Two major types of sleeping bags: down-filled sleeping bags and synthetic filled mummy bags. These are distinguished by the type of material that is used for the fill. The fill is the most vital part of the sleeping bag. It’s what protects you from the cold. The fill should do a good job of trapping air, providing you with insulation against the cold outside air.

Goose Down Sleeping Bags

Down is the most efficient fill for sleeping bags, because it’s very light and traps air better than synthetic bags. This warmth for weight efficiency makes it ideal for mountaineering.

Goose Down Sleeping Bags compress better than any other known synthetics and so pack down to a smaller size. When unpacked, a down-filled sleeping bags goes back to its open state more readily and quickly. It has almost fluid like properties as it readily fills up the void compartments of the sleeping bags.

Good quality down originates from China. A debate has been made in the past whether white goose down is better than gray goose down but there’s really not much difference.

Down filled sleeping bags are marked as 600-fill, 700-fill or 800-fill. This is referred to as the fill power. It is the amount of space that 1 oz. of down will occupy.

The higher the number of fill power results in less amount of down required to fill the same space which makes the sleeping bag lighter. This is accomplished by using fluffier and longer-tendrilled down.

The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) ordained standards for down content and fill power. By law, down must be at least 80 percent down i.e. cluster and fiber rather than quills, beaks, etc.

A good down sleeping bag will bounce back when you poke it with your finger. When properly taken care of, a down filled bag can last for a long time. One avid hiker reportedly used his for more than 20 a long time.

But down is far from perfect. You need to avoid getting it wet or it will stop keeping you warm and you’ll have better luck drying mud on a rainy day than drying a down sleeping bag on your trip.

Down is a rather costly material and requires much more care in maintenance. In some cases, peculiar as it is, an allergic reaction may occur.

Synthetic-fill Sleeping Bags

Synthetic fills have been around for a long time. They come in distinguished names like Polarguard, Thermolite Micro, Hollofil I & II and more. The names change and the manufacturers will likely come up with fancier names.

There are three forms of synthetics characterized by the length of fiber. All the three forms of synthetics can be lubricated with silicon or other liquids to make them feel more silky, more like down.

Yet down is still the best fill for sleeping bags, synthetics are not far behind. One major advantage of using synthetics is that, unlike down, they can keep you warm even when wet and they dry more readily.

The biggest advantage, however is that they are a lot cheaper than down and a further improvement will take down into extinction in sleeping bags and even apparel.

On the field there’s only so much you can do to care for your sleeping bag. Just remember to keep it clean and try to keep it away from anything wet including wet and dirty clothes when you’re camping.

At home you can do a lot more to maintain your sleeping bag so that it can last a little bit longer. These tips cover how to wash, dry, store and repair your sleeping bag in the proper way.

Washing and Drying

- Keep your sleeping bags clean by washing it frequently but only when it is necessary. Washing too much can break down the properties of both down and synthetic fills.

- Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions manual and use mild soap. You can hand wash or wash in the gentle cycle of a washing machine. If your sleeping bags are too large, bring them to a launderette and use a larger machine but never dry-clean a sleeping bag.

- When using the tumble dryer, use the lowest setting . Put a tennis ball into the machine to prevent the down from clumping. The ball will help dissipate the clumps.

- When wet, handle with extreme care. Do not dry on a clothesline. Find some place to that can support the weight of the bag so that the delicate baffles do not tear. Hanging it on the dryer is a common practice.

Storing

- Store your sleeping bag in a large cotton storage sack. Make sure the bag sit loosely in the sack. Avoid putting the bag in a stuff sack for long periods of storage because compressing it too much will reduce its loft.

- Don’t store the sleeping bag in a plastic sack as the moisture will be trapped and hence provide a suitable breeding ground for mould, mildew and bacteria. Only store your bag when it is completely dry.

Repair

- Tears need to be repaired immediately especially the ones on the shell and lining.

- For temporary repairs use a duct tape or Gaffa tape. Instead on cutting the tape in a square, cut it in a circle so that it doesn’t snag the fabric.

- Permanent repairs can be made with a nylon repair tape or patches that are sold in most outdoor stores.

- You can also ask a professional company that can do repair jobs for tears, separating seams and zip problems. There are quite a few of these companies around and they might even throw you a discount if you ask nicely.

Ideal for spring summer camping trips, the lightweight Adventure Quest II Mummy Sleeping Bag from Columbia offers a 30-degree Fahrenheit comfort rating, an offset quilting design, a polyester taffeta shell for moisture resistance, and a micro denier lining.

The Adventure Quest II includes a compression stuff sack for easy packing and storage.

Measuring 30 inches wide by 90 inches long, the Adventure Quest II includes a stuff sack for convenient packing and storage.

Key Features:

• Comfort rating to +30 degrees Fahrenheit
• Offset quilting combined with multiple draft tubes to help reduce cold spots
• Polyester taffeta shell resists moisture
• Micro denier liner
• Hood with cord lock adjustment to keep head warmer
• Includes a compression stuff sack
• One pound of ThermalC fill
• Measures 30 inches wide by 90 inches long

About Columbia Sportswear
Founded in 1938, Columbia Sportswear Company has grown from a small family-owned hat distributor to one of the world’s largest outerwear brands and the leading seller of skiwear in the United States. Columbia’s extensive product line includes a wide variety of outerwear, sportswear, rugged footwear and accessories. Columbia specializes in developing innovative products that are functional yet stylish and offer great value. Eighty-year-old matriarch Gert Boyle, Chairman of the Board, and her son, Tim Boyle, President and CEO, lead the company.

Columbia’s history starts with Gert’s parents, Paul and Marie Lamfrom, when they fled Germany in 1937. They bought a small hat distributorship in Portland, Oregon, and named it Columbia Hat Company, after the river bordering the city. Soon frustrated by poor deliveries from suppliers, the Lamfroms decided to start manufacturing products themselves. In 1948, Gert married college sweetheart Neal Boyle, who joined the family business and later took the helm of the growing company. When Neal suddenly died of a heart attack in 1970, Gert enlisted help from Tim, then a college senior. After that it wasn’t long before business really started to take off. Columbia was one of the first companies to make jackets from waterproof/breathable fabric. They introduced the breakthrough technology called the Columbia Interchange System, in which a shell and liner combine for multiple wearing options. In the early 1980s, then 60 year-old Gert began her role as “Mother Boyle” in Columbia’s successful and popular advertising campaign.

The company went public in 1998 and moved into a new era as a world leader in the active outdoor apparel industry. Today, Columbia Sportswear employs more than 1,800 people around the world and distributes and sells products in more than 50 countries and to more than 12,000 retailers internationally.

Price: $51.58

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U.S. Military - style ECWS 3 - in - 1 Sleeping System. 3 comfy layers! Patterned after the famous U.S. Military ECWS (Extreme Cold Weather System). Use each Bag alone or snap ‘em together for amazing warmth. 1. Intermediate Sleeping Bag: Can be used with one or both of the other Bags; Drawstring hood; 2 1/2 lbs. of Hollofil; Super tough 190T rip-stop fabric; Measures 34 x 81 x 24″; All 3 Bags together earn a -10 degree F comfort rating Black. 2. Patrol Sleeping Bag: 1 1/2 lbs. Hollo fiber; 190T rip-stop fabric with a water-resistant coating; Large nylon zipper and baffle; Drawstring hood; Measures 81 x 34 x 24″; Comfort rated +30-50 degrees F; Bronze green. 3. Outer Shell Bivy Bag: Waterproof, taped and breathable material; Fully encloses your body with Velcro closure at top Hooded; Camo. Order right away for comfort in the icy cold! 3-in-1 Military-style Sleeping System

Price: $350

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Rated to 15 degrees Fahrenheit, the regular-sized Eureka Casper mummy-style sleeping bag is designed for those users who want the ultimate lightweight compact bag at a great price. It features a bag-within-a-bag design, which keeps cold air from the outside from getting through and warm air on the inside of the bag from escaping. The inner layer of the bag is cut smaller than the outer layer to create a consistent thickness of insulation throughout the bag, which prevent thermal leaks from forming. The trapezoidal foot section is angled to allow for the foot’s natural sleeping position. It has a fully adjustable contoured hood. Other features include a two-way, self-repairing zipper, inside stash pocket, exterior pillow pocket, and compression stuff sack.This sleeping bag is filled with Eureka’s proprietary Rteq fiber fill, which provides maximum warmth with the lightest wieght and most compact stuff size. Rtyeq fiber fill is a blend of four different fiber each chosen for it’s properties related to loft, compactness, thermal perofmance and durability. Rteq is the best fill availible when examining the performance to price relationship

Price: $70

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Rated to 30 degrees Fahrenheit, the regular-sized Eureka Copper River mummy-style sleeping bag features a bag-within-a-bag design, which keeps cold air from the outside from getting through and warm air on the inside of the bag from escaping. The inner layer of the bag is cut smaller than the outer layer to create a consistent thickness of insulation throughout the bag, which prevent thermal leaks from forming. The trapezoidal foot section is angled to allow for the foot’s natural sleeping position. It has a fully adjustable contoured hood. Other features include a two-way, self-repairing zipper, inside stash pocket, fleece pillow pocket, zipper thermometer and compression stuff sack.This sleeping bag is filled with Eureka’s proprietary 7-hole slickened, polyester Thermashield fiber fill, which provides maximum insulation at the best value possible. Each Thermashield fiber strand contains 7 tunnel-like holes that run the length of the strand. Each of these holes traps air inside it’s passageway creating dead air space that efficiently retains heat to keep you warm.

Price: $50

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