Choosing the right summer sleeping bag - a step-by-step guide

With summer just around the corner and the wild outdoors luring us with their refreshing breezes and the offer of a calm escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, more and more people consider taking up camping outside.

Choosing the perfect summer sleeping bag is absolutely vital for every budding camping aficionado, as it plays a key role both in terms of comfort and safety. 

First of all, we should specify our needs. We have to consider the region we're traveling to, the altitudes we’ll be camping at, the months in which we organise our trip, and, of course, our own temperature preferences. 

While summers have been getting hotter and hotter, we must remember that in the early and late summer periods, the temperature dips at night, and changes in weather conditions can be quite harsh; hence, while we don’t want to overheat, extra insulation is nothing to scoff at.

Researching the materials

The first aspect of choosing the right sleeping bag for summer camping is familiarising yourself with the various available materials and their properties. Let’s begin with the outer layers.

The most important criterion here lies in whether or not we’re expecting the sleeping bag to come into contact with outside moisture, whether it comes from brief exposure to rainfall or merely high moisture contents in the air. 

If camping out in a hammock or tent, it’s best to go for DWR (Durable Water Resistant) materials that will protect the bag’s filling from soaking. However, if you are looking for a bag to use in a mountain shelter or cabin, such extra protection might not be necessary. 

In the latter case, choosing the right material boils down to personal preference, aesthetics, and potentially environmental considerations. It's best to choose recycled materials or eco-friendly ones, but aside from our conscience, as long as the material is of good quality and ensures breathability, it shouldn’t impact our trip. 

The most important choice lies in the sleeping bag’s filling. There have been many arguments made in the debate over which material is superior: down or synthetic fillings. Let’s take a look at their individual qualities:

·       Down Filling - its key strengths lie in how light it is, its phenomenal compressibility, its great insulating properties in relation to weight, and its longevity. A properly maintained summer down sleeping bag will last you for many seasons.

The key disadvantages often brought up in the debate include its cost, which is influenced by the nature of the material and the norms it has to meet. Next up is its poor moisture resistance, although great strides have been made in recent years to mitigate this factor. Lastly, some people might be allergic to this natural filling.

·       Synthetic Filling - its advantages consist of its competitive cost, good level of moisture resistance, and ease of care, as most sleeping bags with synthetic fillings are machine washable. Also, synthetic fillings are hypoallergenic, offering a good alternative to those unable to choose natural goose down.

When it comes to disadvantages, we can name two major, impactful ones. First off comes bulk. Synthetic filling takes up far more space and, in effect, increases the overall weight of the sleeping bag. This can be a big factor during long treks to or between our camping destinations.

Second, synthetic fillings are far less durable than natural ones, as their insulating properties diminish due to fiber decay that happens over time. 

Considering weight and packability

With safety and comfort in mind, we should now divert our attention to the weight and packability of our bag. A lightweight summer sleeping bag goes a long way toward ensuring that we don’t put unnecessary strain on ourselves during already challenging hikes. 

Compressibility and loftiness are also key considerations. Packing the bag in a compact way is one thing, but we should make sure that constant packing and unpacking won’t cause the filling to clump and lose its insulating properties.

Checking the temperature ratings

Last but not least, before making our choice, we should pay attention to the temperature ratings of our future summer sleeping bag. Here, special attention is required to the parameters provided by the producer. There are three indicators to keep in mind:

·       Comfort Temperature - The lowest outside temperature at which a woman can spend the night in the sleeping bag without discomfort or health hazards;

·       Limit Temperature - The lowest temperature a man can comfortably withstand in the sleeping bag;

·       Extreme Temperature - The absolute lowest possible temperature at which the sleeping bag will offer protection, albeit with some discomfort to the user.

The above ratings vary from model to model but are always connected to the fill power, i.e., the parameters of density, loft, and amount of insulating filling within the sleeping bag.

As stated earlier in the article, more doesn’t always mean better, as we should match our bag parameters to the weather and temperature conditions we expect to encounter.

Doing our own research

Choosing the right lightweight summer sleeping bag can be quite the task, but in consideration of comfort, safety and satisfaction, we strongly recommend doing your due diligence, not rushing into a purchase and carefully considering the following parameters:

·       Your needs

·       Materials used, including filling type

·       Weight and packability

·       Temperature Ratings

Some producers have their own online tools, which can help us find the product perfectly matching our needs.

They also provide ample information about various sleeping bag characteristics. For example, websites like https://pajaksport.com/equipment/sleeping-bags/87-summer-sleeping-bags/ can be a good source of more in-depth information about key choice criteria and will help us make an educated choice.