There’s nothing that ruins a superb backpacking journey than being shivering chilly all night time lengthy. I’ve been there, and it’s completely no enjoyable in any respect.
An excellent sleeping bag is without doubt one of the finest investments you may make as an outside fanatic. Not solely will you be heat, however a sleeping bag designed for backpacking is packable and light-weight, saving you area and weight in your backpack.
Compressibility, temperature ranking, weight, and flexibility are all vital components to think about when shopping for one of the best sleeping bag for backpacking, and there’s rather a lot to select from. From expertise to new materials, a fast Google search may depart you with a dizzying quantity of choices, so I made a decision to do among the be just right for you.
On this weblog put up, I listing the 6 finest sleeping luggage for backpacking that my group and I’ve examined and researched through the years. These are among the hottest available on the market as a result of they adhere to the requirements of heat, weight, and luxury.
Why belief me? The Bearfoot Workforce has greater than twenty years of collective climbing and tenting expertise. I’ve backpacked in distant areas of Alaska, the John Muir Path, South America, and extra. Between my group and I, we’ve tried dozens of sleeping luggage and are at all times staying on high of the most recent tendencies and developments in tenting gear and tools.
Finest Backpacking Sleeping Luggage at a Look
REI Co-op Magma 15 Unisex Sleeping Bag
Finest All Round Backpacking Sleeping Bag
Key Options
The place to buy
- Nice for: 3-season backpacking, people who find themselves in between sizes or on the lookout for an ideal, customized match
- What we like: 9 sizes based mostly on peak and weight, snug for all positions, most sizes are very gentle and compressible, roomy but heat foot field
- What we don’t like: small stash pocket
New for 2024, the favored REI Magma sleeping bag has been fully redesigned. The earlier model got here in each a males’s and ladies’s bag, however so as to create extra inclusive sizing, the brand new REI Magma is unisex and is available in 9 completely different sizes, so you will get a totally customized match based mostly in your peak and width.
BFT Contributor Kaylin Zittergruen lately examined out the 15-degree REI Magma Sleeping Bag within the Medium measurement on a 3-night backpacking journey and beloved how snug and heat it was. She says, “I had the right quantity of room so I might roll onto my aspect and abdomen, with out having a lot area that the bag felt drafty.”
The 15 diploma model carried out properly when the low reached 20 levels at night time and Kaylin reported “I used to be toasty solely sporting a base layer high, leggings, and wool socks.” As well as, “It has an anti-snag zipper so I didn’t have to fret about middle-of-the-night zipper snafus.”
Lastly the compressed quantity ranges from 6 liters to 9.5 liters relying on the dimensions. The medium measurement packs down smaller than many well-liked 30-degree backpacking sleeping luggage. Even with no particular compression sack Kaylin mentioned “I packed the sleeping bag into the underside compartment of my 45-liter backpack and seen I had room to spare, making it simple to rapidly stuff the bag in and take it out of my pack.”
The total retail worth of the 15-degree Magma is $429 which center of the highway for sleeping luggage with comparable weight and temperature ranking. For the value, high quality, and seasonality, this is without doubt one of the finest backpacking sleeping luggage you should purchase.
Sea to Summit Spark
Finest Ultralight Backpacking Sleeping Bag
Key Options
The place to buy
- Nice for: ultralight 3-season backpacking
- What we like: most light-weight bag on our listing, obtainable in a number of temperature rankings to suit your wants, extremely compressible
- What we don’t like: doesn’t match properly within the included compression sack
The Sea to Summit Ladies’s Spark is one of the best sleeping bag possibility available on the market for ultralight backpacking. BFT Contributor Linda Romero says “it’s by far the lightest and warmest backpacking sleeping bag I’ve ever used.”
The Spark is available in a wide range of temperature rankings, so you may resolve which most closely fits your wants. The 45 diploma model is lower than 1lb (lower than some sleeping pads!). Linda says “it packed right down to the dimensions of a soccer in my backpack, saving a ton of weight and area for my different backpacking gear.”
Just like the Magma sleeping bag above, the Spark has 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 further safety is an added bonus.
For those who favor a quilt over a mummy bag, the Sea to Summit Ember is the quilt model of the Spark, constructed from the identical high-quality supplies and baffling system. BFT Contributor Courtney Stephenson makes use of the Ember on backpacking journeys and says, “as a aspect sleeper who tosses and turns usually, I prefers the quilt vs. a full-zip sleeping bag with extra freedom of movement.”
Enlightened Tools Revelation Quilt
Finest Backpacking Quilt
Key Options
The place to buy
- Nice for: ultralight backpacking, 3-season backpacking, individuals who transfer round rather a lot whereas sleeping or don’t need to really feel constricted in a sleeping bag
- What we like: one of many lightest luggage on our listing, customizable, extremely compressible, can simply be used as a blanket across the fireplace
- What we don’t like: requires a correct sleeping pad for optimum heat, customized orders can take some time to ship
For those who’ve ever thought of ditching the sleeping bag for a quilt, Enlightened Tools’s Revelation quilt is the one to make use of. That is my favourite “sleeping bag” I’ve ever used because it’s ultralight and ultra-versatile, and it may be custom-made to your peak, desired fill weight, and temperature ranking. Just like the REI Magma, the Revelation is available in a wide range of sizes, so you will get the right match relying in your peak and width.
On heat nights, I merely lay the quilt out as a blanket and on colder nights, I cinch the neck collar closed, clip the perimeters to my sleeping pad with the straps, and zip up the foot field. This design is ideal for thru-hikers and anybody who desires a bag that can be utilized in varied temperatures and climates.
I additionally discover it extraordinarily snug, and I really feel much less confined than I do in a standard mummy bag. 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, even the 0-degree extra-long and extra-wide measurement weighs properly beneath 2 kilos. The 20-degree common measurement weighs 16 ounces and compresses to 7 liters, making it superb for ultralight backpackers.
Ryan and I additionally use the Enlightened Tools 2-Man Confederate Quilt. I wasn’t so certain about sharing a quilt with Ryan, however we completely like it. It feels similar to you might be sharing a blanket on a mattress. Every individual is ready to modify their very own aspect, we will snuggle beneath it, and it’s lighter than many 1-person mummy luggage. For those who’re trying to snuggle up together with your accomplice, take a look at our roundup of one of the best 2-person sleeping luggage.
The factor I don’t like in regards to the Enlightened Tools Quilts is that they don’t have a hood, a design meant to shave weight. If it’s chilly, I both put on a beanie to mattress or Enlightened Tools additionally sells a separate Torrid Hood that solely weighs 2 or 4 ounces relying on fill. Additionally because you sleep instantly in your sleeping pad, I counsel sporting pants since I discover my sleeping pad to be a bit scratchy when it’s instantly touching my pores and skin.
Nemo Disco 30
Finest for Facet Sleepers
Key Options
The place to buy
- Nice for: aspect 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 fabricated from PFAS-free 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 for aspect sleepers due to the large lower on the elbows and knees. If you roll over in the course of the night time, it provides you loads of room to bend your legs and arms so that you don’t really feel constrained.
This bag has vents on the chest that you may open or shut so as to regulate your physique temperature with out having to unzip the aspect of the bag.
This new model of the DISCO comes with an “limitless promise” – that means it was designed to remain out of landfills. All the bag is recyclable (though I counsel repairing or donating in case you don’t want it anymore).
Individuals love that this bag will also be zipped along with one other NEMO bag (one proper zip and one left zip bag will zip collectively), making a two-person cocoon.
The factor I don’t like about this bag is it’s heavier than the opposite luggage on this listing. The Enlightened Tools quilt that I point out above can also be nice for aspect sleepers and rather a lot lighter. However in case you are a aspect sleeper set on a standard sleeping bag, this one is your ticket!
Marmot Trestles Elite Eco 20 Sleeping Bag
Finest 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 listing
The Marmot Trestles Elite Eco 20 Sleeping Bag is a superb 3-season bag that provides all-synthetic building that may preserve you heat even in moist tenting situations.
If you’re absolutely vegan and don’t use gear made with animal merchandise, this Marmot sleeping bag is without doubt one of the finest choices obtainable. It’s lighter than different artificial choices, and at $169, it’s additionally an excellent worth level.
This bag is constructed from recycled supplies, making it a sustainable selection for environmentally-conscious campers. Moreover, the bag includes a distinctive wave building that helps to get rid of chilly spots and gives glorious insulation.
My accomplice Ryan owns the lads’s model of this bag, and he finds it very snug. What he doesn’t love is how cumbersome it’s. He says “whereas budget-friendly, this bag takes up much more area in my backpack and is heavier than the down sleeping luggage I personal.”
Moreover, some customers have reported that the bag’s zipper could be troublesome to make use of, which could be irritating when making an attempt to get out and in of the bag. Regardless of these minor drawbacks, this bag stays an excellent selection for anybody on the lookout for a sustainable and dependable artificial, vegan-friendly sleeping bag.
Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0F
Finest 4-Season Sleeping Bag
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 listing, pretty compact for the way heat it’s
- What we don’t like: costly funding, bag is kind of slender
The Mountain Hardwear Phantom 0F Down Sleeping Bag is my selection for winter backpacking as a result of its high-quality insulation and environment friendly design. With a temperature ranking of 0F, this sleeping bag is particularly designed to maintain you toasty heat in chilly winter situations.
At 2 lbs, 6oz, it’s very gentle and compressible for a 0 diploma bag. The bag is stuffed with high-loft down that gives glorious insulation and remains to be simple to pack and carry. Moreover, the bag includes a draft collar and hood that assist to entice warmth inside and preserve you snug all through the night time.
For temperatures right down to 0 levels, you may’t discover a sleeping bag higher than this one. It could be on the high of your worth bracket at round $650, understandably. However, with correct care, this sleeping bag ought to final you a really, very very long time.
Learn how to Select a Backpacking Sleeping Bag
Choosing out a brand new backpacking sleeping bag for any outside journey could be tremendous overwhelming. There are such a lot of decisions and so many options to think about, to not point out the value tag. So, I’ve put collectively this straightforward information on how to decide on a backpacking sleeping bag to your subsequent nice journey. Hopefully, this makes your gear-buying course of simpler.
Sleeping Bag Temperature Ranking
The sleeping bag temperature ranking is the primary place to start out when selecting out a brand new backpacking sleeping bag. Take into consideration when and the place you intend to make use of it essentially the most.
Sleeping luggage could be damaged down into three easy classes: summer season, 3-season, and winter based mostly on the temperature rankings proven within the desk under.
If you’re shopping for your first backpacking sleeping bag, I like to recommend a 3-season bag which is able to preserve you snug for many of the 12 months. Keep in mind you may at all times zip down the bag for a summer season tenting journey or add a sleeping bag liner to your bag for an occasional winter tenting journey. Most 3-season backpacking luggage will listing two temperature rankings often called the “consolation ranking” and the “lower-limit ranking”.
Consolation ranking is the bottom temperature at which the bag will preserve the common girl or “chilly sleeper” snug. Decrease-limit ranking is the bottom temperature at which the bag will preserve a person or “heat sleeper” snug. Ladies are likely to run colder and for ladies’s sleeping bag rankings that’s usually taken into consideration. Notice that rankings are based mostly on a sleeper sporting 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 Decrease Restrict which is normally 10-15 levels decrease than the Consolation Ranking. So, for most individuals, the Nemo Disco 30 could be snug in 40F sleeping temperatures.
Sleeping Bag Form
Whereas the sleeping bag form won’t appear vital, it’s for two massive 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 area there’s within the bag, the quicker you heat up and keep heat! Choosing a bag based mostly in your physique measurement and form is vital for effectivity and heat. Roomier sleeping luggage will usually be heavier as properly, however they are going to be extra snug for side-sleepers.
I like to recommend 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 possibility 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 lower out materials that’s usually compressed beneath your physique in a standard mummy bag.
Nonetheless, quilts could be extra drafty than mummy luggage, so in actually chilly or windy situations we’d go for a mummy bag. Make sure you take a look at Enlightened Tools in case you’re involved in going ultralight with a sleeping quilt. That is the quilt I’ve been utilizing for years, and I’m undecided I’d ever return to a standard sleeping bag in the summertime months.
Artificial vs. Down Sleeping Bag Insulation
Since switching to a plant-based eating regimen and eliminating all animal merchandise from my eating regimen, I’ve additionally questioned whether or not or to not change out my outside gear constructed from animals – one of many largest culprits being down (feathers). I’ve outlined the important thing variations and execs/cons under, however you may deep dive into the ethics of shopping for/utilizing down on this weblog put up that can assist you perceive the ethics and sustainability behind down feathers.
Artificial Backpacking Sleeping Luggage
Artificial sleeping luggage are normally insulated with polyester. Artificial luggage are quick-drying and nonetheless maintain as much as their insulation energy even when damp or moist. Usually, they’re cheaper than down, they usually’re non-allergenic. One of many downsides of artificial luggage is that they don’t compress as small as down sleeping luggage, they usually are usually heavier than down (however that’s not at all times the case as expertise improves). Additionally, polyester is normally derived from petroleum, though recycled polyester is now being constructed from 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 if you’re on the lookout for a backpacking sleeping bag.
Typically 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. Nonetheless, many down sleeping luggage are actually 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 selection for backpacking.
Many of the notable outside gear corporations have instituted the Accountable Down Commonplace (RDS), or International Traceable Down Commonplace (TDS). These requirements be sure that the down and feathers utilized in these merchandise got here from animals that have been handled properly, and weren’t force-fed or live-plucked. The entire down sleeping luggage listed below are licensed to the RDS or TDS.
Incessantly Requested Questions
You must select a sleeping bag that’s going to heat sufficient within the number of climates you intend to backpack in. Usually for mountain backpacking, I’d counsel a 15-degree bag. Even in summer season, the temperatures within the mountains can attain freezing, so a 30-degree bag won’t be heat sufficient in case you expertise unhealthy climate.
It will depend on your priorities. If you’re on a finances and don’t thoughts carrying a bit of further weight, you may select an artificial sleeping bag. Artificial sleeping luggage additionally insulate higher in the event that they occur to get moist, though this can be a scenario that you must keep away from in any respect prices. If you’re on the lookout for a sleeping bag that’s light-weight and can compress properly, you must select a down sleeping bag. For these causes, down is the preferred kind of sleeping bag for backpacking.
You must anticipate to pay someplace round $300-450 for a sleeping bag that has a temperature ranking of 15 levels, weighs beneath 3 kilos, and compresses properly so it doesn’t take up quite a lot of room in your pack. Sleeping luggage with greater temperature rankings (equivalent to 45 levels) will price much less just because they require much less insulation and supplies to provide. The lighter the sleeping bag is for a given temperature ranking, essentially the most it’ll price.
It’s hotter to put on garments in aspect your sleeping bag than to not put on garments. If you’re trying so as to add heat, you must put on lengthy johns fabricated from wool or synethic supplies and thick wool socks. If you’re nonetheless chilly, I’d suggest including a down or synethic jacket and a beanie.
Sure! If you’re 5’5″ like myself and resolve to borrow a sleeping bag from somebody who’s over 6’0″ tall, all of that further area will make the bag really feel drafty. You desire a sleeping bag that’s the proper measurement to your peak and width so as to present correct insulation.
Save this put up to Pinterest
Associated
