The technology behind sleeping bags today has sure improved upon the old cowboy bedroll idea. These you can stay warm in the coldest of circumstances using some high tech designs and materials. Here are some ideas to help you buy the right sleeping bag:
You will have those times where it gets cold at night when you are camping. That is why when you are looking to buy a sleeping bag you must encounter the coldest temp you will encounter not the warmest. In the summer or warm climates you only need to look for a +35 degree rated sleeping bag to take along.
But if you do your camping in either the mountains during the summer months, or the fall or spring, you probably will need to get a sleeping bag that is rated in the range of +10 – +35. Of course you hearty winter campers should buy bags that are rated between -10 to +10 degree range, and then the alpine mountain climbers and cold weather explorers should get the bags with a rating of below -10.
You have to remember that the manufacturers' ratings on the temperature ranges are only approximations of the minimum temps that the sleeping bag will give you warmth at. Since everyone run different as far as body temperature generated, just use these temps for a guideline. If you are cold natured you may need a sleeping rated a bit colder. On the other hand if you are hot natured you may not need a bag rated as warm.
The insulating material, used in a sleeping bag, is the most vital part of it. With today's bags you have 2 materials to choose from: synthetic or goose down. Both of the materials do have their good points and bad points, while down bags are thought to be the best due to their ratio of warmth-to-bulk or the warmth-to-weight being so great.
Down is great for insulating, but it is also light and compresses easily. Now you know how the geese stay warm, and can fly even in the winter! Down is also known for being extremely durable and keeps on insulating for years and years.
With mentioning all that about down, the sleeping bags also come in some good quality synthetic materials today, and this type of material is being improved upon as time goes by. It is true though that a synthetic sleeping bag has more weight in it than the down sleeping bag, the synthetic bags are the more desired ones in wet conditions, they do better than down under these conditions. Down actually has very little ability to insulate if it gets wet.
So if you are going to an area that is known for damp climate, you need to thick about getting a synthetic sleeping bag just because of the reason listed above. Also there are a lot of people that happen to be allergic as far as goes goes, but the synthetically made bags are hypoallergenic. Now if price is your main consideration the synthetic is more economically priced than the down, so this may decide which one you will choose for your adventure.