Camping & Backpacking : Types of Sleeping Bags & Their Uses
When choosing a sleeping bag, it’s important to take temperature into consideration, and also to avoid using sleeping bags that are filled with cotton. Discover why goose down and synthetic sleeping bags make for good choices with help from a recreational kayaking instructor and outdoor adventurer in this free video on sleeping bags. Expert: Dr. T. Scott Cook Contact: www.weu.com/about_us.htm Bio: Dr. T. Scott Cook has a degrees in Recreational Leadership and Outdoor Adventure from Greenfield Community College and the University of Massachusetts. Filmmaker: Christian Munoz-Donoso
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www.wildernessgearreviews.com The Recon 4 Sleeping Bag is an excellent cold weather sleeping bag choice. Recon 3 and Recon 4 sleeping bags are in short supply. We can find them for you. Cold temperatures and 3 inches of snow make for great conditions to test the Recon 4 Sleeping Bag. (The matching bivvy sack gets put to work as well.)
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@solobackpacking Thx
@bryce902
Dry Cleaner is the best way. Make sure its one of the new Organic or Hydrocarbon methods.
You could wash it, but it will require a ginormous washer and super ginormous dryer. It will have to be hanged over night then dried for several hours in the drier. If hot/dry spots form while drying (most likely it will) the nylon shell may burn. So frequently shuffle.
Also washing it in water with detergent is very harsh on the down, so if you decide to wash it, then get a down detergent.
how to clean the sleeping bag???
There is an old saying we often use over here in the UK, It goes; You find out how much you paid for your bag at 2 in the morning; It has been repeated many times to newbie campers. I always advocate buying “4 season” sleeping bags even if you only camp in summer, remember UK summers are still cold during the night in some areas, The up side is we don’t get the huge insects you do in the US, BUT beware the Scotish Midge (pronounced “migee” or just “midg”) they are the piranha of the insect world
Zzzzzzzzzzzzz
Good video. I finally bought a Marmot down bag and it is worth every penny. I will NEVER sleep in another cheap bag again. Whoever designed a sleeping with ANY velcro anywhere was crazy. No matter what it finds a way to drive you nuts and scratch you.
@stackedhippiechick Great data! Thanks for that. And, yep, my ground cover was minimal…wool blanked doubled over. Thanks for the feedback.
Tests show that when your sleeping, up to 75 percent of heat loss is downward and only 25 percent up through the top of your sleeping bag. So, it is imperative you use a good quality pad under your bedroll. While in my sleeping bag, I sleep in my panties only. I have never been cold. It is your body heat that warms the air and the air is the insulator.
Are sleeping bags even designed to be used without a tent or some form of shelter? Shelter improves warmth significantly.
Let’s add a tent along with a sleeping pad…
Then make it only 5 below zero…
hot coffee…and a back back full of goodies!
That is a great test, Doing my first winter camping trip this year, have a great -18 Big Agnes bag, but looking for a lighter option as well, and that Bivy takes out a tent.
Thanks for posting the video
That is a great test, Doing my first winter camping trip this year, have a great -18 Big Agnes bag, but looking for a lighter option as well, and that Bivy takes out a tent.
Thanks for posting the video
Military = weight.
Loft = warmth, without 8″ of loft this is not going to be good to those temps, 14oF.
Compression = loss of loot with time.
cheers
PS Always use a pad????
@MrHaveGun I believe I am a cold sleeper anyway, I’m planning on buying a down bag for sub 0 Celcius temps. I’ve since learned that the Recon range are classified as ‘military sleeping bags’ and so the accuracy of their ratings are not to be compared to civilian bags, as in they don’t need to comply with the same standards as civilian bags under Australian regulations etc….
@mlndstream – I use the recon 3 which is significantly smaller and 300 grams lighter. It is only rated to -5 but I sleep in a sheepskin vest and if it’s really cold my fox fur trapper hat. I’d recommend the recon 3 if you want something smaller and intend to sleep in warmer clothing.
@mlndstream the reason I am interested in this test, is that a lot of the features of the bag that form part of its weight and cost are made redundant by a cheap USMC bivvy bag. The bivvy bag is a water proof(not just resistant), durable, pretty cheap outer shell, which could make all the weight and cost of the durable heavy ‘water resistant’(poor breathability) nylon that the recon 4 is made of redundant, plus the fairly inexpensive USMC bivvy functions as a good warmer weather bag on it’s own
What would be an interesting test is to sleep out in the same temp and weather with all the same gear minus the bag, to see how much warmth the bag really provided you, and maybe then wear an extra layer of thermals, socks and toque to see if a possibly cheaper and lighter second set of more versatile warm clothing could out perform the bag?
@WildernessGearReview I sent them an email stating the bag was still in perfect condition(just like someone had tried the bag for size in their shop)and that I was disappointed by how cold I was in the bag relative to their claim of it being a -10C rated bag,and after about 3 days they sent me back an email quoting this from their site”** Ratings are a Guide only as there is a myriad of factors which could and do effect performance” and that for health reasons they don’t take returns on bags
@mlndstream Hey thanks for your input. Sorry to hear you’re disappointed. Sucks to purchase & not be totally jazzed. Check with your supplier and see if they have a refund policy. Sleeping bags are a bit of a tough gig because so much depends on 3 individual characteristics too. 1) Individual metabolism – fluctuating with food intake or onset of sickness, like a cold. 2) Body fat – I’m 6′ even and about 195. and 3) personal tolerance. Def check for a refund. Let us know how it goes.
@mlndstream it has no baffling around the neck either which it needs,the stuff sack can really cynch it down which is a big benefit if you need the room in your pack. So I think this range of bags could be good for a genuine soldier who needs a very durable bag and who is willing to carry the extra weight due to heavy materials rather than lots of hollow fibre(not much loft imo),but who will intend on wearing thermals,full field clothing,bivvy bag,and possibly boots to stay warm at -10C:/ imo
@mlndstream also,the damn drawstring is outside the mozzie net and on opposite side of zips,felt some condensation around the foot box in the morning too so the’water resistant’nylon isn’t very breathable,but to be fair,on the plus side,it has a zip in/out mozzie net around the face,the bag is made from heavy duty nylon(you can treat it rough),has reinforced foot box to wear boots if necessary(might need to at -10C too),silver impregnated fibres will stop stink factor,hang tabs for drying it
@mlndstream I wasn’t so naive to expect to be warm at -10C,but I should have been toasty at 8C,and sure people may say wear thermals,but how much extra weight and cost in thermals do I have to put in to be warm at just 0C?,I used my USMC goretex bivvy with the recon 4last night,same temps,and my feet were warm this morning,that’s about 3kg of weight to get warm feet and legs when lowest temp reached was 8C?.Should have bought the-20recon5,or perhaps another bag entirely for the $:weight:temp:(
Ok,I bought the Recon 4″-10C”sleeping bag and slept out on my patio for 3 starry nights in a row with virtually no wind,and protected by walls all around me,the lowest temperature reached early morning was about 8C(46.4F),I wore a cotton t-shirt and cotton shorts each night,no socks,thermals,beanie etc..but did use a sleeping pad.I am disappointed,I woke up every morning with cold feet,and only comfortably warm upper body,and the cold came through to my hips when sleeping on my side at 8C?:(
how much?
Very good video, awesome test.
@mlndstream I would say that it would be very close to comfortable under those conditions. The sleeping pad would be a huge improvement. And, I can confirm that keeping the head covered keeps the feet warmer. Though it’s also a function of the feet being isolated, much like wearing finger gloves vs. mittens. The fingers side by side stay warmer and the feet are the same. But I like my feet free to move around. Great comments!
Thats interesting, so if someone were wearing thermals, had a decent sleeping pad under them and had a hooped bivy to lift the bivy up off the sleeping bag to allow it to loft properly you would have been comfy at -15 C?, nice.Also I read recently that when people claim that their feet get cold in their sleeping bags the problem is actually their head getting too cold and the body prioritizes the brain for warm blood so it reduces the supply of warm blood to the extremities…hence the toque?:)
@mlndstream hey thanks for the comment! Good question too. All I was wearing in this vid was a pair of cotton boxers underneath a polypro/fleece set of long underwear, top and bottom with a pair of 60% wool socks. Oh yeah, and, as we call them in Canada…a toque. That’s pronounced tuke. A winter cap. Synthetic blend of some kind. I ain’t got hair on top so from November to April, my head’s covered.
Thanks for posting your test, but it’s important to know what clothing you were wearing inside the bag, as of course you would not have been so warm at those temperatures if you were not wearing all that clothing, so can you give us some idea of what your wearing there?thanks
just got myself a new 4season marmot bag, going to be doing some back yard tests, before take it out climbing:)
I would recommend you sleep with your boots down at the bottom, so that when you wake up, they are dry/warm and you can conveniently put them on.