In this article you will learn about why are sleeping bags so expensive? Your sleeping bag can make the difference between a pleasant camping night and a horrible weekend of lack of sleep. A high-quality sleeping bag will be worth the money you spend on warm, pleasant nights and energizing daytime activities.
The type of insulation material used, the temperature rating to keep you warm on chilly nights, the bag’s size and form, and the manufacturing quality to guarantee it lasts through numerous excursions all affect the price of sleeping bags.
Camping is a great outdoor pastime that frequently includes hiking, swimming, and late-night campfire gatherings. To make the most of your brief time in the outdoors, these physical activities necessitate a solid night’s sleep. Here is all you need to know to select the ideal bag for you.
Price Suffix
What if I told you that the cost of a sleeping bag can range from $15 to more than $1,000? Although the price of a sleeping bag depends on a variety of factors, you can be sure that the $15 sleeping bag will look very different from the $1,000 sleeping bag.
Vacation Bags
What season it is rated for is a key factor in a sleeping bag’s cost. The most moderate and comfortable weather is what summer sleeping bags are recommended for, as their name suggests. They are by far the most affordable sleeping bags on the market, don’t require any extra insulation, and are virtually invariably rectangular in shape. They will cost somewhere between $15 and $50.
The sleeping bags that are made to keep you cool in the summer and not merely off the ground are the exceptions to this rule. These sleeping bags cost more because they contain superior fabrics or ventilation.
Adventure Bags
The final type of bags, expeditionary sleeping bags, are made to withstand below-freezing conditions and will keep you warm in the harshest camping settings. Although few people will ever require a sleeping bag like this, those who do will pay exorbitant prices — between $100 and $1,000+ — for it.
Temperature Rating The most important factor in determining a sleeping bag’s cost is its temperature rating. This rating determines the seasonality of sleeping bags, and as you can see from the chart above, the colder the weather a sleeping bag is rated for, the more expensive it is going to be.
ISO and EN Lab Testing
A lab has independently tested sleeping bags with an EN (European Norm) or ISO (International Standards Organization) rating to ensure that one bag’s temperature rating works the same as another’s.
Comfort Score
The comfort rating and the lower limit rating are two of the many ratings that many bags that have undergone EN or ISO testing may receive. The comfort grade is the lowest temperature that a cool sleeper might anticipate remaining comfortable in. This rating is frequently used as the primary one for women’s bags because ladies typically become colder when sleeping than men do.
Minimum Rating
The lowest temperature that a warmer sleeper can reasonably anticipate to stay warm in, on the other hand, is the lower limit rating. The comfort rating and lower limit rating typically range by 10 to 20 degrees, and some bags only offer one or the other.
An expeditionary bag would be one with a lower limit rating of -20 degrees, whereas one with a lower limit rating of 30 degrees would be a three season bag. The price of a sleeping bag is initially determined by its temperature rating, and only then do the other attributes come into play.
Insulation: Synthetic vs. Down
The insulation that sleeping bags utilise is another important factor in determining pricing. A synthetic fibre blend is used as insulation in some summer sleeping bags and some three-season bags. Although it performs well in wet environments, this material isn’t as warm as down feathers.
The soft, fluffy feathers that birds have close to their bodies to keep warm are known as down feathers. Down can keep you warm in considerably low temperatures than an equivalent amount of synthetic insulation, but because it is an animal product, it is inherently more expensive than synthetic blends.
Fill-Power Score
A sleeping bag’s price is influenced by the amount of insulation it has. On a scale of 0-1000, down is measured using several fill-power ratings. A sleeping bag with a 700 fill power won’t be as warm or as pricey because it doesn’t contain as much down as one with a 900 fill power.
Your sleeping bag’s design
Although it isn’t as directly correlated with pricing as some of the other characteristics, sleeping bags typically come in three different shapes: rectangular, barrel, and mummy.
Rectangle Bags
The most affordable sleeping bags are often rectangles. They give you plenty of room to stretch out and roll around, but all that extra area works against you when you’re trying to remain warm. This is the shape that most summer sleeping bags will take, however you can occasionally get rectangular-shaped winter and three-season sleeping bags as well.
Mummy Bags
On the other hand, mummy-shaped sleeping bags are typically more expensive. Because they are completely form-fitting, you can roll over with the sleeping bag as opposed to inside of it. The majority of mummy bags will come with an integrated hood, and they will keep you significantly warmer. This design is common among 3 season sleeping bags as well as the bulk of expeditionary and winter sleeping bags.
Barrel Bags
The barrel sleeping bags offer a middle ground between those two sack shapes. These bags range widely in both price and temperature rating, are more roomy than a mummy bag, yet warmer and lighter than a rectangle one.
Weight and Size
Any camping equipment that is advertised as “compact” or “lightweight” will inevitably cost more than other gear. Why? Because you need your gear to be as compact as possible when you’re camping, every ounce you have to carry matters.
In subzero temperatures, you could cram a mountain of synthetic insulation on top of yourself and stay warm as a bug, but your sleeping bag would be absurdly large and heavy. The bag with the greater price will weigh less and fold up more compactly if you have two bags with the same temperature rating next to each other.
Having said that, you can only reduce your size and weight so much before you start to lose warmth. Even while the ideal sleeping bag for your upcoming camping trip conditions may be heavier than you’d like, you’re still assured of a restful night’s sleep.
Durability
The general level of quality will also have an impact on the cost. You can spend money on a sleeping bag that will last you years with appropriate care, or you can get a cheap one that will only last you for one or two excursions before unravelling or ripping.
Ripstop and Nylon
The least resilient fabric is nylon, which is also the least expensive. That $15 sleeping bag will likely have this fabric on the outside, but I would anticipate needing to replace it shortly. On the other hand, ripstop cloth is exceptionally tear-resistant but not the best insulator. This is probably present on more expensive summer sleeping bags.
Unique Blends
The majority of other materials used as the exterior of sleeping bags are classified as “technical textiles”—fabric mixtures created especially for this usage. These are often strong, water resistant, and insulating while yet being breathable. As the temperature rating of the bag increases, you can anticipate paying more for these materials.
Zippers and Sewing
The overall cost and longevity will also depend on the stitching and zipper quality. Along with being difficult to fix, zippers that catch on fabric wear it down. High-quality zippers will include a protection to keep that from happening. Both its tenacity and water resistance set apart high-quality stitching.
Making Your Bag More Comfortable
The thought of spending more money on enhancements certainly doesn’t appeal to you since you just paid for a sleeping bag. That’s totally reasonable, but you should also strongly consider bringing a sleeping pad and a sleeping bag liner before you leave.
For more tips on how to have a nice night’s sleep on your upcoming camping vacation, see our page on How To Stay Warm In A Tent.
Mattress pad
Why is a sleeping mat necessary? As you sleep, they offer insulation as well as comfort. Any additional material between you and the ground will inevitably make sleeping on it more pleasant, but perhaps the most crucial benefit of sleeping pads is their ability to insulate the sleeping bag from the ground’s cold.
When sleeping bags are evaluated to determine their temperature rating, a sleeping pad is always included. If you don’t plan to use a pad, you should probably increase the recommended temperature of your sleeping bag by 10 degrees to be safe.
Liner for a sleeping bag
You should also think about purchasing a sleeping bag liner. These are very small pieces of fabric that sit between you and your sleeping bag. They have a number of significant benefits, including keeping your sleeping bag cleaner and keeping you warmer.
Bring a sleeping bag liner if you’re going outside in weather that is close to your sleeping bag’s temperature rating. This will give you a little extra warmth in case the temperature drops lower than expected.
Final Thoughts
The cost of sleeping bags can add up, and it can be confusing to know what makes the $15 bag different from the $200 and $1,000 bags. Along with the type of insulation, shape, size, and durability, the temperature rating is one of the main factors affecting the pricing.
FAQs
What’s the typical price for a sleeping bag?
Price: While sleeping bags can range in price from $50 to $1,000, we believe that the majority of people can get everything they need for car camping for around $100 and for backpacking for between $150 and $400.
Should you dress in layers when sleeping in a bag?
Yes, keeping warm inside a sleeping bag requires wearing long underwear and clothing. Another layer of insulation that maintains your body’s natural heat near your boy and prevents it from leaving is your clothing.
Are sleeping bags actually warm?
Air is trapped in a sleeping bag and cannot circulate. The heat produced by your body’s metabolism warms the “dead air” that surrounds you. Between this air and the colder ground or outside air, the bag creates a barrier. Smaller areas warm up more quickly and keep heat better.
Do down sleeping bags merit the price?
Down sleeping bags’ benefits
- For a comfortable night’s rest, fluffy, light down is excellent.
- Poor grade down that is moist or mixed with feathers does not perform better than synthetic down.
- When cared for properly, down sleeping bags last a lot longer than synthetic ones.
- Three to four times longer is possible with them!
If you sleep naked in a sleeping bag, are you warmer?
No. It is untrue that donning long underwear keeps you warmer than sleeping naked in a sleeping bag.
How many years are sleeping bags useful?
Your sleeping bag should last at least five years if you take care of it and store it properly when not in use. That period can be extended to more than ten years if it is made of sturdy materials and has robust seams and stitches. High-end sleeping bags can last up to 15 years with proper care.
In a sleeping bag, how do you keep your feet warm?
Using a hot water bottle is the most effective technique to keep your feet warm inside of a sleeping bag. Fill a leak-proof canteen with hot water shortly before getting comfortable, then put it in your bag down by your feet. You could choose to use a metal bottle or a heat-resistant plastic bottle.
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