Sleeping bags are very important parts of a mountain walker’s equipment. They will be the main source of warmth during the coldest times of day and night. They differ in two main areas, firstly in their shape and secondly in what they are filled with.
Regarding shape they are basically either rectangular or a mummy type shape. The rectangular type has a large area around the leg area making for a more comfortable and looser feel. It is also easier to manufacture and so is cheaper in price. This shape however, also means that there is more area to heat up by the body (colder) and more fabric used which makes it heavier than necessary. Mummy type bags on the other hand are warmer, lighter and are the preferred shape of any properly designed product.
Mummy shaped sleeping bag with cowl
The filling inside a sleeping bag gives the bag loft, which is the amount of thickness of the layers when un-rolled. This gives a good indication of how much warmth the bag potentially can retain. The filling inside a sleeping bag can be roughly divided into 3 main types: cheap synthetic, hollowfibre and down. Cheap synthetic is exactly what the name implies and should only be considered for casual trips in warm climates. It has little real warmth or lightness, but is cheap. Hollowfibre is a filling made of very fine hollow filaments that trap air inside them and between them. It is a fairly warm filling and retains its warmth when wet. They have a life span of about 10 years if looked after. It has the advantage of being cheaper than down, however, it will not compress as well as down and is also heavier. Down, on the other hand is the first choice for high quality sleeping bags. They are light, have more warmth per weight of filling, compress more easily and last forever if looked after well. The disadvantages are that they lose most of their warmth when wet, are hard to get dry and are far more expensive. The advantages of down far out weigh the disadvantages, making down the preferred choice in most instances.
The internal construction of sleeping bags is very important. In both hollowfibre and down bags there are two major design types. These are sewn-through type construction and a baffle type construction. Both these construction types are to create separate compartments so that the filling does not shift around and remains fairly evenly spread thoughout the bag.
The sewn-though type allows for warmth to escape through the constricted areas where the inner and outer pieces of fabric are brought together. This is a major disadvantage and is not used on well-constructed sleeping bags.
Sewn through construction. Cheap and light bags.
Baffle type bags have compartments where the two outer layers of fabric are kept apart by a separate inner wall. These compartments have different designs, which could be a zigzag pattern or rectangular shape depending on the manufacture.
Zigzag baffle type
Box wall type
Box wall types are good but not the warmest, they are lighter than V type and costs less.
Brick wall type
Brick wall types have good insulation, are heavier and more costly, expedition type bags.
Trapevoid type
Trapevoid types are a combination of box and V types. They are often used in high quality bags.
Most sleeping bags have zips in them to make getting in and out of the bag more comfortable. Zips can vary from a few centimetres in length to a full zip, which runs all the way along one side and across the foot area. Two identical bags of this type can usually be zipped together to form a double sleeping bag.