The question of how to choose a sleeping bag excites any novice tourist. This moment is very important, because even the most interesting trip will be ruined if you have to toss and turn every night because of the cold, and wake up tired and cold in the morning.
What you need?
The first step in choosing a tourist sleeping bag should be done before going to the store. You need to decide which product you need. Some parents, picking up a child on their first trip, buy the warmest well-reasoned sleeping bag, without thinking that in the summer you can even get a heat stroke in it. So for a start decide: summer, winter or off-season.
The second criterion will be size. How to choose a sleeping bag by size? Everything is pretty simple. The sizes of sleeping bags correspond to the sizes of clothes. That is, if a girl wears size M with a height of 165 cm, then a sleeping bag is best for her size M. If you are tall, you may have to take a sleeping bag a size larger. Size is an important aspect. The extra material is an extra, non-functional weight that you have to constantly carry in your backpack. More importantly, your body will have to heat more air inside the sleeping bag. But if there was no ideally suitable size, then it is better to take the bigger one.
The third criterion is weight. How to choose a sleeping bag by weight? As a rule, this indicator depends on the size and filler that was used in the production. The advantages of various fillers will be described below, and at this stage you just need to think about whether the weight of the sleeping bag is important to you. If this is a weekend trip, then weight is not the most important parameter. If you plan a long trip, then it is worth considering how much you are willing to spend in order to facilitate your equipment.
Manufacturers
Now on the market are the products of very many manufacturers of tourist equipment, but not all quality products can be called budget. The best reviews were awarded by Alexika, Bergen Sport, Trimm, Trek Planet, Prival, Woodland and Larsen.
At the end of the article, an overview of sleeping bags will be given, but first of all, you should know what criteria to choose. So you will easily be guided by the huge number of options that are currently offered on the market.
Weight and volume
If you plan a long trip, then these criteria become one of the most important. At home, one or two kilograms seem like a trifle, but do not forget that you will have to carry all the equipment on your own for a long time! Many experienced tourists agree that one can sacrifice some comfort, but in the afternoon walk a greater distance with less resource consumption. As a rule, winter and off-season sleeping bags have a large volume. In cheap sleeping bags, a synthetic winterizer is used as a filler, the same material is used for inexpensive winter jackets and for stuffing soft children's toys.
Fluff
Long gone are the days of cotton sleeping bags. The vast majority can now be proud of the title of “Pure Synthetics, Nothing Natural,” and it cannot be said that this is bad. Yes, fluff has established itself as a lightweight filler with excellent thermal insulation properties. Many brands can see ultra-light and ultra-compact down sleeping bags. The main disadvantage of this filler is the absorption of moisture. The fluff quickly gets wet, can cake, and dries for a very long time! So think twice before taking such a sleeping bag on a hike in rainy terrain.
Synthetic winterizer
How to choose a sleeping bag for fishing and any other outdoor trips? What to do if you have a water trip or just rainy weather? Look at the models from synthetic winterizer. By the way, these are most often the cheapest sleeping bags. Sintepon - filler, which is made from polyester fibers. They are fastened together by heating. Almost every tourist is familiar with such sleeping bags, they are cheap and practical. As a rule, synthetic winterizer is used in the manufacture of sleeping bags that can withstand temperatures of minus ten degrees. Weight ranges from 1.5 to 2.0 kilograms. Such a sleeping bag will dry quickly even in winter. The main disadvantage, in addition to weight, is a rather high caking factor. A synthetic winterizer in this state loses its heat-insulating properties, so the service life of sleeping bags made of synthetic winterizer with active use is only a few years.
Unscrupulous manufacturers stuff sleeping bags with a cheap brittle synthetic winterizer, which cakes literally after several trips.
Faybertek
This is another synthetic filler that consists of thin polyester fibers. Inside, they are hollow, which increases the insulating characteristics. So that the material does not lose its properties, it is additionally covered with a layer of polypropylene. These sleeping bags last longer sinteponovye.
Hollofiber
How to choose a sleeping bag if you have to hike in a very rainy area? Hollofiber is perfect here. This is a polyester material consisting of hollow vertical fibers, which are springs twisted in a spiral. Thanks to this texture, holofiber is less prone to caking than the two previous fillers, and better performs the task of preserving heat. Such a sleeping bag is lighter than its analogue from synthetic winterizer, but it will cost almost twice as much.
Thinsulate
This filler in its structure resembles fluff. The finest fibers are one quarter of polypropylene and three of lavsan. The ancestor of production is the American company MMM, this material is used for a variety of purposes. A tinsuleit sleeping bag has excellent elastic properties, tolerates washing, and can be stored in a compressed form without fear. It is lightweight, retains its heat-insulating qualities for a very long time, but it is also quite expensive. If you need a versatile and durable sleeping bag for constant trips, both light and complex, you should think about buying a sleeping bag on a tinsuley or on a half-guard.
Polargard 3D
The Lessinger Group are developers of the material of the guard. It is considered one of the best heaters: it has excellent elasticity, and thermal insulation, and durability. An interesting feature of the filler can be called fibers, which are made with a hole in the form of a triangle. Thanks to this solution, the guard is much faster in restoring its original shape. The only drawback of the filler is a rather large volume and, of course, the price.
Types of Sleeping Bags
Another important criterion on how to choose a sleeping bag is design features. By type of design, sleeping bags are divided into three types: blanket, bag and cocoon.
The sleeping bag-blanket is very similar to a regular blanket with a long zipper. Thanks to her, two sleeping bags can be easily combined into one, more spacious. For example, in a double sleeping bag three people perfectly fit. This is a good way out if someone in the company does not have a sleeping bag or if you do not want to buy a separate one for the child.
A bag is almost the same blanket, only with a hood. It is more convenient. These are most often sleeping bags for the off-season. By the way, they can also be interconnected.
The cocoon has a trapezoidal shape. The sleeping bag is narrowed in the area of the legs and extends to the head. This species has a hood and a zipper that can be long or short. These sleeping bags take up less space in the backpack, and also have better thermal insulation properties due to the reduced length of the zipper and the reduction of the internal space.
About temperature
How to choose a sleeping bag by temperature? What do comfort and extreme mean? Let's get it right.
The temperature scale tells you at what temperature you can normally sleep in this sleeping bag. Indicators may vary between men and women.
Most often on the scale you can see the notation: comfort temperature, comfort limit, extreme temperature, as well as the “man” and “woman” icons.
The temperature of comfort is the lower limit of comfort for an average man or woman (depending on the icon indicated on a specific table).
The limit of comfort is the lower limit for the average man or woman.
Extreme temperature is the lowest temperature at which a sleeping bag will protect a person from hypothermia (hypothermia). You will have about six hours of poor sleep, but your body temperature will not be reduced to dangerous.
However, it should be borne in mind that the standard temperature scale (unless otherwise indicated) is designed for a person aged from eighteen to forty years with good physical parameters, without signs of hypothermia and receiving normal nutrition. Remember that you should not choose a sleeping bag at extreme temperatures!
Summer
For a simple summer hike , a blanket-sleeping bag or a sleeping bag-bag is best suited. The comfort temperature should be between +10 degrees. If you know that in this area there will definitely not be such temperatures, take +15 or +20. For a long trip, it is better to take a sleeping bag with a comfort temperature of +10, since it is not known what weather you will encounter. Inexpensive summer sleeping bags are usually stuffed with padding polyester. The cheapest options can be found for 1000-1500 rubles.
What to buy for the summer?
TREK PLANET Easy Trek. A weight of just 0.9 kg will not be burdensome even for a child. This cocoon sleeping bag is perfect for simple summer trips, even in rainy weather, because the synthetic filler is holofiber. Temperature mode: comfort +9 ° , extreme 0 ° . The price ranges from 1200 to 1500 rubles. By the way, these sleeping bags are fastened together, despite the fact that they are cocoons.
Off-season
On the question of how to choose an off-season sleeping bag, one should first of all think about whether long rains are expected. As a rule, an off-season sleeping bag has a comfort temperature from 0 to +5 degrees. Since they can have significant weight, it is worth thinking about a filler. For example, a sleeping bag made of synthetic winterizer with a comfort temperature of +5 degrees will weigh about two kilograms.
Model for autumn and spring
KingCamp "Treck 450L KS3193". This cocoon sleeping bag, stuffed with holofiber, will make your sleep comfortable in the autumn-spring campaigns. Temperature range: comfort -4 ° C, comfort limit -9 ° C, extreme -20 ° C. Its weight is 2680 g, and a rather large volume can be called perhaps the only drawback. The price of this sleeping bag on different sites is from 3000 to 3800 rubles.
Winter
Before choosing a winter sleeping bag, think about whether you want to be able to connect two sleeping bags together? If not, take a cocoon. This is the perfect solution for single nights. The filler is also important here. The synthetic winterizer is cheap, but heavy and voluminous. In winter, in a poor-quality sleeping bag, you risk just dying from hypothermia, so go to the choice wisely. The price of a new winter sleeping bag starts from 4-5 thousand rubles. Also, you can just find something with your hands. At tourist flea markets come across excellent options. However, remember that each wash reduces the life of the sleeping bag, so it’s better to use dry cleaning.
What is suitable?
Alexika Canada Plus. It is considered one of the warmest sleeping bags. Best suited for winter camping. This sleeping bag-blanket with a hood, a compression bag is included. The lowest comfort temperature is -6 ° , extreme - -22 ° . It is stuffed with a synthetic filler isotherm. There are two drawbacks: the price is about 10 thousand rubles and weight is 4.5 g. Now you understand why it is not suitable for tracking.
For tracking, for example, Trek Planet Norge is more suitable. This is a winter tourist sleeping bag-cocoon made of holofiber weighing 2.6 kg. Comfort temperature -8 ° C, limit -18 ° C, extreme -26 ° C. The price is about 5000 rubles.
General tips
How to choose a sleeping bag for a campaign and not be disappointed? First of all, check it for the presence of seams quilted through. These are the so-called cold, or through seams. Through them, cold easily penetrates, so you should not expect parameters declared in the temperature scale from such a device.
It is good if the sleeping bag has a loop for drying. It is very comfortable.
In fact, the sleeping bag does not warm. Its purpose is to preserve the heat that the human body itself generates. That is why you can freeze even in the best sleeping bag, if you lie in wet clothes or just chilled and tired. If you are in this condition, then before you go to bed, spread your arms and legs, squat a little and only then go to the sleeping bag. Wear dry socks, gloves and a hat.
When it is very cold, it is better to unfasten two sleeping bags and sleep, hugging and clinging to each other. But think it over in advance, can you sleep this way all night? In the end, it may turn out that you will toss and turn due to an uncomfortable posture.
If it suddenly gets colder, you should not get into the sleeping bag in the jacket. Enough thermal underwear and a fleece sweater. Slide the backpack on the side, and put the jacket on top of the sleeping bag in the area of the legs. Be sure to wear dry socks and gloves, as well as a hat. If the hike is winter and there is snow around, then make a mound out of it.
Warming the air in the tent with a gas burner is not the best idea, because then, in order to sleep better, you still have to ventilate the tent. Better warm tea on the burner.