Wilderness Camping Guides and Gear

Tents

Your home in the backwoods and shelter from the weather. There are many types, sizes and styles for different situations and applications... Learn More About Tents

Tent Alternatives

Other kinds of shelter choices that can be quite practical and lightweight for backpacking applications... Learn More About Tent Alternatives

Backpacks

A properly sized and correctly adjusted backpack can make carrying all your gear a breeze... Learn More About Backpacks

Sleeping Bags

Keeping you warm and comfortable to get a good nights sleep... Learn More About Sleeping Bags

Sleeping Pads

Added to a good quality bag to smooth out the bumps and keep you much warmer... Learn More About Sleeping Pads

Clothing

To make sure you are warm, dry and comfortable while you are on the trail... Learn More About Camp Appropriate Clothing

Additional Gear

There are many other items to make your wilderness experience easier, safer and more enjoyable... Learn More About Additional Gear

More Sites to the Great Outdoors

• Trailer Tent Guide

Wilderness Camping Guide - Sleeping Bags

A good quality, proper tempeture rated sleeping bag is a definate must. Trying to get a good nights sleep after a long trek and being chilly is no good and potentially dangerous. When choosing a sleeping bag make sure to get one that is rated for 10 to 20 degrees colder than the tempetures you expect to be camping in. I've found, for instance, that if you have a bag rated for 30 degrees and it actually gets that cold at night you will be cold and uncomfortable. A lot depends on personal tastes and expected uses when choosing a sleeping bag. Though I would say this is one area I would not skimp on so get the best bag you can afford.

A Sleeping Bag for Every Condition

There are some modular sleeping bag systems with one lighter weight bag inside another heavier bag. By combining them or using them seperately you can be ready for a wide range of tempetures. This allows for more flexability, but loses out with the trade off in weight. Sleeping bags also come in a wide variety of shapes and materials. The shapes are some variation of either a rectangular or mummy style bags. The rectangular bags are normally for warmer weather and are nice if you like a bit more leg room. Remember, the weight will be higher than a mummy style as there is more material being at your feet. A mummy style bag is warmer than a rectangular as there is less room in the foot area and they generally have a hood type top. There are also some cross-over models that have a rectangular foot area with a hood.

Bag Construction is Important, Too

There are many different materials used be make sleeping bags. The shells come in fabrics like canvas, ripstop nylon or Gortex type fabrics. Canvas shelled sleeping bags are normally inexpensive, very rugged, but quite heavy. A better alternative is the ripstop nylon type shell, or better yet a Gotex type fabric shell. Having extra confidence of knowing your sleeping bag will be nice and dry even if your tent happens to fail or some other water related problem crops up is a great piece of mind. The materials used as insulation basically come in natural and man made. The goal in any type of insulation is to trap air. The most common natural insulation used is goose down. It is a very good insulator while being quite light weight and easy to compact to save on room. On the negative side it is expensive and if it gets wet loses much of its ability to insulate from cold. Man made materials are usually some sort of hollow synthic fiber. Man made insulation is usually also light, compressable and unlike down keeps much of its ability to insulate even if wet or damp.