The Best Backpacking Sleeping Bag Review

The Sleeping Bag: The Most Important Insulating Layer
Per unit weight the sleeping bag offers the greatest amount of warmth of any type of insulating product. Upgrading a sleeping bag is one of the most cost effective ways to reduce pack weight and size, and purchasing a good down bag is a long-term investment- they can last up to 20 years. We researched the global sleeping bag market and tested nearly 40 bags over three-years of multi-day trips of all types, all over the world. This review describes our product selection, criteria for evaluation, and identifies the best performing sleeping bags. See the image below to compare the different types of three-season bags.


Choosing the Right Bag for Your Needs
One of the first questions to consider, is what type of sleeping bag will best fits your needs. We've provided a summary of the major types of bags and their advantages/disadvantages below. However, those seeking more complete background information of the different types of sleeping bags, should refer to our buying advice article, How to Choose the Best Backpacking Sleeping Bag.

Traditional Style
This review compares traditional style sleeping bags with zippers and hoods, bags that prioritize comfort over weight savings. After testing nearly 70 sleeping bag of all types we’ve found that traditional style bags—those tested here— are a good choice for people that want one bag for all types of outdoor activities— both car camping and weight conscious multi-day trips. Bags with attached hoods are ideal for use when nighttime temperatures are consistently around or below freezing, because the bag’s hood will always be utilized, i.e. you won't be carrying something you don't need. The average bag tested here weighs 31 ounces.

Ultralight Bags
The average bag in our Ultralight Sleeping Bag Review, which compares hoodless sleeping bags, weighs 19 ounces and scores considerably higher than those tested here- we use the same criteria for evaluation so that you can compare across reviews. Models in the ultralight review provide the greatest amount of warmth for the lowest weight. If you’re looking for a lightweight bag that will primarily be used backpacking we highly encourage you to consider one of the models found in the Ultralight Bag Review. None of these models are currently sold at outdoor stores like REI.

Camping Bags
A third type of sleeping bag is the large and luxurious rectangular bag that are too heavy to carry backpacking. These offer much more comfort than any model tested here and cost as little as forty dollars!! We compare these general-purpose bags in the Camping Sleeping Bag Review. When considering all types of bags we believe that some people will be best with a camping bag for general use and an ultralight bag (which costs as little as $260) for trips where saving weight is a high priority. However, some of the bags tested here are excellent values for backpacking AND general use.

With all of this buying advice out of the way, we’ll now continue to our comparison of the best traditional style sleeping bags. The first and most important thing to consider is insulation type.

Down V. Synthetic Insulation
Sleeping bags are made with synthetic and down insulation. Synthetic insulation is best for extended trips in wet conditions where a sleeping bag has a moderate to high probability of getting wet, staying wet for an extended period, or where opportunities to dry the bag out are limited. Down insulation offers significantly more warmth for its weight, is more compressible, more comfortable, and more durable than synthetic insulation. For the vast majority of people in the vast majority of conditions, down will be the best option. Although major companies and retailers market synthetic bags as less expensive alternatives to down bags, our testing shows that, for this type of bag, down is both better and cheaper than synthetic insulattion. In other words, we believe the only reason to get a traditional style synthetic bag is for its increased performance when wet. Budget rectasngular synthetic bags found in the Camping Sleeping Bag Review are a different story because they offer exceptional value and are too heavy to be carried for more than a few minutes.

Criteria For Evaluation
We rated each bag on its warmth, weight, packed size, features, and versatility. Our criteria for evaluation is the same for ultralight bags so that you can compare performance across reviews.

Warmth
The amount of loft, measured as the thickness of the insulation between you and the external environment, has the greatest influence on sleeping bag warmth. Fit is the next most important factor in determining sleeping bag warmth. Bags that are too tight or too short won't allow the insulation to loft properly. Similarly, a bag that's too large will have drafty dead air spaces that make the bag thermally inefficient even though it may have enough loft for the conditions. The crux in selecting a fixed girth sleeping bag is choosing one that best fits your body and the clothing you plan to wear. Some bags tested here, such as the Mountain Hardwear Speed 32 have slim cuts that can't accommodate lots of clothing or people with broad shoulders. Some sleeping bags designed for alpine climbing and mountaineering, such as the Valandre Mirage and Bloody Mary are trim in the lower body and spacious in the upper body to accommodate large down parkas. Feathered Friends and Western Mountaineering bags are available in multiple lengths and widths, which is a huge advantage because you can get a bag that fits your body well. Look at the foot, hip, and shoulder circumference to compare dimensions for unisex bags. We've included these measurements in the specification tables found in each review.

Warmth is also heavily influenced by conductive heat loss to the ground. Choosing an appropriate sleeping pad is important, especially in colder conditions or when sleeping on snow.

Weight
Sleeping bag weight is function of fill, shell material, and features. In general, heavier bags use either synthetic insulation or low fill-power down (500-700). Many of the highest performance bags tested here use the best down (850-900 fill-power) and very light, expensive fabrics. The primary factor that makes one bag lighter than another is its cut, as described above, and its features, or lack thereof.

The 46-ounce Marmot Sawtooth 15 is the heaviest down bag tested here. Weighing in at 44 ounces, the Mountain Hardwear Ultralamina and North Face Cats Meow tie as the heaviest synthetic bags tested. Note that we capped the bags in this category at three pounds. Heavier bags are found in the Camping Sleeping Bag Review.

At a touch over 16 ounces the Western Mountaineering Highlite and Mountain Hardwear MTN Speed 32 tie for the lightest down bags tested. Although a one pound sleeping bag is impressive to look at and a pleasure to carry, we've found that adding several more ounces of down greatly increases warmth, which, in turn, increases versatility. For summer use, where bags around one pound are primarily used, our testers prefer a lightweight hoodless bag- those found in the ultralight sleeping bag review.

Comfort
Comfort inside of a bag is highly subjective and primarily depends on fit. Increasing the size of the bag provides more space to sprawl about and move within a sleeping bag. However, many people find it perfectly comfortable to move with a sleeping bag, not within it. In addition to space for sprawling and thrashing, our ratings here focus on a bag’s features that contribute to or detract from comfort. In this regard we’ve found that the hood and neck baffle design are most important. Insulation type also influences comfort; sleeping in a down bag is like floating on a superlight cloud while zipping into a synthetic bag is less heavenly. The Western Mountaineering Versalite and Marmot Plasma 15 are the most comfortable bags tested, largely because they contain more down than other bags, which is both warm and cushioning.

It's also important to consider total comfort throughout the course of a day of hiking, not just when you're inside of a sleeping bag at night. A heavier bag that's slightly more comfortable to be inside of may be less comfortable overall when compared to a lighter bag with slightly less space. It depends on how long you carry the bag. Overall, we believe that comfort is the least important factor involved in choosing a sleeping bag for backpacking; no bag we've tested is uncomfortable.

Features
Here we assessed the quality of each bag's features and attempted to quantify how well they contribute to the overall performance of the bag. This variable encompasses shell fabric, zippers, draft tubes, neck baffles and stash pockets. Traditional bags with snag-free zippers, easy-to-use hood adjustments, and hoods that don't come undone at night scored higher in this category.

In most cases, more features or more complicated features reduce the performance of a sleeping bag. They add weight, complexity, cost, and might fail faster. The potential benefit of a given feature's warmth, comfort, or convenience is rarely offset by its drawbacks. For example, stash pockets for a watch alarm are useful on -40 degree winter bags where you're surrounded by so much down you can't hear anything, but for three-season bags, a pocket might reduce comfort if you roll onto the watch and, depending on where the pocket is, might make it harder to hear the alarm. Sewing a pocket onto a bag takes time and uses additional materials that increase the cost of a bag. When it comes to features, less is more.

Versatility
Three-season sleeping bags are employed in a wide range of conditions. They must function on hot summer nights as well as when the temperatures drop below freezing. Some people may also choose to save weight by using a three-season bag on winter trips. Versatility, therefore, is a critical component that greatly increases a bag's performance and value. Unfortunately, the fixed girth of the bags found in this review greatly reduces their versatility when compared to adjustable girth quilt style bags found in the ultralight sleeping bag review. Some of the bags tested, such as the Feathered Friends Hummingbird and Western Mountaineering Vesalite here have continuous horizontal baffles that allow you to shift down from the top to the bottom of the bag, which increases comfort in warm conditions and warmth in cold conditions. The most versatile bag included in this review is the Feathered Friends Rock Wren, a hooded wearable bag with zippered openings for your arms and feet. Wearable bags eliminate the need to bring a jacket for use around camp- just put the bag on when you start to get cold.

Packed Size
Packed size is a function of down fill power, fabrics, and features. Higher quality down, light fabrics, and simple features create the most compressible bags. Of the models compared here we found the Kelty Light Year XP to be least compressible and the Mountain Hardwear MTN Speed 32 to be the most compressible.

Important Accessories
A waterproof stuff sack is critical for keeping your bag dry. Unfortunately, very few sleeping bags come with decent quality stuff sacks and many bags come with downright terrible stuff sacks. Thus, we highly recommend purchasing one separately. See our Best Sleeping Bag Stuff Sack Article for our recommendations for specific applications.

Editors' Choice Winner: Feathered Friends Hummingbird
This small Seattle-based company churns our some of the best and most innovative sleeping bags on the planet. The 25-ounce Hummingbird is their fast and light three-season rock star. If you prefer an attached hood and a zipper, this bag offers a unique advantage over bags from other top-tier companies: you can choose one of four cuts to best suit your body type and clothing system. This allows you to get a top tier bag (900-fill down and the best fabrics available) that offers the most warmth for its weight. Get a wider size if you want to add clothing for use in winter. Bonus: opt for a custom bag and choose from eight different colors or modify features like the draft tube or zipper length. If we were to have one single sleeping bag for equal amounts of every type of outdoor activity the Hummingbird would be our top choice.


Top Pick for Synthetic Bag: Mountain Hardwear Ultralamina
Extended trips in wet climates, big wall climbers, and NOLS and Outward Bound students can't beat the warm-when-wet performance of the Mountain Hardwear Ultralamina. This bag was updated for 2013 and weighs 41.7 ounces and is available in 45, 15 and 0 degree models. It keeps you warm even when you're soaking wet and offers several features that set it apart from the synthetic competition: a small hood opening and full neck baffle to seal in warm air. Unique laminated construction saves weight and increases warmth and weather resistance. Our testers have spent months inside the Ultralamina in Patagonia. There's no other bag we'd rather have when everything else is wet and miserable.


Top Pick for Versatility: Feathered Friends Rock Wren
Take top quality down and fabrics and add two zippered holes for your arms and an adjustable closure for your feet and you have the Feathered Friends Rock Wren, a fantastic wearable sleeping bag for backpacking, bicycle touring, and wearing around the house. Why a wearable bag? Answer: use it as a substitute for an insulated jacket to save weight. Nearly every person that has borrowed this bag has asked to buy it. No other hooded sleeping bag is as versatile or as fun to wear.


Best Value Award: Kelty Cosmic Down 20
The affordable, yet reasonably lightweight and compressible Kelty Cosmic Down 20 takes our Best Buy Award. Cold sleepers and backpackers who frequently extend their three-season trips into lower temperatures will want something warmer, but everyone else should pick up the Cosmic Down 20 and pocket the several hundred dollar savings. This bag is far more durable and compressible than its similarly priced synthetic insulated counterparts. It offers beginning or budget conscious backpackers an exceptional value.

Best Ultralight Sleeping Bag
Check out the Ultralight Sleeping Bag Review to compare cutting-edge lightweight bags.