Adventist Youth Honors Answer Book/Camping/Sleeping bags

Aside from the 3 main shapes of the bag listed below, a more important issue is what is in the bag and how it is stitched. The warmer bags are feather filled (duck down) and the bags are rated by a weight ratio. Other bags have synthetic fiber, also rated by a weight ratio.

Good bags will show either 3 or 4 season or may give an outside temperature value they would keep you warm in. Some bags are rather large and hard to get into your pack. There are now better more compact bags available.

Storing your bag

Do not leave it squashed into its outer bag. Hang it up on a hanger to let the bag breathe when not in use.

Rectangular

The rectangular sleeping bag is probably the most common, and are popular for light use. They are not suitable for backpacking because they provide the least amount of warmth and the most amount of weight. As the name implies, they are rectangle-shaped. While this makes them comfortable and roomy, the wide opening near the top is a major source of heat loss. Unlike a mummy bag it does not have a hood that can be drawn around the head to retain heat.

Mummy Bag

The mummy bag is shaped like a sarcophagus. It is narrow at the feet (but tall there to allow just enough room for the feet), tapers at the waist, widens again at the shoulders, and then tapers down near the head. The top is very much like the hood of a winter coat, complete with drawstrings to close up the gap and keep heat in. Because they conform so well to the human shape, there is very little wasted space inside. This is good because your body has to heat all that space, and because the extra insulation and material thusly removed does not have to be carried (meaning it's lighter).

Barrel Bag

The barrel bag is a modified mummy bag. It is roomier than the mummy bag and provides almost the same warmth at the cost of additional weight.