How to choose the right sleeping bag for overnight camping outdoors

Contemporary young urbanites increasingly like to find a quiet place to camp, looking forward to the starry sky, the Milky Way, and the sea of ​​clouds. However, with autumn rains and cold weather, outdoor camping enthusiasts are a little more worried about the cold on rainy nights, especially in humid places or places with large temperature differences between day and night.

A sleeping bag is a necessity. Like a tent, it is also a large item. The choice of sleeping bag is very important. No one wants to be woken up by the cold in the middle of the night, and no one wants to give up camping because of a bad sleeping bag experience. The quality of the camping experience depends on the activity arrangements, picnic experience, and beautiful scenery during the day, while at night it depends on the tent and sleeping bag. The quality of sleep directly affects the outdoor experience the next day.

So how should you choose a suitable sleeping bag? Usually we make judgments based on the following core indicators:

1. Temperature scale, the most important parameter.

Reject all products with unclear temperature scale.

The first thing to remind is that there are usually at least two temperature scales, one is the extreme temperature scale and the other is the comfort temperature scale. The extreme temperature scale is the temperature that ensures that the body will not be overheated, and the comfort temperature scale is the temperature that ensures normal and peaceful sleep. I think you know how to choose without further explanation.

The second point about the temperature scale is: it must be combined with your personal constitution. For those who are already afraid of cold, choose a sleeping bag with a lower temperature scale. For example, if you go to a place where the lowest temperature at night is 5℃, then it is recommended to choose a comfortable temperature scale of 0℃. sleeping bag. As an aside, based on the data from my friends, girls are usually more afraid of the cold.

2. Filling materials

The cold-proof effect is determined by two aspects, one is the filling, and the other is the external material. The warmth of a sleeping bag depends largely on the filler in the fabric, which is the "lining" of the sleeping bag. The fillers usually include chemical fiber cotton and down.

If you choose a down-filled sleeping bag, be sure to pay attention to the material index of the lining/external material being 200T or above (referring to the sum of the latitude and longitude density per inch), otherwise individual fluff will wear out. When choosing down, you should pay attention to two indicators: down content and bulkiness.

Down-filled sleeping bags are generally more warm, compressible, softer and more comfortable. The bad thing about it is that it is not suitable for some particularly humid areas. When it rains, you must do waterproof protection. It is difficult to take care of down after it becomes damp. Anyone who has experience in washing down jackets knows this.

If it is chemical fiber cotton or man-made fiber, there are many types and the quality varies. It has the characteristics of keeping warm, easy to dry, easy to clean, and not afraid of water. The bad thing is that it is not easy to compress and has a large volume after storage. The fluffiness will decrease as it is used for a long time (the fluffiness can be improved by exposure to the sun). But now there are newly designed hollow cotton sleeping bags, which are greatly improved in terms of bulkiness and compressibility compared with the previous four-hole cotton, and the effect is almost as good as that of down sleeping bags.

As for the fleece sleeping bag, this can be understood as an air-conditioned quilt for home use in summer. It can only be used as a sleeping bag in high temperature areas or summer. Of course, it can also be placed inside a sleeping bag to increase the thermal insulation effect and make direct contact with the skin more comfortable.

3. Style

To be honest, style is not a particularly important indicator, there are generally two types: square (envelope shape), mummy shape, and beer barrel shape are actually just variations.

Square (envelope-shaped), as the name suggests, is a rectangle with an L-shaped zipper next to it that can be pulled from the shoulder to the sole of the foot. When opened, it becomes a large rectangle. The biggest feature is that two square sleeping bags can be spliced ​​together to become a double sleeping bag, which is especially suitable for young couples! It is precisely because of the existence of zippers that its thermal insulation effect is worse than that of mummies.

Mummy, as you can tell from the name, is a shape that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, customized according to the shape of the human body. It also has a zipper, but the zipper can only be pulled to the waist. Two sleeping bags can also be spliced ​​together, but only for the upper body. Because the lower part is sealed, the insulation effect will be much better under the same filling conditions.

No matter what style it is, it is recommended to choose one with a hood (also called a windproof hood), which on the one hand has better thermal insulation effect, and on the other hand can be used as a pillow although the height is not high.

4. Weight

The weight is determined by the filling material and the weight. The heavier the material of the same type, the better the thermal insulation effect will be. But you can’t carry a 10-pound sleeping bag or pack your home quilt for camping, so you must weigh warmth, weight, and comfort.

Usually, taking the comfort temperature of about 5℃ as a reference, the down filling is about 1.5kg, and the chemical fiber cotton filling is about 2-2.5kg. Because different brands, filler quality, and different styles have different thermal insulation effects, so This article is for reference only and does not serve as direct purchase advice. The core is to refer to the temperature scale.

5. Size

Just one, choose one that fits well. Don’t choose a sleeping bag that is 1.8 meters for a tall person who is 1.9 meters tall. Also, don’t choose one that is too big. If it is too big, it will have more gaps and the thermal insulation effect will be compromised.

Buying advice:

It is recommended to choose major professional outdoor brands such as Equator, Arctic Wolf, Mugaodi, and Explorer.

Products below 200 are suitable for environments around 5-10°C. This temperature is usually not particularly picky.