Summer bags have lower limits around 40 degrees and offer the least room for error, but keep weight low for warm-weather use at low elevations. Within this category, a model like the 0-degree Feathered Friends Snowbunting EX is a good choice, and there are a number of options from climbing-centric companies like Western Mountaineering and Montbell that are rated down to degrees Fahrenheit and lower.

Down vs. Synthetic Insulation The down vs. Midlayers, camping bags , and even sleeping pads are all insulated with these fill types. For a certain piece of gear or apparel, one has the leg up on the other, and for backpacking sleeping bags, we still give the clear edge to down fill.

There are a few major reasons for that, including the best warmth-to-weight ratio, far better packability i. Down does vary in quality, which is measured in fill power covered below , but even a mid-grade down fill is the superior insulator. So why consider synthetic?

The most common reason for most is price. In addition, synthetic performs far better than down in wet weather. For an even more in-depth explanation of this topic, see our article on down vs. Down Quality: Fill Power If you decide down is going to be your insulation of choice, one of the first specs to look at is the quality of a specific down, known as its fill power.

Generally, the higher the fill power, the more expensive the sleeping bag. The lower the fill power, the more it must weigh to provide similar levels of warmth. Down and Synthetic Fill Weight Fill weight is the actual amount of insulation stuffed into a sleeping bag.

Cut does matter here: a bag with a slender cut may have less insulation than a bag with a roomy cut despite providing similar or even more warmth. And it's a good visual for how much more insulation is required for a synthetic bag to compete with down. For comparison, the Nemo Forte requires 6 additional ounces to achieve approximately the same temperature rating as the down-filled Disco.

Down feathers lose much of their ability to insulate when wet, so manufacturers have taken strides to provide built-in protection in the form of hydrophobic down and water-resistant shell fabrics. In the case of hydrophobic down, the feathers are coated with a polymer that protects them from moisture and keeps them from clumping.

Some sleeping bags also employ water-resistant shell fabrics in order to keep moisture at bay. The goal of this combination is to bead up moisture and roll it off rather than allowing it to soak through to the down feathers beneath. Along with your backpacking tent, your sleeping bag is one the heaviest and bulkiest items in your pack. The models here run the gamut from just 12 ounces for the ultralight Sea to Summit Spark 40 , to 2 pounds 11 ounces for the roomy and warm Nemo Disco 15 which uses heavy fill down.

As is the case with virtually all categories of outdoor gear, ultralight products tend to be among the priciest on the market. In general, higher-end down bags like the Feathered Friends Tanager and Western Mountaineering Flylite will be the most compressible due to the loft of the down and use of thinner shell fabrics. Lower fill-power down and synthetic bags will be the least compressible options. Other indicators include the cut of the bag—a tapered cut will trim fabric and stuffed size—as well as the temperature rating warmer bags have more insulation.

Summer bags can get away with using less insulation and will be highly compressible as a result. To take full advantage of the small stuffed size potential of your sleeping bag, consider picking up a compression sack one of our favorites due to its waterproof construction is the Sea to Summit eVent Compression Dry Sack. For sleeping bags, durability is commonly measured by the denier D of the shell fabric, which represents its thickness, and the higher the number the thicker the thread.

At the ultralight end of the spectrum, the Feathered Friends Tanager 20 uses an incredibly thin 7D x 5D fabric, which you literally can see the feathers through. On the other hand, most 3-season sleeping bags fall somewhere in the 10D to 30D range. Your bag goes from storage, to the bottom of your pack, directly into your tent. In addition to considerations like warmth and down fill, the cut of a sleeping bag is a very important piece to analyze. The three most common points of measurement for sleeping bags are the girth i.

Many ultralight sleeping bags save weight by tapering the cut for less fabric and down. If you toss and turn at night or just prefer more space, make sure to consider a roomier bag the spoon-shaped Nemo Disco 15 is a great example.

The downsides are that these bags can feel draftier and may not retain heat quite as well, and often weigh more because more fabric and insulation are required to fill the larger surface area.

The good news is that many manufacturers make the same bag in varying widths. The Western Mountaineering Alpinlite is the wider version of the UltraLite, for example, and the Feathered Friends Swallow and Swift expand on the dimensions of our top-ranked Hummingbird. In terms of length, most sleeping bags come in two or three lengths that are meant to fit men and women of varying heights.

Keep in mind that larger sizes do cost and weigh more and have a larger packed size. Further, the bags will have a little more insulation often in targeted areas and are often advertised with their comfort rating rather than their lower limit. Once you purchase your bag, there are a few things to keep in mind in order to maximize warmth. R-values range from 1. Next up, eliminating drafts can go a long way—on a cold night, make sure your zipper is closed all the way and cinch the draft collar and hood close to your neck and face.

Quilts feature enclosed or cinchable footboxes, connect to your sleeping pad via included straps, and cinch around the neck to provide wrap-around and hopefully draft-free protection.

The sleeping bag vs. All in all, most recreational backpackers will prefer the coziness and simplicity of a lightweight mummy bag, but quilts are a viable option and especially great for warm nights.

Photo Credit. Best Overall Sleeping Bag 1. See the Western Mountaineering UltraLite See the Marmot Hydrogen 30 A second issue is where the down itself comes from. Down is a byproduct of poultry production, and farm conditions and plucking can be inhumane. The North Face, Allied Down, and others have worked to create ethical down standards and ways of tracking the feathers. Look for the Responsible Down Standard and other certifications when shopping. These are bags containing a mix of down and synthetic insulation, and they come in two forms.

The simplest option places down in one part of the bag and synthetic in another. Usually, this means synthetic insulation on the bottom of the bag, because it tends to insulate better when compressed, and down on top.

More recently, companies have played around with mixing down and synthetic fibers throughout the bag. Ideally, hybrids offer the durability of synthetic but the feel and compressibility of down. Picking the right temperature is the most important decision in the sleeping-bag buying process, and the hardest because temperature is so personal. Many manufacturers use an independent temperature-testing protocol called EN, or European Norm.

Theoretically, the process allows for apples-to-apples comparisons regardless of construction and insulation; two 10 degree EN-rated bags should feel equally warm.

Figuring out how those ratings work for you is really possible only through trial and error. Everything from your sleeping pad to what you ate for dinner, humidity, and wind will all affect how warm you feel. For three-season use and summer in the mountains, I suggest a rating between 15 and 30 degrees. For summer only, or traveling, bags in the todegree range should work. For shoulder season in the mountains and light winter, 0 to 15 degrees should do the trick.

And because women often sleep colder than men, they may want to modify those recommendations by about 10 degrees. Sleeping bags come in various shapes: boxy rectangles, tapered mummies, hourglass hybrids, duvet blankets, and a whole spectrum in between.

More-fitted sleeping bags, usually called mummy bags, are lighter, pack smaller, and feel warmer, but they offer less wiggle room. Various hybrid styles look to find a middle ground between the two. Insulation will play a significant factor in its weight: high-quality down is a lot lighter than low-quality synthetic fibers. Take two sleeping bags with the same temperature rating, and the less expensive one is almost always going to be bigger and bulkier.

But both will still keep you warm at night. The most obvious sleeping-bag feature is the side zip. Full-length zippers are the standard, while lightweight bags might go with a half zip or even no zip at all.

Deluxe bags might add an extra zip across the footbox, which is nice if you get sweaty feet. Sticky zippers suck. Even in summer, a hood can save you if temps drop. Other features—draft collars along zippers and hoods, pillow pockets, glow-in-the-dark zipper pulls, miscellaneous pockets—can be great, but most add weight. But with the myriad choices out there, how do you tell them apart, beyond temperature rating and price? This article will explain how to evaluate the key differences between bags to make your choice much more simple.

Ridiculously warm is more tolerable. Please share them in the comments section at the bottom of this story. I try to respond to all comments. Click here to sign up for my FREE email newsletter. Click here to learn how I can help you plan your next trip. Please follow my adventures on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , and Youtube. Do you get cold easily or are you a furnace?

Women tend to get cold more easily, and this is a simple function of physics: Women often have a higher ratio of body surface area to mass compared to men, so their bodies lose heat more readily. However, it also comes down to body metabolism. Down has traditionally been lighter, more packable, and warmer than many synthetic insulations; but once wet, synthetics still kept you fairly warm, while down feathers become all but useless at retaining heat.

Today, the lines between down and synthetic have been blurred somewhat with the development of high-quality, lightweight and compact synthetic insulations like PrimaLoft, and water-resistant down, which retains its ability to trap heat even when wet. Still, even water-resistant down, once saturated, loses much of its ability to keep you warm, and drying out any bag is extremely difficult, if not impossible, in prolonged, wet weather.

Synthetic insulation remains the best choice for extended trips in wet environments. High-quality down rated from to fill or higher is the warmest, lightest, most packable insulation out there, but expensive, while lower-quality down usually to fill still has the advantages of down and makes a bag less expensive but also heavier and bulkier. So the down vs.

In the past, bag manufacturers decided on temperature ratings for their own bags; the outdoor industry lacked a standardized method for measuring that. In recent years, though, the industry widely adopted the EN European Norm temperature rating system, internationally considered the most reliable and objective standard.

See all of my reviews of sleeping bags and air mattresses and sleeping pads that I like at The Big Outside. I toss and turn during the night and am also a side sleeper. Look for a synthetic bag with higher-quality insulation, like PrimaLoft, which is more packable.

Check out all of my reviews of sleeping bags and air mattresses. Thank you for your reply! I was specifically looking at a the Mountain Hardwear Bishop Pass, but might still go with the degree version since it only has down fill and a better draft collar and might be good for shoulder seasons when there are less crowds , but the degree is certainly smaller and lighter….

Hi, I enjoyed your article about sleeping bags. Would you recommend a 15 or 30 degree F rated bag for 3-season camping mostly in California?

I thought warmer better just in case and can always unzip but then have been told it may be better to get a 30 F bag and can use a liner for added warmth. So I had bought a bag that was often too warm, heavier and bulkier than a degree bag, and probably cost me more. Quilts are a lightweight backcountry option generally designed to be paired with a sleeping pad. Synthetic sleeping bags are usually insulated with polyester. Also, polyester is usually derived from petroleum, although recycled polyester is now being made from plastic bottles and other recycled plastics for more sustainable options.

Synthetic sleeping bags are a good option for those that live a vegan lifestyle because natural down is produced from geese or ducks. The primary downside to down is that it loses its insulation power when it gets wet. However, many down sleeping bags are now coated with a water-repellent finish that will keep you warm and dry in damp conditions. Otherwise, down sleeping bags are a lightweight, warm, and packable choice for backpacking.

These standards ensure that the down and feathers used in these products came from animals that were treated well, and were not force-fed or live-plucked.

Having a hood on your sleeping bag can make or break your sleeping comfort. It can mean the difference between being freezing at night or toasty warm. And, that defeats the purpose of the sleeping bag. So, opt for a bag with a hood if you want to be warm and comfortable.

Most mummy bags and semi-rectangular bags come with a hood anyway. Some bags come with pockets that you can stuff with clothes to create a pillow. Others come with stash pockets to keep your glasses, a watch, headlamp, or cell phone nearby. Share your comments and questions below. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links which means if you make a purchase, we receive a small commission at no cost to you.

Any purchases you make help keep this blog going and our content free. We truly appreciate your support! Hey there! My name is Kristen, and this is my outdoor blog.