We all know a good night’s sleep is a key factor to enjoying a camping holiday. And we recognize that your sleeping bag is a key component to bedroom comfort that ensures you wake refreshed and ready for the next day’s adventure.

That’s why we go back to basics when designing our products to provide you a wide choice of quality sleeping bags in single and double options to suit all needs. And much of your buying experience will follow our design process as you make your choice of sleeping bag. 

For a start, think about use as this will decide factors like shape and weight of insulation. A sleeping bag designed purely for performance in colder climes will normally taper towards the foot to reduce the amount of dead air that draws away body heat. This mummy shape also reduces weight and packed size. More relaxed camping styles are catered for by rectangular sleeping bags. Also known as envelope style, they provide room to move at night and can often convert into a duvet by undoing a side zip, or even zipped to another bag to create a double from two singles. This provides more flexibility to camping life than a double sleeping bag, but the zip position can cause discomfort.

Developments in hybrid bags sees more relaxed mummy styles add extra space where required, such as at hips and waist, to allow movement for a more comfortable night’s sleep. Some have taken this to the extreme with ovoid profiles that really do allow you to curl up like in your bed at home. 

INSULATION

You’ve decided on profile, now how about insulation? Insulation works by trapping a layer of warm still air between you and the cold outdoors. Down is generally considered to be the ultimate fill as it provides superb insulation while being very light. It compresses to a small size for convenient storage and transportation, and, when released, it quickly springs open (or lofts) to trap a vast amount of air. Box wall construction ensure the fill lofts efficiently and is uniformly spread throughout the bag. Unfortunately, down is very expensive and clumps together when damp to lose its loft and insulation.

A synthetic fill is the most cost-effective and user-friendly option. It is easy to maintain and works even when damp, although it is generally heavier and bulkier than down when packed away. Sheets of the insulation are sewn between the inner and outer fabrics. The thread will compress the synthetic fill and cause cold spots. While this doesn’t matter in a sleeping bag designed for high summer use, it can be a problem in colder weather. An off-set second layer is placed over the first to ensure a uniform depth of fill to get around this in sleeping bags designed for camping late season or in colder conditions. Some sleeping bags also have a second loose outer layer to cover the thread.

However, the latest ball synthetic insulation performs in a similar way to down and it is becoming increasingly hard to differentiate between the two fills. While it offers all the user-friendly benefits of a synthetic, its down-like lofting characteristics substantially reduces weight and packed size. It even shares the same sleeping bag box wall construction to help it loft effectively. Some sleeping bags will use a combination of synthetic and down to enhance positive characteristics while minimising negatives, often in areas that might benefit from a different fill, for instance, down on top and synthetic beneath.

Sleeping bags come in various insulation thicknesses that allow you to tailor warmth to meet needs. To help you choose, we categorise our sleeping bags in two ways.

All our sleeping bags are independently tested to European standards to find their temperature rating. This uses a computer-controlled thermal measurement mannequin that mimics a sleeping human to objectively determine and compare the sleeping bag’s insulation values and temperature limits. The resulting Tcomfort, Tlimit, and Textreme figures are useful when comparing sleeping bags across brands. 

We also supply a season rating to help you quickly assess a sleeping bag. If we rate a sleeping bag 1 season, we consider it for use in summer months only; 2 seasons for use from late spring through to early autumn; 3 seasons for use from spring right through autumn; 4 seasons for use throughout all seasons but more suited to colder conditions.

FABRICS

The fabrics used are vital to performance and comfort. Down bags certainly need a tight weave to stop the loss of its insulating fill, but comfort is key. The inner fabric always benefits from being soft to the skin. High wicking synthetic fabrics help preserve body warmth by removing heat-sapping moisture and modern finishes provide that next-to-skin comfort. Cotton flannel has always been appreciated as an equally comfortable fabric that absorbs moisture until it can evaporate away. It is often the choice for campers seeking home-like comfort levels. Outer fabric also needs to feel nice but should provide hard-wearing, easy-clean, quick-dry characteristics needed to combat the rigours of camping life. 

FEATURES

While some features are helpful, like pockets to keep small items close to hand, others are more important to performance.  Ease of access, insulation and ventilation are all considered when designing a sleeping bag – and should also be factors during purchase. Nearly all, but the most technical, sleeping bags have full length side zips. These should be substantial, anti-snag and self-locking for ease of use, with two-way operation allowing options to open at the feet to cool off when needed.

Zips can compromise insulation, but this is easily rectified by an insulated zip baffle. The provision of a hood offers head protection from the cold and a comfy ‘pillow’ although pillow pockets are often included. Drawcords at hood and insulated shoulder baffles in more performance-orientated sleeping bags will prevent the ‘bellows’ effect of warm air escaping as you move at night. 

Draw cords are one of the chief differences between sleeping bags designed for adults and children that have such features replaced by elastic to prevent accidents. Size is obviously another – the smaller child’s sleeping bag is not only warmer, but it also stops the child experiencing the fear when waking to find they have slipped to the bottom of a large sleeping bag in their sleep. Sleeping bag length is also relevant to those who have smaller frames or above average height. Junior bags and XL versions all help to ensure you find a sleeping bag to suit. 

TOP TIP

If you haven’t got a child’s sleeping bag, use an adult size bag adjusted to size by using a belt to close off its bottom half. The belt position can be adjusted as your child grows. Just remember to remove all drawcords to prevent accidents they can easily be replaced for adult use.

SLEEPING BAGS CARE 

While down sleeping bags require special care, synthetic versions are far easier to look after. You can start straight away by sponging off any spills or dirt as soon as they occur. The use of a sleeping bag liner not only adds a little extra warmth on colder nights but can be used as a cover on its own when temperatures rise. And they simply pop into the washing machine when dirty…

A dirty sleeping bag is a tad harder to clean. Few domestic washing machines can handle a sleeping bag given the bulk and weight, and you might have to resort in a trip to the launderette or get it dry cleaned. If you choose the latter method make sure the sleeping bag is well aired before use as the fumes can prove deadly. 

Many campers soak the sleeping bag in the bath, agitating the water and gently treading in a proprietary sleeping bag cleaner to remove dirt – a great way to also wash your feet! Rinse the sleeping bag in plenty of clean water before hanging out to dry thoroughly. 

Try to store your sleeping bag by hanging it up where it can be aired to prevent any musty smell. If necessary, store loose in a mesh bag. When in transit always stuff it into the supplied carrybag (stuff sack) as this preserves the insulation.

You’ll be pleased to hear that Outwell offers a choice of quality sleeping bags designed to keep you and your cosy and comfortable no matter where or when you pitch up for that well-deserved holiday. 

As a team that is passionate about outdoor life, we understand what makes superlative outdoor equipment no matter the camping style or chosen adventure.  We also know that no matter how good our materials or the designs we create, it is hard to make an informed choice when purchasing without a way to compare performance.

Well, we want to make sure you can purchase one of our sleeping bags in confidence and that’s why we test our adult sleeping bags to EN ISO 23537-1. 

This is your reliable guide to a sleeping bag’s performance. No matter the brand or model, if a sleeping bag complies to the latest official European Standard it has been subjected to officially recognised industry tests to obtain an accurate temperature rating. 

It is an expensive and resource-intensive process. To obtain a Standard rating for each model, we send a sample sleeping bag to an official independent test facility. Here, a computer-controlled thermal mannequin is used to determine the sleeping bag’s temperature limits. The heated mannequin, which is standard adult size, is placed inside the sample sleeping bag in a temperature- controlled climate chamber. Tests are carried out to obtain specific measurements that include heat build-up, sustained temperatures, temperature loss and rate of loss. The results create the recommended temperature limits that appear for each of our sleeping bag models.

The results are displayed as three measurements in degrees Centigrade. And our standard format in which we present the rating ensures an easily understood like-for-like comparative performance rating to help you choose the appropriate sleeping bag for your needs. These measurements are:

Tcomfort – This is the lower limit that a ‘standard’ woman can sleep comfortably in a relaxed position, such as sleeping on their back. We consider this and above the optimum temperature range for everyone’s sleep comfort over time but, given the gender specific character of this measurement, we use the female symbol when space prohibits the use of ‘Tcomfort’ – such as sleeping bag labels.

Tlimit – This is the lower limit that a ‘standard’ man can sleep in comfort in a curled position to preserve body heat and resist shivering. It is close to the limit of a sleeping bag’s performance and if you aim to sleep within this range for extended periods it is wise to invest in a different model or a liner that will boost insulation and comfort levels. Given the gender specific character of this measurement, we use the male symbol when space prohibits the use of ‘Tlimit’ – such as sleeping bag labels.

Textreme – This is the lowest temperature that you can expect to survive a night in a sleeping bag. As the rating name suggests and given the risk of hypothermia, this is an extreme case scenario and should only be considered if you might potentially experience such temperatures in an emergency.  
It is important to recognise that these are ‘standard’ temperature ranges and performance will be influenced by other factors that include and are not restricted to, shelter, body type and physical conditioning, food taken and hydration, climatic conditions, mat insulation (often defined by a comparative-performance R-value that, like sleeping bag ratings, is the result of independent testing), clothes worn, external heat sources like hot water bottles… The list goes on but at least the EN rating is a handy baseline tool to work with when choosing a sleeping bag…