Sleeping Bags and Pads

Ratings that finally mean something, and why the pad matters more than the bag.

Updated

Two standards arrived after most of these reviews were written, and between them they make this the easiest category to shop in.

The pad matters more than the bag

Most cold nights are cold from underneath, because the ground conducts heat away far faster than air does. A warm bag on a thin pad is a cold night; a moderate bag on a good pad is not.

Warmth is R-value, and since 2020 it is comparable across brands under a single test. Roughly R2 for summer, R3 to R4 for three-season, R5 and up for snow.

Comfort is thickness, width and baffle shape. Three inches of loft is where side sleepers stop noticing the ground, and width is the most underrated dimension: standard pads are 51cm and most people's elbows are not.

Read the right temperature number

Bags now carry EN or ISO ratings with two figures. Comfort is for a cold sleeper, and the standard assumes a colder sleeper for that number. Limit is for a warm sleeper. A bag called a "20 degree bag" tells you nothing on its own, and this is why 2009-era bags felt optimistic.

Down or synthetic

Hydrophobic treatment shifted this toward down by removing most of the old damp argument. Down is lighter, packs smaller and lasts decades if looked after. Synthetic is cheaper and still right if the bag will be permanently wet. And ask for certified down: the Responsible Down Standard and its equivalents confirm birds were not live-plucked or force-fed, and cost nothing extra to choose.

Fill power is efficiency, not warmth

800-fill gives the same warmth as 600-fill for less weight and bulk. It does not make the bag warmer; the rating does that. Pay for it if you carry the bag far, not if you drive to the campsite.

Two habits that double the life of everything here

For hostel and guesthouse travel, a silk liner is usually the right answer rather than a bag at all: most places supply bedding and many will not let a sleeping bag onto their mattresses.

Kept current

The reviews (52)

Written at the time, about gear that in most cases is no longer made. Useful for what the writer noticed, not as a shopping list.