Technical Clothing
 Casual Clothing
 Footwear
 Gloves/Mitts
 Hats
 Eyewear
 Accessories
 Camping Gear
 Cycling
 Skiing
 Snowshoes
 Climbing
 Book Store
 Rental Equipment
 Shop By Brand
 Sale / Clearance

---

 Gift Cards

---

---

Choosing a Sleeping Bag Key Factors | Other Factors | Finally Deciding | Other Notes | Sleeping Bag Chart
A good sleeping bag can be the difference between a really pleasant camping trip and a miserable, exhausting adventure. Since it's a somewhat hefty investment, you don't want to make an uninformed decision. So when buying a sleeping bag, you should try on as many as possible, no matter what store you enter. Get inside and zip 'em up. Roll around a bit. Wiggle your feet and toes. Do all this in shorts and a t-shirt, since you're probably going to be dressed in less than that when you actually use one. To help you make sense of modern sleeping bags, we've compiled some info as a starting point to choosing a good bag. We've tried to keep it relatively simple. But if you have questions about anything here or want to know more about the bags The Alpineer carries, please do call us at 800-847-0244 or drop us an email. We'd be happy to help you out.
Key Factors
When/Where: determine what time of year and in what kind of temperature you'll use the bag. Insulation: you'll have a choice between down and synthetic fill. Temperature Rating: get a bag rated to the coldest temperature in which you'll be camping or sleeping. Weight/Packability: if you're backpacking a lot, ounces have a huge impact. Women Specific: designed with more insulation in spots where women lose more heat then men; also shorter in length. When/Where Before you start looking, it's good to know your camping habits and desires. It's important to know when you'll be using the bag and in what kind of conditions. Keep the following in mind while you shop or do research: • What kind of camping are you going to be doing? Car, backcountry, trailhead, backpacking? Where will you be most of the time? • In drier or damper environments? Will you be in extreme heat or cold? • Are you a "cold" sleeper or a "hot" sleeper? • Are you someone who would crank an electric blanket to 10 AND use a comforter on top? Or do you naturally emit heat like a space heater? Insulation As we discuss in our Down vs Synthetic Info Forum, down is generally better than synthetic insulation. Down is lighter, more compressible, and has a higher warmth-to-weight ratio. It comes in a variety of weights so you can be more selective when you finally decide what kind of bag you need. It generally lasts longer with proper care. And when you're nestled inside the bag, it seems to float over you and feel light and airy. It's like surrounding your frame with soft puffs of cloud. Some suggestions: The 650-fill Big Agnes Lost Ranger (15º), the 600-fill Marmot Teton (W) (0°), and the 600-fill Mountain Hardwear Piute (20°) for men and women. See the Sleeping Bag Chart for more. Synthetic insulation is great when you're going to be in moist or damp environments a lot. Perhaps you spend your time camping near rivers (are you an overnight raft guide?), in the Pacific Northwest, or in the woods of Maine in summer. Synthetic insulation keeps you warm even when it's wet (that's not to say that down doesn't keep you warm; it's just not as efficient when it's damp, nor does it dry as quickly as synthetic fill). The slightly heavier, bulkier synthetic bag isn't a bad idea when you know water's a factor. Most of the synthetic bags we carry have Polarguard® Delta, Polarguard 3D, PrimaLoft, or a propietary synthetic fill. Some ideas: The North Face Cat's Meow (20°), Mountain Hardwear Switch (W) (20°), and Big Agnes Encampment (15°). Noteworthy for Spring/Summer 2008 is the Marmot EcoPro (15°) composed of a good dose of recyled polyester. A bit about the shell, lining, and bottom The exterior of new bags feels so light and fragile you wonder how it can keep the elements out much less keep the insulation in. The secret is tightly-woven nylon (ripstop or taffeta) or polyester (usually taffeta). Taffeta and ripstop are either a criss-cross or hatched construction, creating not only a super-smooth, silky surface but also a tight weave that adds strength, making it highly abrasion-resistant.They're designed to breathe, just like a down or synthetic jacket. And they're durable. All the down bags we carry have a downproof shell, which means you won't have feathers poking out anytime soon. You'll see high-density nylon taffeta, nylon ripstop, or new nylon weaves from Pertex on the outside of the down bags we carry. And on the synthetic bags, you'll see a variety of materials such as high-density nylon taffeta, nylon ripstop, and polyester taffeta. The Big Agnes Encampment uses a water-repellant nylon ripstop, and The North Face Snowshoe and Cat's Meow use a proprietary fabric, which is water-, wind-, and abrasion-resistant. The Mountain Hardwear Clouds Rest has a nylon taffeta with DWR and antistatic properties. In a very broad sense, polyester tends to be softer on the skin, but you probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference if you bought a bag with a nylon interior. Polyester also has a high resistance to UV degradation and has low stretch, making it a bit more prone to tearing than nylon. Nylon on the other hand has a high resistance to tears and abrasions and will fade when exposed to prolonged sun exposure.
Find bags by fill: down ‌ synthetic ‌ hybrid
Temperature Rating A temperature rating, also called comfort rating, is given to each bag to tell you the how cold you can go. It's not an absolute since some people sleep "colder" or "warmer" than others. But it's a nice factor to help you figure out which bag to get. We carry a lot of bags rated 15-20º because this is a great range that can handle three seasons in most environments. Some will tell you that a 15º bag is suitable down to 0º. Either they happen to sleep warm, or the manufacturers are conservative in their ratings. We advise that you trust the rating based on your own metabolism and sleep habits. Currently, Marmot uses EN Testing to test, establish and rate the performance of a sleeping bag. Read more here. It's pretty interesting!
Find bags by temp rating (F°): 0° ‌ 15° ‌ 20° ‌ 30°
Weight and Packability Most of the bags we sell are geared toward the weight-savvy traveler, whether you'll be car-camping or backpacking. If you're car-camping, you don't mind if a bag's on the heavy side (we're still talking less than 4lb, though). Sometimes that means you can have a bit more insulation if that's what you want. But if you'll be strapping a bag onto your pack, weight and packability play as much of a factor as insulation. You want to find a balance so that you're not sacrificing comfort or convenience. Generally, a higher rated bag is going to be lighter than a lower rated bag because the higher rated bag doesn't require as much filling to keep you warm. Such is the case with The North Face Blue Kazoo (600-fill down, 20°) at 2lb 15oz and the Marmot Never Summer (600-fill, 0 °) at 4 lb. A safe 3-season bag is often rated 15-20º to handle potentially chilly nights in places like Crested Butte or Moab where the temperature can drop much lower than the day is warm. Light bags in this category include the Big Agnes Lost Ranger at 2.625 lb (600-fill, 15°) and corresponding women's Ethel at 2.75 lb., the Mountain Hardwear Phantom at 1.94 lb (800-fill, 15°), and The North Face Blue Kazoo (600-fill, 20°) at 2lb 15oz. Women Specific Most manufacturers understand that women and men sleep differently. Men generally sleep warmer than women, and women generally lose more heat than men. Women-specific bags these days account for these differences by putting more loft in certain spots like the footbox and the upper torso. Although they're relatively narrower and shorter, they have a bit more girth in the hips. Even if the difference is only 2-3", that can impact a woman who's only 5'2". The Marmot Angel Fire (15°F) and Teton (0°F) are popular choices, especially with the extras that Marmot builds in its bags. Mountain Hardwear offers the Women's Clouds Rest. And the new spring 08 Big Agnes Ethel.
Other Factors
Sleeping bags have come so far in recent years. It's almost like bringing the comforts of your own bed out on the trail. They seem to have everything except the space of your king-sized bed. (Although, if you're a roller, you could have the whole forest floor on which to move…) Among the array of extras you can get, some that rank high on our list are 2-way zippers for ventilation at the feet, draft collars, face muffs, and/or head gasket to keep warmth in the bag, draft tubes down the zipper, and locking zippers. Other features like pillow pockets, stash pockets, and price can also factor into your decision. Rank them on your wish-list as you desire. Our Sleeping Bag Chart will sort a few of these items for you. Rest assured all the bags we carry are intended to ensure a good night's sleep. All of them, except for the warm-weather bags (generally rated at 35° and higher), have some sort of face muff or head gasket to keep your head nestled which can be cinched closer to your face to keep drafts out. Some have an internal draft collar above your shoulders for further warmth. And almost all perforamnce bags have a comfort or contoured footbox that lets your feet lay in a natural position without the bag squishing down on your feet. Unique to Big Agnes is an integrated sleeping pad 'envelope' into which you slip your pad so you don't roll off of it in the middle of the night. They can accomodate any manufacturer's pad so long as you have the properly sized and shaped pad to match your bag. And since the insulation and thermal regulating powers of your pad should keep you warm or temperate beneath you, Big Agnes removes the insulation from the bottom of your bag and either eliminates it to reduce to the weight, or redistributes it to give you more insulation throughout. One staffer owns the Storm King and can testify to the fact that this system works. The list of features can go on. The key is to take a look at the features in the bags you're looking at, and determine their importance to your camping life.
Finally Deciding
We think the first thing you should decide is which kind of insulation you want. From there, the weight might be the second-most important factor. At some point, price might help make your decision, and some manufacturers are certainly less expensive than others but are no less worth their weight (or lack thereof!) in quality. On the other hand, some people have their favorite manufacturers and stick with nothing other than that one brand. That's often a matter of experience with prior product happiness. It's never a bad idea to talk to your friends and find out what kind of bag they have. Our Sleeping Bag Chart shows the bags we carry with a few pertinent pieces of info, like temperature rating, insulation, weight, and shell material. Most of the ones we have in stock have right-side zippers, except the Marmot Wasatch with a left-side zipper. We can easily get Big Agnes bags with a left zipper. And if you want a any other bag with a zipper on the other side, let us know. We can special-order it for you, if the manufacturer has it in stock. When it comes down to deciding, we'd be happy to help you figure it out. Call us toll-free at 800-847-0244 or drop us an email.
Down Bags	Synthetic Bags	Hybrid Bags	Kid's Bags
©1998-2007 by The Alpineer, Inc.