Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Buying A Sleeping Bag

By Mark Walters

If you spend a lot of time outdoors camping, then you know how important choosing the right sleeping bag can be. When looking to buy a sleeping bag there are many choices that you have to make in order to get the one most suitable for you. You need to decide what size and style you want. You need to determine what type of filler and lining you want. You need to know how warm / cold the climate is that you will be using it in.

Once you decide on the style of your sleeping bag, it can help to make the rest of the choices a little easier. There are three basic shapes to choose from - mummy, rectangle and combination. The mummy sleeping bag is generally the warmest as it conforms to the contours of your body leaving considerably less room for cold air to be trapped compared to other styles. It has a hood to cover your head, and an elastic or drawstring draft collar to keep the warm air inside the bag from escaping past your neckline.

The rectangle style bag allows much more space for movement but does not have a hood or draft collar. Rectangular bags are indeed a great deal wider and arguably more comfortable. As an addition, two rectangular bags could be joined together to form a much larger double sleeping bag to hold two people. The combination sleeping bags use different features from each style, enabling you to possible have the best of both worlds, depending on your preferences. It is important to look at all styles and judge what you would personally feel more comfortable in.

Once you have chosen the style you want, the next step is to choose a lining and filler. The filler is especially important if you are allergic to down, or have a particular sensitivity to down with asthma or other respiratory conditions. There are two fillers to decide on - synthetic and down. A synthetic fiber filler is generally heavier than down but when wet, it does not absorb water so therefore insulating ability is not reduced. A down filler is lighter than synthetic fiber but it requires more care and you must not get it wet or it will be useless.

Is the sleeping bag you are considering of a correct size to accommodate your height and weight? Although the necessity of this proper sizing seems evident, this is actually one factor that many people seem to forget about when making their decision. And as a final but no less important point, keep in mind that sleeping bags have temperature ratings which they are designed to meet. You might choose a bag rated for temperatures even cooler than the environment you will be in if you are one of those people who is always cold. And for your own comfort, don't forget that it is generally more difficult to warm up than it is to be too hot and cool yourself down if necessary. - 38505

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