The Camping Forum

[allule]

How do you tell how warm sleeping-bags will be? Looking for extra warmth, a few years ago we bought two '3-season' mummy bags. They are warm enough, but we can no longer face the tussle of getting in and out, or trying to turn over during the night! We would like to go back to square bags, but there does not seem to be a standard way of comparing warmth, like the tog rating you get with quilts. Any advice on how we can ensure we get the warmth without the struggle?

[Andy]

No you dont seem to get the same tog ratings that you get with a quilt, would be allot easier if you did

Im with you i cannot get a good night sleep in a mummy bag! they may be warm and cosey but the lack of movement in the night. i just dont sleep. We have a double rectangular picked up a few years back really warm cotton lined. Im not sure what make it is? dont have access to it at the moment.

However. worht a look Coleman Corel Range.

Available as large single, single and double.

Features
•Shape: Rectangular
•Size: 220 x 100 cm
•Shell: Polycotton
•Insulation: Single layer, 1x200 g/m² polyester fibre
•Lining: Cotton flannel
•Pack size: 46 x 24 cm ø
•Weight: 2.1 kg
•
•Temperatures:
•Comfort: +11°C
•Limit: +7°C
•Extreme: -6°C

Thanks

Andy

[in-a-tent]

These are our square sleeping bags and they are lovely and warm

http://www.outdoorworld.co.uk/royal-umb ... -1168.html

There is a 60oz version too which will be even warmer I guess.

[Wayne]

I agree with "in-a-tent", me and the wife have just ordered two of the 50oz Royal Umbria bags. Having checked them out at the camp show they seemed like a good choice. I wonder if the 60oz might be just a bit to big and whilst give you that extra bit of warmth on the few really cold nights, will make the bag to hot the rest of the year. We always take a few light weight covers for us and the kids, makes all the difference.

Our old bags were getting quite thin and warn, and we really felt the cold in them on the last 2 camps (April and May).

Just an idea, don't be in a rush to chuck old bags away, I sewed some hoops in to the bottom of our old bags and use them as liners (I tied the strings from the mummy bags to the hoops to stop them coming apart in the night) for the kids "mummy bags", they think its great, and they do add a lot of warmth for the kids.

Looking forward to trying the new bags and the kids up-graded bags on the next camping trip (26th to 29th June), is it wrong to hope for one cold night lol.

[Andy]

I agree with "in-a-tent", me and the wife have just ordered two of the 50oz Royal Umbria bags. Having checked them out at the camp show they seemed like a good choice. I wonder if the 60oz might be just a bit to big and whilst give you that extra bit of warmth on the few really cold nights, will make the bag to hot the rest of the year. We always take a few light weight covers for us and the kids, makes all the difference.

Our old bags were getting quite thin and warn, and we really felt the cold in them on the last 2 camps (April and May).

Just an idea, don't be in a rush to chuck old bags away, I sewed some hoops in to the bottom of our old bags and use them as liners (I tied the strings from the mummy bags to the hoops to stop them coming apart in the night) for the kids "mummy bags", they think its great, and they do add a lot of warmth for the kids.

Looking forward to trying the new bags and the kids up-graded bags on the next camping trip (26th to 29th June), is it wrong to hope for one cold night lol.

Wayne, when they arrive im sure Andy @ In-a-tent would appreciate some comments of feedback to the review they have of these

[in-a-tent]

Our only issue with them is the bags they come in don't pack them down very small, which would be useful so we might get a couple of stuff sacks for them.

[Wayne]

They turned up today.

Not had chance to try them out or have a close inspection yet.
The one thing I also notice is the bags they are supplied in are very poor, too big and wont last 5 minuets.
Not that that's a serious problem, but I would have paid a little more for a good bag to put,,,,,,errrr, the bag in.

I plan to add my contributions to "In a tent" on quite a few items, if and where it is required.

Thanks

Wayne

[in-a-tent]

The bags they come in are surprisingly robust, ours are still fine, but as you say they don't pack them down at all so they take up loads of excess room.

[Wayne]

Just coming back to this issue for a few moments. On our camping trips In April and May, we really felt the cold at night(hence the new bags). This was a new experience to us, dealing with the weather at this time of year. Normally we stick to the hotter months, but as the addiction takes hold you find yourself willing to set up camp in conditions your not always fully prepared for. I really do remember waking up shivering, unable to feel my nose, it was that cold.
Recently I was chatting to one of the assistants at the Yeomans Calver Campshow about bags and waking up shivering in the early hours and he had some valuable information.
One big mistake we are making is putting our airbed directly onto our groundsheet, even though its a sewn in groundsheet and I have a second groundsheet i lay on top(kind of an internal footprint, from an old tent). We should still lay a couple of mats under the airbed to insulate it from the floor. Without the mats the ground under the tent is drawing the heat directly out of the sleeping bags through the air chambers in the airbed. This would explain why we would wake up cold in the early hours, it took a few hours for the temperature to drop, the ground to cool and start to suck the warmth from the airbed and then in turn our sleeping bags. Reading this months Camping magazine and I came across the same piece of advice. There was some more tips on beating the cold which I will add later when I have the magazine in front of me.

Whilst the obvious point here is to insulate your airbed from the ground, it also shows that it pays to ask your camping concerns and questions to like minded people. Certainly the camping shows are a great place to chat and learn and these people are passionate about there jobs, for most its also there own hobby. But don't forget here is full of like minded people with a life time of tips and advice and the only silly question is the one you never asked. Anybody who is reading this as a guest, sign up and join us for a chat. Your already part of this friendly forum, you just don't realise it yet

Anyway, I'm going to pick up 2 mats, imagine if I had took my new bags camping in the next couple of weeks and had a really cold night. Whilst we might have been a bit warmer, we would have been disheartened that we had bought rubbish bags, when it was actually our inexperience that had failed us.

I'm going to pick up 2 cheapish mats, any advice on this one ?

Also, slightly out of left field, the kids sleep on camp beds, anybody think mats should be used here, I'm guessing we are OK because they are insulated from the ground ?

[in-a-tent]

We have Fat Airics (self-inflating mats) and they are great. We went camping Mayday B/H weekend in Lincolnshire and were as warm as toast. We posted a review here http://www.in-a-tent.co.uk/Reviews/Fat%20Airic and a comparison to Therm-A-Rests here http://www.in-a-tent.co.uk/Blog/2009/03 ... us%20Airic. We don't use airbeds at all, the Airics are all we use, the foam insulates you from the ground so you don't get cold in the middle of the night and they inflate enough to be comfortable.