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the benefits of being quick-drying, anti-allergenic, and stain-resistant.

There are different shapes of sleeping bags; mummy, rectangular and semi-rectangular, and the type is displayed on the sleeping bag's packaging. A mummy shape is pack size and weight efficient, because their tapered shape reduces the amount of fabric and fill that must be packed and carried. The lack of dead space allows these sleeping bags to warm up more quickly, and to keep you warmer in colder temperatures than a bag with a less tapered cut will. Rectangular shaped sleeping bags are less constraining than mummy shaped bags, are slightly heavier, and take up more space on your knapsack's frame. However, because rectangular bags are more difficult to warm up and are bulkier, they are best suited for summer and car-camping. A semi-rectangular sleeping bag sacrifices some thermal efficiency for smaller pack size and more wiggle room inside the bag, and are more easily coupled, for those nights when sharing body heat is desired.

The fill of a sleeping bag is the most important choice to be made. There are down and synthetic fills. Down is the small fibers collected from the underbellies of water fowl, mainly geese and duck. Down provides the best insulation for weight and volume, with smaller pack size and less weight to carry. However, down is a very poor insulator if it gets wet and is relatively expensive. When selecting synthetic filled sleeping bags, Polarguard 3D, Primaloft and Thermolite are all high-end symthetic fills. Primaloft is known especially for its' ability to retain insulating capabilities when wet, and is the best choice when water related sports or environments are to be included or possibly expected during your camping experience.

As you would expect, the higher performing fills are more expensive. If you don't mind a heavier and bulkier sleeping bag, then using less expensive fills can be a bargain for camping or backpacking in mild-to-moderate weather.

The fill power of sleeping bags describes the lofting capabilities of the down used. The number is the amount of volume one ounce of down will fill in cubic inches. For example: a down sleeping bag rated at 600 will fill 600 cubic inches, while one with an 800 rating will fill 800 cubic inches.
A higher fill rated bag will generally retain it's loft longer than one with a lower fill rating. In addition, a higher fill rated bag will compress more and be lighter than a lower rated fill bag in the same temperature category.

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