![]() Roomier bags can feel more comfortable to sleep in, but they also add bulk and leave more air spaces where cold spots can form. But if you’re a stomach or side sleeper, mummy bags can be a lot more challenging. If you’re the type of person who never moves while you sleep, almost any mummy sleeping bag will be comfortable for you. They also have draft collars and cinch down so that just a portion of your face is exposed to the cold air. The best hoods are oversized to completely cover your head and give you room to move around. Hood DesignĪ well-fitting hood is especially important for winter camping because you can have a surprising amount of body heat loss through your head. It’s also really difficult to dry down out once it gets wet. Any snow that gets on your bag will melt from body heat, and down loses its insulating properties once it gets wet. However, it’s still important to have a water-resistant coating or waterproof shell around your sleeping bag in snowy conditions. The air is dry, and precipitation is more likely to fall as snow than rain in cold conditions. You usually don’t have to worry too much about wet weather in winter. Synthetic insulation simply can’t match the warmth ratio of down, so synthetic sleeping bags end up weighing 5 lbs or more to reach a 0☏ limit rating. Note that none of the bags I reviewed use synthetic insulation. Any 0☏ sleeping bag that weighs under 3 lbs is doing a decent job of balancing these factors, in my opinion. So there’s a trade-off to be made between warmth, weight, and cost. Of course, higher-fill down is also more expensive. This is why 900-fill down sleeping bags tend to be lighter weight than 800-fill sleeping bags with the same temperature rating. As a result, manufacturers can use less down and save weight. When comparing down bags, a higher fill rating means you’re getting down with better insulating properties. The difference between sleeping bags with the same warmth rating lies in the material they’re filled with. ![]() 20☏ bags can work in the winter in mild climates like the Pacific Northwest if you’re a warm sleeper, but you may still want to add a sleeping bag liner. I’ll get into that more in a moment, but as a rule of thumb, the ideal winter sleeping bag is rated to 0☏-or colder if you’re a cold sleeper. The temperature rating that manufacturers give their bags is a good place to start comparing sleeping bags, but don’t take these ratings as indisputable truth. Here’s what I look at when evaluating bags. How to Choose a Sleeping Bag for Winter CampingĬhoosing the best winter sleeping bag is about more than just temperature rating. Companies like NEMO, RAB, and Western Mountaineering have all demonstrated that they can make really impressive sleeping bags, too. Mountain Hardwear isn’t far behind, and offers some value bags for more cost-conscious adventurers. As a result, the world of high-performance sleeping bags is dominated by just a handful of companies even though dozens of different companies make down jackets.įeathered Friends has a reputation for making some of the best down sleeping bags in the US. Sleeping bags might seem simple-after all, they’re basically cylinders of down-but there’s a lot of craft that goes into designing top-of-the-line bags. There’s no single best sleeping bag for every cold night out, so my goal is to help you choose the bag that’s best for your adventures and your sleep system. In addition, choosing the right sleeping bag requires thinking about your entire sleeping system, including your down jacket, sleeping bag liner, and sleeping pad. ![]() Weight, compressibility, and water resistance are also critically important. What I’ve learned is that there’s a lot more to choosing the best winter sleeping bag than just temperature rating. However, that also makes it more tempting to get out climbing in the winter-so I’ve spent a number of nights out in the cold. One of the nice things about the Pacific Northwest is that it rarely drops below 0☏ in the mountains, even in the depth of winter. In this guide, I’ll review 8 of the best sleeping bags for winter camping. Sleeping bags for winter backpacking and climbing need to be insulated enough to keep you warm through even the most frigid alpine nights. ![]() But multi-day backcountry trips in the winter can go from fun to miserable quickly if you don’t have the right sleeping bag for the job. Winter can be the best season to climb some peaks, and it’s certainly the best time to head into the mountains if your goal is to ski great powder. ![]()
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