by Jeff Johns

Created on: April 28, 2008   Last Updated: May 04, 2008

It used to be that purchasing a sleeping bag was as easy a quick trip to the local sporting goods store and there between the baseball bats and hockey sticks you could find the choice of blue, gray or green cloth bags. It didn't matter what you chose because most the time you ended up cold or wet by the time your night of camping was over.

Nowadays when it comes to selecting a sleeping bag, there are a number of questions to consider, to make sure you choose the right one for your needs. It's good to keep in mind that honesty is the best policy when answering those questions, so you don't end up with sleeping bag overkill or something with a cartoon character's face on it that's suitable only for a kid's sleepover.

Questions

1. How do you plan to use the sleeping bag?

This is the most important question to ponder in the selection process. It's good to plan ahead here and consider not only how you would currently use a sleeping bag, but also to consider if there was a type of situation or environment that you may want to use the bag down the road. Meaning if you currently only utilize the bag for warmer or moderate climates, but you've always wanted to give full blown winter outings or higher elevation hiking a whirl then you may want to consider a bag geared for heavier, colder duty.

Sleeping bag comfort ratings generally fall into four categories:

+ 35 degrees and higher- summer season bags

+10 to +35 degrees- 3 season bags

-10 to +10 degrees cold weather bags

-10 and lower- winter extreme bags.

You should ask yourself what is the coldest nighttime temperature in which you will be utilizing the bag. This is also a question of personal comfort. If you have a tendency to be a warm sleeper and end up kicking off the covers in the middle of the night then a lower comfort rated bag may get the job done for you.

If you tend to run on the cool side at night then, you may want to kick the comfort level up a notch and go for the lower temperature rated bag. Often this boils down to a question of gender or metabolism, with women tending towards being colder sleepers.

Keep in mind your personal approach to camping as well. Are you the kind of person who insists on having a roof over your head, even if it's only a tent or are you the type that needs to see the stars in the sky in order to truly be camping? Tents will add another layer of protect from mother nature, while great outdoors types may want to step up a comfort rating.

Not to confuse the situation, but keep in mind the use

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