Guide To Sleeping Bags

A suitable sleeping bag gives you more than just a good night’s sleep. It could go a long way to saving your life in any extreme or emergency situation. So, the big question then is how do you decide what’s suitable?

How’s it made?

When you’re choosing your sleeping bag, you want to take an especially careful look at just how it’s made. The better the quality, the tougher the way it’s put together, the more comfortable you’ll be with fewer bold spots where the insulation has dislodged itself and the cold is let in.

Superior quality sleeping bags filled with down have inbuilt baffles or dividers to keep the insulation where it’s needed and stops it from spreading out or clumping together in spots where you don’t want it.

Where the insulation is made from synthetic materials, these cheaper sleeping bags typically have a layer or two of insulating fabric sewn between the inner and outer covers of the bag.

The fill

So, you can see that a lot is going to depend on the type of insulating fill you choose – and that will be either natural down or synthetic material:

Down

• the plumage and material under the feathers of ducks and geese is known as down – and provides some of the best natural insulation known to man;

• goose down is typically both stronger and has a larger profile than duck down, so a sleeping bag with 100% goose down will give you better insulation and more comprehensive filling power;

• you can also squeeze and compress the bulk of a down-filled sleeping bag – so it more easily fits into your backpack;

• the main drawbacks are that down-filled sleeping bags lose their insulating qualities when wet – and they cost a pretty penny or two;

Synthetic

• the cost is perhaps the main reason why you’d choose a synthetic filling – these sleeping bags tend to be a good bit cheaper;

• better quality synthetic-filled sleeping bags usually do a better job of repelling water – so may be more suitable for Britain’s damp and soggy conditions;

• the main drawback is that they tend to be heavier and bulkier than down-filled sleeping bags.

How snug is snug?

The snug test can prove tricky for preppers – because you’ll never know, of course, when disaster or an emergency may strike.

So, it could prove confusing when you’re faced with a choice of sleeping bags typically classified according to the season for which they are best suited – those for spring, summer, and autumn use, of course, will be lighter to carry and less cumbersome than those for winter, and any below-zero temperatures for which they are designed.

Another way of assessing how snug and warm your sleeping bag is likely to keep you is to look for and understand the EN/ISO rating (its compliance with international standards) that reputable manufacturers will use.

When applied to sleeping bags, these standards range from:

• “warm” – a temperature which the average female is likely to consider warm enough for comfortable sleep;

• “comfort limit” – which the average male is likely to find warm enough; and

• “extreme” – which offers a degree of protection from the cold, but which is likely to leave you enduring an uncomfortable night.

Sleeping bag reviews

Rab Ascent 500 XL Sleeping Bag

• the Rab Ascent 500 XL Sleeping Bag is the ideal companion – and potential life-saver – for any conditions you are likely to encounter in the British Isles;

• it has a unique water repellent finish and the internal box construction features baffles that keep the insulating material smoothly over the entire sleeping bag;

• the filling meets a recognised standard of 650 fill hydrophobic Responsible Down Standard (RDS) duck down (feathers from birds that have not suffered any unnecessary harm);

Vango Ultralite Pro 300 Sleeping Bag

• just as the name suggests, this offering from Vango weighs in at a very lightweight total of just 1350g – yet still retaining an impressive warmth to weight ratio;

• that warmth to weight ratio is maintained by using 4T synthetic insulation which is an innovative synthetic insulation fibre specifically developed by Vango and traps air inside the patented channel structure of the sleeping bag;

• its so-called Thermal Embrace System wraps around the user’s body without restricting the freedom of movement;

Mountain Equipment Helium 250 Long Sleeping Bag

• another down-filled product, the Helium 250 Long Sleeping Bag has a generous 700 fill of Down Codex pure duck down – capable of withstanding extreme temperatures of -12ºC;

• just as the description suggests, it is a sleeping bag designed with the taller user in mind and has a durable water relent finish fashioned out of 20-denier 100% recycled Helium polyamide fabric.

Summary

A decent quality sleeping bag suitable for the terrain and temperatures you’re likely to encounter is capable of ensuring more than a good night’s sleep. When you are up against it and know that tomorrow is likely to bring still more arduous challenges, a good sleeping bag could be a life-saver.