Thinking about a new sleeping bag

[EBXL5]

I am required to live outside thanks to my job and sleep outside in austere environments.

A few top tips:

A military sleeping bag is ideal so long as its an Arctic Issue one.

Eat Lots of carbs before bed as your body uses a great deal of energy keeping warm and you will wake up if you run out of fuel.

Wear a warm wooly hat.

Wash your feet in cold water before you get into your bag, it'll get the circulation going and have your sleeping bag warm and toasty in minutes few.

Ive never woken up in the night and have had some of my best nights sleep outside and the views pretty awesome (sometimes)!

[Phil Fargaze]

Thanks for the tips. Am I right in thinking beer is high in carb, so that's one way of sorting that out. Only if it`s cloudy though.

However I have heard that alcohol can reduce body temp.

I`ve never heard of the feet in cold water trick before, seems like a reverse kind of thinking.

I might try it at home first to see how it feels.

[JonH]

Thanks to the advice on this thread I am now the proud owner of a large Arctic military sleeping bag - £30 including stuff bag and postage from Army Surplus on Ebay. It's in excellent condition and should be perfect for those cold star party nights.

Thanks again guys.

[Phil Fargaze]

Nice one! Sounds like a bargain.

[Phil Fargaze]

I went to the well known camping retailer on Canvey Island, Essex which happen to have 20% off almost everything and I ended up getting a Vango Nitestar 450. It`s 3-4 season and comfort at -2 so that should do the job.

I`m fresh back from SGL8 which turned out to be a good test for the bag! Having not gone for the military option I`m pleased to say that the Vango did really well.

Fri night I was on my self inflating mattress (which is only about 15mm thick) and in t shirt and boxers. I felt just right.

On the Sat night (when it was snowing!) I managed to stay extra cosy!

I opted for an extra 10mm foam mattress underneath plus thermal leggings, and I chucked in a hot water bottle just to take the chill off my toes.

Looking forward to a heat wave at Kelling in a few weeks!!

[Daniel-K]

i use foam underlay to put down inside the tent its foil backed so acts as an insulator as well never been cold yet

[stevepeverall]

Don't think that spending loads of money guarantees noticably extra insulation. I bought a coleman sleeping bag made from goose feather for £100 reduced from £160 back in the late 90s. I washed it and it was never the same since. i replaced it 10 years later with a nitestar 300 for £45 and noticed no difference in warmth or comfort.

[cotterless45]

Just can't get used to sleeping bags. Tried mummy style and cocoon style. Now cosy with just a 15 tog duvet and a foam sleeping mat underneath,

Nick.

[stevepeverall]

Just can't get used to sleeping bags. Tried mummy style and cocoon style. Now cosy with just a 15 tog duvet and a foam sleeping mat underneath,

Nick.

And Aunt Sally to cuddle up to of course!

[ronin]

Don't think that spending loads of money guarantees noticably extra insulation. I bought a coleman sleeping bag made from goose feather for £100 reduced from £160 back in the late 90s. I washed it and it was never the same since. i replaced it 10 years later with a nitestar 300 for £45 and noticed no difference in warmth or comfort.

Drying goose down is a bit of a specialty, you cannot just wash it then dry it especially if it was hung out to dry, and I doubt that the "easy" method would work in a household dryer, they just are not big enough.

The 2 bags could have been rated the same, the primary difference is the down one would have been lighter. In effect you were not paying for extra warmth but less weight. And these days sleeping bags get thrown in a car so weight is pretty irrelevant.

[Polar Bear]

Sleeping bags are always a compromise between weight / insulation and cost. Good bags start around £75.00 , no free lunches here. They are also designed with backpacking / walking / expeditions in mind so if you are walking to a star party fine.

However if using a car to attend, a blow up mattress and 2 duvets makes much more sense.

[stevepeverall]

The 2 bags could have been rated the same, the primary difference is the down one would have been lighter. In effect you were not paying for extra warmth but less weight. And these days sleeping bags get thrown in a car so weight is pretty irrelevant.

I never knew that. Thanks for the info.

Steve