Sleeping bag recommendations

[Mars]

I need a sleeping back for bike-packing so it needs to be light-ish and pack small-ish but it doesn't have to be the lightest or smallest because I have a trailer, so I have a bit of carrying space.

I don't like mummy-types, so I would like a rectangular one, preferably one I can throw into a washing machine.

If it had a long flap to rest my pillow on, all the better.

Finally, if I bought a second one for Mrs M, I'd like to be able to zip them together.

Any recommendations please?

[JQ]

Mine probably doesn't meet most of your requirements being a mummy that I doubt zips to another, but I have Snugpak Softie. Had it for 10 years and it has been awesome, I have never felt cold despite some winter camping sessions. You get what you pay for when it comes to sleeping bags.

[Mars]

Thanks. Yes, I'm prepared to pay for the right one but I only need 3-season really which should help manage the cost. In fact, I don't really want anything too warm or I'll only end up opening it up anyway.

Amazon has a few candidates but I think I'll go and visit a camping shop next week (I have a week off) to check some out.

[timbob]

Snugpak might be the way to go. They’re well priced and seem to have a good reputation for achieving their advertised warmth. Their downside is generally that they don’t pick down the smallest, which isn’t an issue for you. I seem to remember they do a series of rectangle bags too.

Have a google, I think I’ve seen them on a military surplus site - military1st or militarykit, or something along those lines.

[Mars]

As it happens, I found (what I think is) a reasonable compromise and have ordered an Outwell Campion Lux after seeing one in a shop, specifically that it had a soft and comfy polycotton inner, and packed down decently small.

I'm still really not sure how "warm" to buy so I've gone for a 2-3 season. I'm naturally a warm person and have (in the past) slept with my sleeping bag open when camping but I'm also aware that the last time I camped (8 years ago) it was a) by car where I had brought with us plenty of additional "comforts" that I won't have access to while bike-packing, and b) it was in the summer. I'm planning 2.5-season travel (late spring to early autumn), so I have also ordered a cotton sleeping bag liner (I bought the Outwell version, believing that it should fit the sleeping bag) which will also pack down very small, offer a small amount of extra warmth if needed, and help keep the main sleeping bag clean.

Other considerations were that the sleeping bag has a hood which helps contain my pillow (stops it wandering away as I move about at night), and the bag is red which matches my tent (MSR Elixir).

They're both en route. I'll report back when it arrives - I'll try it out one night at home.


Next purchases required - a lightweight but firm pillow, and a sleeping mat.

For the pillow: I'm seriously thinking about just buying a firm piece of foam. Doesn't need to be anything like the size of a conventional pillow. Think about a conventional pillow used end-on... that's the sort of thing I think I'd like. In fact I'm tempted to cut a pillow in half, push all the stuffing from both ends into one side only, and sew it up again. I'm sure something like this would do.

For the mat: I've seen a few but I'm new at this so I'm not 100% certain how they perform. Last time I had a fairly large air bed mattress that I pumped-up with a 12V pump plugged into the car. For bike-packing I think I'd like a self-inflating one, so I think (again) this means one filled with some sort of foam that helps it to inflate when you unroll it. I absolutely don't want one I need to blow up because a) I can't (blowing up balloons gives me a headache), and b) **I believe** air-filled mats don't provide much insulation - at least those filled with "breath" don't because of the moisture content. Having said that, that type pack down smaller than the foam-filled type, and weigh less than half. So, perhaps for a few nights I should consider them and save myself having to lug an extra Kg around.

I don't want a "yoga mat" type (even though they probably provide the best insulation) because they're just a tad too hard for my old bones. A foam-filled self-inflating mat sounds like the right sort of thing but my question is whether you can supplement the inflation with a bit of "puff" to firm it up... better still if I can use my bike pump. At a camping shop today I looked at the Thermarest brand which might be the sort of thing I'm after but without any experience, I wondered if anyone here had any recommendations?

Edited by Mars on Friday 29th October 18:28

[mikeiow]

I have a down sleeping bag I use - I find I can always unzip it if I am too warm, but I can't make a cold bag warmer!
We used to have bags we could zip together....never again, easier to have our own more toastie bags!

For a mat, I went for a Trekology UL80 - quite thick, rolls reasonably small. Have had various self-inflating ones over the years....always fail in the end, and only the really big ones (too big to carry away from a car!) were thick enough to avoid being uncomfortable....the UL80 was properly thick yet rolls up small

I went with a roll top compression bag to inflate it - avoids moisture in the mat, only takes about half a dozen 'pumps' & was near-zero effort to inflate!
The compression sack can be used to store clean/dry clothes when not inflating....& pop the clothes back in to act as a pillow
As shown on another thread just now:

[Bill]

I've had various thermarests over the years and still have my first - a 30 year old 3/4 length with a few patches. For a pillow I tend to fold some clothes for height and the put a down jacket in the sleeping bag bag for comfort.