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From wearable options to cocoons for two, these will ensure the happiest of campers
Ready for a summer of sleeping al fresco? Whether you’re planning mountain adventures or chilled-out camping holidays, the sleeping bag you pick is key to getting a comfortable night’s sleep in the great outdoors.
The most important job of a good sleeping bag is, of course, keeping you warm. Sleeping bags are roughly classified by season, ranging from one-season to four-season. Temperature ratings are a more specific measure of how warm a sleeping bag can keep you, and are usually split into three categories – you’ll see comfort, limit and extreme temperature ratings listed for most sleeping bags.
Comfort is the optimum temperature at which you’ll feel warm and, well, comfortable. We’ve given the comfort rating for all of our recommended bags below. Our tip is to look for a sleeping bag with a comfort rating temperature that’s lower than what you’re expecting to encounter on your coldest camps, just to be on the safe side.
There are sleeping bags out there to suit every camper – from double bags you can cuddle in and smaller, female-specific designs to cotton duvet-style bags and even bags designed to suit side sleepers.
With options to suit all seasons and types of camper, the 12 models we recommend below will have you looking forward to bedtime wherever you pitch your tent.
We took all of these sleeping bags out on multiple nights of adventures in tents, hammocks and campervans to test out how warm and comfortable they proved to kip in. Warm autumn nights in the Cotswolds and winter temperatures of -4C in the Cairngorm mountain range in Scotland were good grounds for checking these bags. We looked for all-night comfort and easy packability, as well as checking that bags really did keep us warm to the comfort temperature they claimed.
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This bright lime-green wonder is a great all-rounder of a sleeping bag that will work for camping holidays and wilder adventures alike. At 1.1kg, the ascent AcII is light and packable enough to bring along in your rucksack, but still offers a decent comfort temperature of -10C, thanks to its down filling, so you can get away with using it year-round.
A multiple-zip design makes it easy to add ventilation on hot nights, and you can also fold down the top of the bag like a quilt for added comfort.
Available in unisex or women’s-specific lengths, this is a good “does-it-all” bit of kit.
No need to unzip yourself from your comfortingly warm sleeping bag on a chilly morning – Voited’s clever new design is an all-in-one sleeping bag that can double up as a cosy coat if you simply unzip the foot box.
Warm primaloft insulation is a good synthetic (and vegan) alternative to animal down and has a comfort limit of 11C, making this bag-with-arms a good choice for summer festivals and family holidays.
And, of course, you get a bonus winter coat in the bargain, which you can sport on anything from dog walks to the school run.
Recreate the comfort of your favourite duvet on your next camping trip. This sleeping bag has a deliciously soft cotton outer and a fleecy flannel lining that’s ideal if you don’t like the slippery plastic feel of synthetic sleeping bags.
As the name suggests, this is a generously sized bag, with plenty of room for one camper to snuggle up in.
The monstera is a traditional rectangular bag that’s on the heavy side at 4kg, but is warm enough to use from spring through to autumn. We rate it for glamping trips and campervans, where its good looks and comfort will help to make a cosy home from home.
Pop the couloir out of its stuff sack and it immediately feels like lovely quality – and we were certainly impressed by this cheery yellow bag on test.
A snug fit and plenty of down filling traps in body heat quickly, making it easier to drift off to sleep when it’s nippy, and we love the central zip for easy access in the middle of the night. The snug hood stays put without feeling claustrophobic too. Our top pick if you’re after a mummy-style bag.
A warmer version is also available for winter camping trips down to -8C.
One of the most expensive sleeping bags in our round-up is also one of the very best we tested.
If you’re into lightweight fast-packing or bike-packing adventures, you’re probably on the hunt for a design that won’t add weight or bulk to your kit, and at 577g the hyperion is impressively small and light (it packs down to the height of a large water bottle) and is easy to pack.
Unfurl it from its compression pack and you’ve got a delightfully soft and cosy bag, stuffed with water-repellent animal down. The ergonomic shape of the hyperion traps in heat brilliantly, and we found it kept us warm and comfy on frosty autumn nights. A great quality choice for three-season wild camping.
If you tend to sleep cold, go for a down-filled sleeping bag – they always deliver on comfort and warmth. Kelty’s three-season cosmic ultra is a well-priced pick, stuffed with insulating DriDrown. This is Kelty’s own-brand technology, which is designed to keep you warm without excess weight, but will still work well if it gets wet from rain or humidity.
The cosmic ultra is pleasingly squishy and soft to sleep in, and will fit into a bigger backpack – perfect for weekends outdoors and more casual wild camping, as well as for traditional camping trips. There’s a good reason why this bag is a bestseller.
If you want to protect the planet with your sleeping bag purchase, Sierra Designs’s night cap 20 is made from recycled synthetic insulation sourced from plastic water bottles. It also features a recycled fabric outer material, so it’s a more eco-conscious choice than many designs.
We like the internal sleeping mat sleeve, so you can pop your camping mat inside to keep it in place if you’re a restless sleeper, and the foot vent, which makes it easy to cool off on hot nights.
This is a clever “zipless” design with an innovative duvet-style cover that gives you that tucked-in feeling of your bed at home.
If you tend to toss and turn during the night, you’re likely to find most slim sleeping bags on the restrictive side. Not so with the softie expansion, which is designed to give you far more room than usual.
A clever “elasticated expander panel” means you can zip up snugly on a cold night but add extra space when needed, and that extra room also allows more air flow on hot nights.
With a comfort rating of -5C, the softie will keep you snug in three seasons and has a few handy extra features, including a built-in LED torch, an adjustable foot length and internal pockets.
Keeping you comfortable in temperatures down to -17C (or, in an extreme temperature of -50C, keeping you alive, if not that comfortable), this sleeping bag will suit most winter conditions in the UK. It’s also very affordable, compared with some other winter bags aimed at women.
The musca’s shape is a mummy without being too restrictive, so heat is trapped in without making you feel like you’re kipping in a coffin.
We wish all bags had a handy internal pillow pocket like the musca’s – just pop in your travel pillow for a comfier night’s sleep.
On warm summer hiking adventures or when backpacking and camping abroad, you don’t want to be weighed down with a heavy, bulky bag – so, swap your warm winter equipment for Jack Wolfskin’s athmos.
Lightweight at just 650g and packable in a rucksack or a bike pannier, but with plenty of pleasingly soft down to keep you cosy, this is a good go-anywhere summer sleeping bag you could take on adventures in your carry-on. It also gets bonus points for being made mostly with recycled materials.
Cosy up with a co-camper (and share welcome body heat) in a double sleeping bag. Our top pick is the affordable but very comfy Outwell contour lux.
Two zips make it easy to share this roomy bag, which can also be opened up into a full-sized double duvet that’s ideal for glamping or for popping in a campervan. Two built-in pillows are a nice place to rest your head (you’ll probably still want to pop another on top).
A clever touch is that one side of the duvet is less insulated, so you can sleep under the 12C side on hot summer nights, and swap to the 1C side in colder conditions.
Nemo reckons 70 per cent of us sleep on our sides, so the brand set out to design a bag that would suit most campers. Less of a mummy shape and more of what they call a “spoon”, this innovative design wraps nicely around you as you kip on your side, and stays put even if you tend to toss and turn.
Warm down and a hefty -8C comfort limit make this a versatile bag for all seasons, and we love the quilt-like folded top of the bag.
This is a gender-specific bag, so you can pick from male (£320, Cotswoldoutdoor.com) or female (£294.95, Wildbounds.com) fits.
Rectangular: The most traditional style of sleeping bag, these are, as you would expect, the same width all the way down. These are more spacious for sleeping, and can be opened up to serve as a quilt, but tend to be less warm and are better suited to casual summer camping, festivals and use in campervans and glamping tents.
Barrel shaped: Like a barrel, the shoulders and footbox taper in, and there will often be a hood, too.
Mummy: Expect a very snug fit here – the bag mimics the shape of your body, with a hood and adjustable drawstring, so it can be tightened around your face. These taper around the foot and are usually lighter and warmer, and better suited to multi-day hiking.
Double: Intended for two adults, double sleeping bags can also come with a hood.
Elephant foot sleeping bag: These are tapered towards your feet, and while they are highly fitted, just like a mummy-style bag, they won’t have a hood.
First off, you’ll want to think about the fit – wriggly sleepers will want a looser shape with a bit more wiggle room.
Next, there’s the temperature – how chilly is it going to be where you’re going, and can your sleeping bag keep you toasty enough to drift off comfortably? If ease of use is a big factor for you, you may also want to consider the zip, and whether it’s long enough to give you easy access.
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Of course, you’ll need to consider weight, too – for longer trips, you’ll want a lighter bag that isn’t too much of a chore to lug around from place to place. Check both the weight and the pack size of the sleeping bag you have in mind – some of our featured bags will fit into the smallest of backpacks, so they’re a good choice for on-the-go hikers.
Animal down is the best sleeping bag filling for warmth-to-weight ratio and heat retention. Sleeping bags made from down also tend to last longer and are easier to pack up in small bags. Note that you can’t let most down bags get wet, as they’ll quickly lose their warming properties, although some are water-resistant. While synthetically insulated sleeping bags are usually heavier and bulkier, they are generally better at keeping you warmer when it’s wet or humid, as well as drying out quicker. They’re also easier to clean, generally cheaper and more likely to be made from recycled materials.
By tapering towards your feet, and with the addition of a hood, mummy-shaped sleeping bags mean less unnecessary space. The aim here is to increase insulation – the less air there is around your body, the less heat you need to keep the bag toasty and warm.
Although this will depend on how well you look after them, and the frequency of use, down-filled sleeping bags could last up to 10 or 15 years, while synthetic bags may last for around three to four, give or take.
Sea to Summit’s excellent ascent AcII is the perfect all-rounder, while we also rate Jack Wolfskin’s light and packable athmos for summer and camping abroad. For bitter winter nights, we’d recommend Haglof’s snug musca sleeping bag.
While a good sleeping bag will keep you warm, check out our round-up of the best camping mats for a truly comfy night under the stars
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