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The most important component of camping gear is the sleeping bag. A well-chosen bag will fit the person using it, be easy to pack, store and care for, and suit the temperature it's being used for.
If a sleeping bag will only be used for a child's occasional overnight visit to a friend or relative's house, the light-weight cotton ones will be fine. They can be found in almost every department or discount store, frequently in popular cartoon character designs, for $10 on up.
But for an outdoor experience, you will want to shop carefully for one in the right size, shape, warmth, fabric, weight, and price that's perfect for your camping needs.
• SIZE
Who will be using it? An average sized person can fit comfortably inside most sleeping bags, but a small or a very large person needs to actually crawl inside one to be sure that it's long enough and wide enough for comfort and small enough to retain warmth.
A well-fitting bag will allow room to turn over and move around a little bit, but will not have so much air space that body heat won't warm it sufficiently.
A short person or a child might be able to get by with a normal sized sleeping bag by tying off the lower portion with twine or camping straps.
• SHAPE
Sleeping bags come in either a rectangle, mummy or tapered shape, narrower at the bottom. The rectangular ones have more room to move around in. Generally, they are the least expensive and easiest to zip together to make a double bag for two people, but they are also the bulkiest and heaviest.
Mummy bags tend to be warmer because there is less space to heat. They also take up less room in a stuff bag and are the most heat-efficient.
Tapered bags fall between the two. They can be zipped to others with matching zippers, take less body heat to warm them than rectangular ones, and allow some room for foot movement.
• WARMTH (TEMPERATURE RATING)
Most bags are rated according to the lowest temperatures in which they provide comfort, but there is no set standard in the industry. The rating is determined by the manufacturer. A bag rated as "three season" means that it will be comfortable for sleeping for an average person in temperatures ranging from about 15º through the summer.
The type of fill (insulation) determines the amount of warmth that stays inside the bag; the warmth itself comes from the body heat of the person sleeping it in.
Goose down is a natural fiber that has long been held as the standard as lightweight, comfortable, and warm. They compact easily into small stuff bags, mold easily around a camper's body to retain heat, and are extremely durable. The down side is that they can be miserably uncomfortable if they get wet, take longer to dry, are more expensive than most synthetics, and are most safely cleaned professionally.
Synthetic fills provide enough warmth for most casual campers. Follow the manufacturer's guidelines for temperature rating, but adjust it according to your personal sleeping habits. If you know you are a cold sleeper, get one rated at a lower degree than you will be camping in.
Any sleeping bag can be made warmer by using a purchased or home-sewn flannel liner, and some bags come with their own.
• CARRYING WEIGHT
Backpackers need to be concerned about this more than campground or car campers, when every ounce inside a back can feel like a pound after a day on the trail. Sleeping bags made for backpackers tend to weigh 6 pounds or less, so if you think you might want to pack into a camp site, look for a lightweight sleeping back.
• FABRIC & COLOR
Some outer shells are moisture resistant; this is terrific at keeping out dampness, but they also can keep moisture in, resulting in a cold and clammy sleeping experience. If you perspire heavily, you may prefer a cotton exterior, or at least an absorbent interior fabric.
Some of the new materials will wick moisture to the outside without allowing it to penetrate in; they can add $100 to the price of a sleeping bag, but if you frequently camp in wet weather, it might be worth it.
Dark colors, both inside and outside, draw more heat from the sun. This is good on two counts: they dry out more quickly, and they stay warmer on cold, bright days.
• PRICE
A good sleeping bag, intended for regular use during two or three seasons over a period of five or six years, will probably cost at least $80.
If you plan to camp for an entire summer, want you bag to last a lifetime, have allergies to some of the components, or need a very lightweight, very warm, water-wicking fabric, you can spend many hundreds of dollars.
Large, heavy, flannel-lined and canvas covered ones can be found for less than $50. These are fine for car camping during temperate seasons.
• CARE & STORAGE
Always open the bag after a night of sleeping in it to air it out. If it's not raining or damp out, spread it across the top of your tent or car for freshening.
Most sleeping bags are too large for most home washers. Take them to a laundromat with jumbo sized equipment for laundering, or to a professional cleaning service.
Synthetic fill usually air dries quickly on a clothesline or spread out on a flat surface. If it's safe for machine drying (check the tags!) toss a tennis shoe in with it to fluff it up.
Your sleeping bag will last longer if it's hung up, secured by clamps at the bottom end, when it's not in use. If you don't have adequate hanging space, leave it folded loosely, perhaps under a bed or on a shelf, between camping trips.
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