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If
you have ever been left shivering in the middle of the night you
understand the value of a good sleeping bag that matches the conditions.
One of your most critical pieces of equipment, your sleeping bag
is your friend that keeps you warm when the air gets chilled, but
doesn’t roast you alive when the night gets warm.
This
guide has been designed as a sleeping bag 101 primarily to help you
select the right bag for car camping, camping, backcountry, or mountain
climbing. OutdoorPlaces.Com
makes a strong attempt at having an agnostic approach to our gear
guides, and we do not endorse or recommend one particular brand or
style. OutdoorPlaces.Com
does sell quality sleeping bags at our Outdoor eStore which you can
visit.
Sleeping
bags range from department store no-name brand summer time specials to
Dryloft shell and down filled dreams that will keep you warm when
sleeping on Rainer in the winter time (who would do that!).
There are a number of variables to consider when selecting your
sleeping bag. You don’t
have to have a large budget to get a quality bag, but you do need to do
some research and understand what you are looking for.
Before
buying your sleeping bag ask yourself a series of questions:
-
What
is my budget? A
reasonable amount of money to spend on a quality sleeping bag,
depending on the temperature range you select can run from $100 to
over $400. You can find
bargains for less, and of course you can spend a lot more.
-
What
kind of camping will I be doing?
Will you be car camping, camping at a primitive site, or
hiking in the backcountry? If
you plan to do car camping the need to stay warm in cold wet
conditions are not as critical if you are trekking the Pacific Crest
Trail. Also, sleeping
bags can be quite heavy and bulky.
If you are going into the backcountry a light mummy bag with
a lot of loft is more critical than if you will be car camping with
your family in a large tent. Unlike
other gear like boots and tents that can do double duty, you may
have to consider buying different bags for different conditions.
-
What
is the weather like where I will be camping?
The needs of a sleeping bag if you are desert camping are
very different from your needs if you will be camping in Denali
National Park in late September. Your needs
will also be different if you will be camping in the Badlands of
South Dakota or on a long canoe journey in the BWCA.
This can have major impact on which bag to get.
When
looking for a sleeping bag to buy you need to consider several key
areas. The most critical
pieces to look at are the style, the shell, the lining, the fill, and
the temperature rating. There
are other features to consider when looking at a bag, but these are the
most critical.
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