Best Camping Sleeping Bags

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Start with the temperature rating and read it as a survival figure rather than a comfort figure, because that is how the standards define it. A bag rated to 20 degrees Fahrenheit keeps an average sleeper alive at that temperature, not comfortable, and most people are genuinely comfortable roughly 10 to 15 degrees above the number on the label. Rate for the coldest night you expect and add margin, since you can always unzip a bag that is too warm and can do nothing about one that is too cold. Fill type is the next decision and car camping changes the usual answer. Down gives far more warmth per pound and packs much smaller, which matters enormously when you carry it and hardly at all when it rides in a boot; its weakness is that it loses loft when damp. Synthetic fill is heavier and bulkier but keeps insulating when wet and costs less, which makes it the sensible default for campsite use, damp mornings, and anyone camping with children. Shape is where car campers should break from backpacking habits: a rectangular or flannel-lined bag is heavier and vastly more comfortable to move in, and two of them can often zip together. Mummy bags are warmer for their weight because there is less air to heat, and they feel restrictive if you are not used to them. Check the zip for a draft tube behind it, and remember that what you put under the bag determines warmth as much as the bag does.