A superb sleeping bag is without doubt one of the finest investments you may make as an outside fanatic. Packability, heat, weight, and flexibility are all vital components to think about when shopping for the most effective sleeping bag for backpacking, and there’s loads to select from. From know-how to new materials, a fast Google search would possibly depart you with a dizzying quantity of choices, so we determined to do among the be just right for you.
On this weblog put up, we checklist the most effective sleeping luggage for backpacking, plus data on how to decide on a backpacking sleeping bag. They’re among the hottest available on the market as a result of they adhere to the requirements of heat, weight, and luxury.
Why belief us? The Bearfoot Group has greater than 20 years of collective mountaineering and tenting expertise and have backpacked in distant areas of Alaska, the John Muir Path, South America, and extra. We’ve tried dozens of sleeping luggage and are all the time staying on prime of the newest tendencies and developments in tenting gear and tools.
Greatest Backpacking Sleeping Luggage at a Look
Backpacking Sleeping Luggage Comparability Desk
See the comparability desk under for a fast abstract of every of the highest sleeping luggage for backpacking. You may click on on the columns to type by what’s most vital to you.
Nemo Disco 30
Most Snug Sleeping Bag for Facet Sleepers
Key Options
The place to buy
- Nice for: facet and abdomen sleepers, individuals who toss & flip, 3-season backpacking
- What we like: gives most consolation, roomy to maneuver round, pillow pocket, foot field is manufactured from waterproof supplies which is useful in defending the bag towards tent condensation
- What we don’t like: doesn’t compress down tremendous properly, roomy luggage take longer to heat up, loose-fitting stuff sack
The NEMO Disco 30 is without doubt one of the hottest backpacking sleeping luggage available on the market with its distinctive Basic Spoon™ form, which gives additional help on the elbows and knees so facet sleepers can shift positions comfortably. This bag has Thermo Gills™ know-how which vents physique warmth to assist regulate temperature with out letting chilly drafts in.
It can be zipped along with one other NEMO bag (one proper zip and one left zip bag will zip collectively), making a two-person cocoon. You could find the boys’s model right here.
REI Co-op Magma 15 Sleeping Bag
Greatest All Round Sleeping Bag
Key Options
The place to buy
- Nice for: 3-season backpacking, again sleepers
- What we like: nice worth purchase for consolation, weight & value, strong warmth-to-weight ratio
- What we don’t like: cosy, slim bag match (particularly the foot field)
This is without doubt one of the finest light-weight sleeping luggage for backpacking on actually chilly nights. The REI Magma 15 has a trapezoidal footbox designed to maintain your toes additional heat. It additionally has an anti-snag zipper so that you don’t have to fret about middle-of-the-night zipper snafus and a contoured hood so it suits cosy to retain heat round your head and neck. For the worth, high quality, and seasonality, this is without doubt one of the finest backpacking sleeping luggage you should purchase. You could find the boys’s model right here.
Sea to Summit Spark
Greatest Ultralight Mummy Sleeping Bag
Key Options
The place to buy
- Nice for: ultralight backpacking, 1-4 season backpacking
- What we like: most light-weight bag on our checklist, obtainable in a number of temperature scores to suit your wants, extremely compressible
- What we don’t like: doesn’t match properly within the included compression sack
The Sea to Summit Spark is the most effective sleeping bag choice available on the market for ultralight backpacking. With most Spark luggage weighing properly beneath 1lb (lower than some sleeping pads!) and packing all the way down to the dimensions of a soccer, it’s excellent for saving a ton of weight and house in your backpack.
BFT’s Director Linda makes use of the ladies’s model of the Spark (Sea to Summit Flame 25F) and it’s by far the lightest and warmest backpacking sleeping bag she’s ever used. Each the Spark and Flame are available a wide range of temperature scores, so you may resolve which most closely fits your wants.
What units the Ember/Spark other than a conventional down sleeping bag is that they use a water-repellent therapy on the material which protects the down from exterior moisture and condensation. Anybody whose ever handled a moist down bag is aware of that it’s not enjoyable (and might shorten the lifespan of the bag), so this additional safety is an added bonus.
Should you want a quilt over a mummy bag, the Sea to Summit Ember is the quilt model of the Spark, made out of the identical high-quality supplies and baffling system. BFT Group Member Courtney makes use of the Ember on backpacking journeys and as a facet sleeper who tosses and turns typically, she prefers the quilt vs. a full-zip sleeping bag with extra freedom of movement.
Store Sea to Summit Ember at:
Enlightened Gear Revelation Quilt
Greatest Backpacking Quilt
Key Options
The place to buy
- Nice for: ultralight backpacking, 3-season backpacking, individuals who transfer round loads whereas sleeping or don’t wish to really feel constricted in a sleeping bag
- What we like: one of many lightest luggage on our checklist, customizable, extremely compressible, can simply be used as a blanket across the fireplace
- What we don’t like: requires a correct sleeping pad for max heat, customized orders can take some time to ship
Should you’ve ever thought of ditching the sleeping bag for a quilt, Enlightened Gear’s Revelation quilt is the one to make use of. This quilt is ideal for backpackers – ultralight and ultra-versatile, and it may be custom-made to your peak, desired fill weight, and temperature score. For heat nights, you may merely lay it out as a blanket and on colder nights, you may cinch the adjustable footbed and neck collar closed. This design is ideal for thru-hikers and anybody who desires a bag that can be utilized in varied temperatures and climates. The quilt comes with a set of elastic straps that will let you connect the quilt to your sleeping pad to get rid of drafts and stop it from shifting round through the night time.
Together with the opposite benefits, this quilt weighs properly beneath 2 kilos (relying on temperature and fill), making it perfect for ultralight backpackers. I’ve been utilizing Enlightened Gear 2-Man Confederate Quilt and I adore it. Should you’re trying to snuggle up together with your associate, take a look at our roundup of the most effective 2-person sleeping luggage.
The draw back of the Enlightened Gear Quilts is that they don’t have a hood, a design meant to shave weight. You may both put on a beanie to mattress or Enlightened Gear additionally sells a separate Torrid Hood that solely weighs 2 or 4 ounces relying on fill.
Marmot Trestles Elite Eco 20 Sleeping Bag
Greatest Artificial Backpacking Sleeping Bag
Key Options
The place to buy
- Nice for: 3-season backpacking, vegans, moist climate tenting, newbie backpackers
- What we like: budget-friendly, holds up higher than down in moist climate
- What we don’t like: one of many heaviest and least compressible sleeping luggage on our checklist
The Marmot Trestles Elite Eco 20 Sleeping Bag is a good 3-season bag that provides all-synthetic building that may preserve you heat even in moist tenting situations.
This bag is made out of recycled supplies, making it a sustainable alternative for environmentally-conscious campers. Moreover, the bag incorporates a distinctive wave building that helps to get rid of chilly spots and gives glorious insulation.
Nevertheless, one potential draw back of artificial insulation is that it’s typically heavier and bulkier than down insulation making it much less perfect for these trying to reduce their pack weight.
Moreover, some customers have reported that the bag’s zipper may be tough to make use of, which may be irritating when making an attempt to get out and in of the bag. Regardless of these minor drawbacks, this bag stays an ideal alternative for anybody searching for a sustainable and dependable artificial sleeping bag.
Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0F
Greatest Sleeping Bag for Sub-Freezing Temps
Key Options
The place to buy
- Nice for: winter backpacking, chilly climate journeys, individuals who run chilly at night time
- What we like: warmest bag on our checklist, pretty compact for the way heat it’s
- What we don’t like: costly funding, bag is sort of slim
The Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0F Down Sleeping Bag is our alternative for winter backpacking as a consequence of its high-quality insulation and environment friendly design. With a temperature score of 0F, this sleeping bag is particularly designed to maintain you toasty heat in chilly winter situations.
The bag is full of high-loft down that gives glorious insulation, whereas the light-weight and compressible design makes it simple to pack and carry. Moreover, the bag incorporates a draft collar and hood that assist to lure warmth inside and preserve you comfy all through the night time.
For temperatures all the way down to 0 levels, you may’t discover a sleeping bag higher than this one. It could be on the prime of your value bracket at round $650, understandably. However, with correct care, this sleeping bag ought to final you a really, very very long time.
Kelty Cosmic 20
Greatest Funds Down Sleeping Bag
Key Options
The place to buy
- Nice for: 3-season backpacking, newbie backpackers
- What we like: nice worth for value, tremendous comfy and heat
- What we don’t like: delicate within the washer, not as compressible as different luggage
For lower than $210, the Kelty Cosmic 20 Sleeping Bag has received many awards for being an all-around good-quality sleeping bag. Made with hydrophobic down, it’s light-weight however it is not going to carry out as properly in moist climate. Obtainable in 0° and 20°, it’s probably the greatest sleeping luggage for backpacking in its value vary and an ideal choice for brand new backpackers trying to get into the game. It’s additionally obtainable in a males’s model.
Learn how to Select a Backpacking Sleeping Bag
Choosing out a brand new backpacking sleeping bag for any outside journey may be tremendous overwhelming. There are such a lot of selections and so many options to think about, to not point out the worth tag. So, we’ve put collectively this straightforward information on how to decide on a backpacking sleeping bag in your subsequent nice journey. Hopefully, this makes your gear-buying course of simpler.
Sleeping Bag Temperature Ranking
The sleeping bag temperature score is the primary place to begin when choosing out a brand new backpacking sleeping bag. Take into consideration when and the place you propose to make use of it probably the most.
Sleeping luggage may be damaged down into three easy classes: summer time, 3-season, and winter primarily based on the temperature scores proven within the desk under.
Most individuals will probably be proud of a 3-season bag, which is able to preserve you comfy a lot of the yr. Keep in mind you may all the time zip down the bag for a summer time tenting journey or add a sleeping bag liner to your bag for an occasional winter tenting journey. Most 3-season backpacking luggage will checklist a European Norm (EN) testing score with two temperature scores often known as the “consolation score” and the “lower-limit score”. EU scores are standardized score programs that preserve temperature scores constant throughout manufacturers.
Consolation score is the bottom temperature at which the bag will preserve the typical girl or “chilly sleeper” comfy. Decrease-limit score is the bottom temperature at which the bag will preserve a person or “heat sleeper” comfy. Girls are likely to run colder and for ladies’s sleeping bag scores that’s typically taken into consideration. Notice that EN scores are primarily based on a sleeper carrying one lengthy underwear layer and a hat, and sleeping on a single one-inch thick insulating pad.
The quantity listed with most sleeping luggage (instance: Nemo Disco 30) is the EN Decrease Restrict which is often 10-15 levels decrease than the EN Consolation Ranking. So, for most individuals, the Nemo Disco 30 could be comfy in 40F sleeping temperatures.
Sleeping Bag Form
Whereas the sleeping bag form may not appear vital, it’s for two large causes:
First, sleeping luggage preserve you heat by trapping air and holding it in a layer subsequent to your physique. Your physique heats up this layer of trapped air to maintain you heat. The much less air house there’s within the bag, the quicker you heat up and keep heat! Choosing a bag primarily based in your physique dimension and form is vital for effectivity and heat. Roomier sleeping luggage will typically be heavier as properly, however they are going to be extra comfy for side-sleepers.
We advocate choosing a semi-rectangular bag or mummy bag which is flexible and might work for backpacking in addition to automotive tenting. Semi-rectangular luggage are good for backpackers with bigger frames or those that don’t just like the constrictive feeling of a mummy bag.
To Quilt or To not Quilt?
Some light-weight backpackers received’t even entertain the concept of a sleeping bag, and as a substitute, go for a tenting quilt. Quilts are a light-weight backcountry choice usually designed to be paired with a sleeping pad. It’s mainly a blanket with a foot field that may preserve you heat with none pointless insulation or weight. Quilts supply a greater warmth-to-weight ratio since they minimize out materials that’s usually compressed beneath your physique in a conventional mummy bag.
Nevertheless, quilts are extra drafty than mummy luggage, so in chilly or windy situations we’d go for a mummy bag. Make sure you take a look at Enlightened Gear for those who’re inquisitive about going ultralight with a sleeping quilt.
Artificial vs. Down Sleeping Bag Insulation
Since switching to a plant-based weight-reduction plan and eliminating all animal merchandise from my weight-reduction plan, I’ve additionally questioned whether or not or to not swap out my outside gear made out of animals – one of many greatest culprits being down (feathers). I’ve outlined the important thing variations and professionals/cons under, however you may deep dive into the ethics of shopping for/utilizing down on this weblog put up that will help you perceive the ethics and sustainability behind down feathers.
Artificial Backpacking Sleeping Luggage
Artificial sleeping luggage are often insulated with polyester. Artificial luggage are quick-drying and nonetheless maintain as much as their insulation energy even when damp or moist. Typically, they’re cheaper than down, and so they’re non-allergenic. One of many downsides of artificial luggage is that they don’t compress as small as down sleeping luggage, and so they are usually heavier than down (however that’s not all the time the case as know-how improves). Additionally, polyester is often derived from petroleum, though recycled polyester is now being made out of plastic bottles and different recycled plastics for extra sustainable choices.
Down Backpacking Sleeping Luggage
The largest benefit of down over artificial sleeping luggage is that down luggage are usually lighter and compress smaller when packed away – key traits whenever you’re searching for the most effective backpacking sleeping bag. Usually down is dearer than artificial, and a few individuals say it’s extra sturdy, so it’s a long-lasting funding. The first draw back to down is that it loses its insulation energy when it will get moist. So, it’s most fitted to cool, dry situations. Nevertheless, many down sleeping luggage at the moment are coated with a water-repellent end that may preserve you heat and dry in damp situations. In any other case, down sleeping luggage are a light-weight, heat, and packable alternative for backpacking.
A lot of the notable outside gear corporations have instituted the Accountable Down Normal (RDS), or World Traceable Down Normal (TDS). These requirements make sure that the down and feathers utilized in these merchandise got here from animals that had been handled properly, and weren’t force-fed or live-plucked. All the down sleeping luggage listed below are licensed to the RDS or TDS.
Different Essential Backpacking Sleeping Bag Options
Sleeping Bag Hood
Having a hood in your sleeping bag could make or break your sleeping consolation. It might probably imply the distinction between being freezing at night time or toasty heat. As a result of the remainder of your physique is encapsulated in your mummy bag, your physique’s warmth would escape by way of the top with no hood. And, that defeats the aim of the sleeping bag. So, go for a bag with a hood if you wish to be heat and comfy. Most mummy luggage and semi-rectangular luggage include a hood anyway. Quilts sometimes don’t have a hood, however many corporations promote hoods as an add-on buy. Should you plan to backpack in heat environments all the time, it’s not as essential. However, it’s higher to be secure than sorry.
Pockets
Some luggage include pockets that you could stuff with garments to create a pillow. Others include stash pockets to maintain your glasses, a watch, headlamp, or cellular phone close by. Some luggage additionally include a pocket or sleeve designed to suit a sleeping pad so that you don’t roll off in the midst of the night time. The additional material would possibly add to the full weight of the bag, however it’s a matter of non-public desire and wishes.
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