There's a layer of sleeping bag between you and a good night's sleep outdoors

A sleeping bag is the most important overnight gear. A good sleeping bag should meet these requirements: fit well, have strong insulation, be light and compress easily.

The warmth of a sleeping bag depends on how much air can be trapped in the thermal layer, which insulates the climber's body from the cold outside. In addition, the type, quantity, thickness (loft), sleeping bag size (fit), style and structure of the thermal layer filling material will all affect the thermal insulation effect of the sleeping bag.

sleeping bag shape

Mummy sleeping bags and envelope sleeping bags are two common outdoor sleeping bags.

Mummy-shaped sleeping bag: In order to keep warm and lightweight, this kind of sleeping bag is customized to be wide at the top and narrow at the bottom according to the shape of the human body. Generally, the zipper can only be pulled to the waist, and the lower part is sealed, so it has better warmth retention. Although you can’t roll over freely in a sleeping bag, you can roll over with the sleeping bag.

Envelope sleeping bag: This type of sleeping bag is roomy, with enough room for your legs and arms to stretch out; some can be fully opened and used like a quilt. But the disadvantage is that the wrapping is not strong enough, so the warmth retention is not as good as the mummy type.

sleeping bag temperature scale

The temperature scale of a sleeping bag generally consists of three data, such as the temperature scale: -18℃ 4℃ -2℃ (-18℃ refers to the survival temperature, 4℃ refers to the comfort temperature, and -2℃ refers to the comfortable low temperature).

The survival temperature here refers to the extreme temperature for using the sleeping bag. At this temperature, there will be a strong feeling of cold and there may be a risk of hypothermia.

Comfort temperature is the most important indicator we should pay attention to when purchasing a sleeping bag. It represents the ideal temperature for using the sleeping bag. At this temperature, people can sleep comfortably. If it exceeds this temperature, people may feel hot.

Comfortable low temperature means that you may feel cold in this temperature range, but you are still in a state of thermal balance.

When choosing a sleeping bag, you should check the local nighttime temperature during the activity based on where you want to go, and choose the appropriate comfortable temperature based on the air temperature. People who are susceptible to cold are recommended to choose a sleeping bag with a temperature scale one level lower than the actual temperature. For example, if the temperature at night is 5°, then you should choose a sleeping bag with a comfort level of 0°

Sleeping bag filling material

Although the filling materials of sleeping bags include down and cotton, from the perspective of warmth retention, down has better warmth retention, is lightweight, easy to fold and store, and is the most durable. So here we mainly introduce down materials.

Down is still the best insulation material for sleeping bags so far. Down material is usually (gray, white) goose down or duck down (generally speaking, goose down is better than duck down). Its performance depends on the type and loft of the down used. .

When purchasing a down sleeping bag, you need to pay attention to the loft of the down. Of course, the bigger the loft, the better, but the price will also be more expensive. For ordinary users, using high-altitude snow mountain sleeping bags for climbing and camping below 3,000 meters is not a waste. Therefore, you should consider your usage scenarios and environment when purchasing.

In addition, when purchasing a sleeping bag, you should also pay attention to whether the length of the sleeping bag is suitable for your height, whether the fabric of the sleeping bag is waterproof and moisture-proof, breathable, lightweight, easy to compress and store, and strong and durable.