. There are also bag liners, so-called hut sleeping bags. You take these with you when you sleep on a hut. You can imagine this kind of sleeping bag like a sheet cover that you combine with a thicker blanket which is provided at the hut. You can also use the bag liner as an inner bag in your regular sleeping bag when camping or trekking.

And bivy beags? These are very thin bags that you can either pull over your regular sleeping bag when it is very cold out or to prevent water from soaking in. Or you use it in emergency cases: these bags give you up to 8 additional degrees. Also, there are bivy bags that hold two people.

But a sleeping bag is certainly not all you need for camping or trekking. You also need additional equipment and tools such as tents and insulation mats, clothing and shoes!

Read more regarding sleeping bags

• Sleeping bags: Everything you need to know
• Insulation mats: Why are they so important?
• Which tent fits you?
• Bivouac Guide: Rules and tipps for a night at the 1000 star hotel