Sleeping Bag Blog

There are two major materials, down and synthetics. Down is what has been used since sleeping bags were made. This is probably the warmest material for it’s weight and it compacts very nicely in a stuff sack. But if you ever get down wet, be warned, it loses all it’s warmth. This is where synthetics come in. These new materials are almost as warm as down and compact almost as much as down. The great thing about synthetics though is that if it gets wet, then it will still be warm.

As people strive for lighter weight equipment,down look very attractive to many backpackers. The outer materials on most down bags are now very water repellant. So the old fear of getting your bag wet is slowing being discounted. The key factor to down bags is fill weight. This will usually be a number from 600 – 900. The technical definition of fill weight volume 1 ounce of down will displace. So that means that 1 ounce of 600 fill down will displace 600 cubic inches in a standardized test. In other words, the higher number of fill power means more loft. For the same amount of down, a 900 fill bag will be warmer than a 600 fill bag. But, a 900 fill bag will also be more expensive for this very reason.So when looking for a sleeping slumberjack sleeping bags are a good sleeping bag.