Friday, July 5, 2013

How To Choose The Perfect Sleeping Bag

Comfort, warmth and security are the first things that come to mind when you think about getting a new or used sleeping bag. The piece of equipment has an important role to play in the outdoors, sleep over, geek night, girls night or even in a survival situation.

But do you know how to find the best sleeping bag for you and your loved ones? Here are some of the things that you might want to keep in mind.

Environment and Weather
When buying a sleeping bag you should first consider the environment that you'll be spending the most amount of time in. Down insulation is definitely lighter than synthetic insulation, but if you think that you're sleeping bag will get wet use the synthetic insulation because down will lose its thermal capabilities when it gets wet.

Down is a fantastic thermal insulator and fine padding material. Down insulation is rated by fill power, which is the number of cubic inches displaced by a given ounce of down. Higher fill power means better insulation so you might want to look at that and get something that would protect you in a warm or very cold weather.

Shape
Sleeping bags come in different shapes. There's the mummy shape which is the most compact. The rectangular shape which gives you more room to move around and the barrel shape which has rectangular shape tapered at the bottom.

There's also a really interesting wearable sleeping bag which has arms and legs. This is for people that feel restricted in normal sleeping bags.

Weight
When you have to go on a hiking or backpacking trip you should bring a sleeping bag which is easy to carry and light. A good choice here would be a mummy shaped sleeping bag with down insulation since it's lighter and more compact.

Size
Aside from different shapes, sleeping bags are also made for different ages. There are sleeping bags for kids and infants and there are also those that are for taller individuals. Choose the best one for you.

Type
There are indoor and outdoor types of sleeping bags. The indoor type are the ones that you can use when guests arrive at your house or if the kids will be having a slumber party. There's also the outdoor type which is the one that's normally used for camping and it's normally made of materials to protect you from extreme weather.

Aside from the sleeping bags mentioned above there's a lot of other sleeping bags out there from double sleeping bags which can fit two people to sleeping bags that can be worn as garments. Just keep in mind that people have different needs and you have to carefully consider those needs the next time you purchase a sleeping bag for yourself or for others.

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