Winter camping essentials: Sleeping Bags

Posted: July 6th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Camping Gear | Tags: , , , , , , | 16 Comments »




MEC in Montreal offers a wide range of winter sleeping bags. Crawling into a sleeping bag that you know is going to be warm and comfortable is one of the singular pleasures of backcountry adventure. Just as a good sleeping bag can make for a good night’s sleep, an ill-suited one can spell discomfort or worse.


16 Comments on “Winter camping essentials: Sleeping Bags”

  1. 1 skilegappartyplanner said at 3:49 pm on December 19th, 2009:

    Western Mountaineering great bags that is the one i used in the Himalayas last year

  2. 2 greatoutdoorstony said at 3:55 pm on December 19th, 2009:

    Wow sleeping bags are expensive although I suppose you get what you pay for if you get cold might as well

  3. 3 gasdorf said at 6:02 pm on December 24th, 2009:

    i have the thermal light -15 field and stream bag it was on sale for 70 bucks i guess that means i am going to die in winter surivial ?

  4. 4 PeakSurvival said at 9:40 pm on December 24th, 2009:

    Its a comfort rating depends if you usually get cold although I would say you could add a bivi bag and fleece liner to increase temperature rating, get a bivi bag that breathes otherwise your sweat will freeze

  5. 5 InTheSticks1881 said at 10:52 am on January 16th, 2010:

    Good tips.

    Wear your poly or fleece thermals.

    Eat a fatty meal before hitting the sack.

    Fluff the bag up by giving it a good shaking.

    heat up water and take it with you into the bag. It better not leak tho.

    Put your feet in in your gloves.

    The cheapest and highest quality bag will be a Canadian or U.S. military surplus bag. The U.S. bags are down and poly filled and rated to -20. Roomy and time test tough. $60 Used.

  6. 6 alexgoyettemobile said at 10:55 am on January 18th, 2010:

    i saw you at mec in montreal hahaha

  7. 7 PeakSurvival said at 9:17 pm on January 19th, 2010:

    No Way that is so strange, Great Shop

  8. 8 alexgoyettemobile said at 10:50 pm on January 19th, 2010:

    i saw this gorgeous woman being filmed by some guy that should of bin me lol he was actually using a sony 5 mp hd video recorder i think lol i went and got the MEC Fleece Bag Liner Mummy … i love mec :)
    i use the northface synthetiic sleeping bag cuz condensation is a BIG PROBLEM in the winter
    and in rainy situation .

  9. 9 girlinvisible12 said at 4:26 pm on February 16th, 2010:

    For those of us who doesn’t care to help the Western Mountaineering owner buy his next BMW, what below zero bag is best that costs under $500?

    I don’t care if its a established name.

  10. 10 jagoyust said at 12:50 am on February 21st, 2010:

    get a silk lining for in side the bag! keeps it clean and makes it a bit warmer.

  11. 11 Algoessailing said at 10:07 am on April 26th, 2010:

    It’s possible you will die, but that depends on more factors than just how much you paid for your bag. Not sure where your negative attitude is coming from, maybe its all the natural light. Down is expensive and has benifits, poly fill is cheap and has benefits. 850 down cost more than $30 US an ounce. There are a couple pounds in that bag, and the bag is made in the USA not in china as your bag is

  12. 12 AmericansSexualPreds said at 8:31 am on May 5th, 2010:

    bitch wanna put my dick in your mouth and asshoel ahahah

  13. 13 jekyllhyderacing said at 5:46 am on May 9th, 2010:

    agree the current U.S. Military bags are the absolute best by a LOOOONG shot. I would take a Mil bag outside in a bivy cover before I’d take one of these under cover in a tent

  14. 14 tuxinduluth said at 12:21 am on May 31st, 2010:

    Great video. Thanks.

  15. 15 droptheleash0 said at 2:51 pm on June 11th, 2010:

    warming up with star jumps before getting into your bag, would never have thought of that, good tip !

  16. 16 aikiguy said at 5:33 am on September 9th, 2010:

    I hate to say it but sometimes you need to spend money on the right gear, especially with winter camping. A cold night could be disastrous if you’re not properly prepared. Sleeping bags come with temperature ratings so be sure to pay attention to that. Another option is to buy a liner for your bag if it’s not rated for a low enough temperature.

    Down filled bags are generally regarded as the warmest bags but they can be insanely expensive. Synthetic bags are less warm but will offer better warmth if they do get wet when compared to down.

    Somebody above mentioned condensation being a problem. I normally use an LCO candle lantern in my tent when I sleep. The candles are formulated to burn for about 8 or 9 hours and they offer two “pluses” from what I can tell. One is that they have a tendency to help with the condensation factor. I’m not just sure how well they work in the dead of winter but in the other three seasons they’re very effective. The other is that they can help to add a little warmth (albeit just a little) to your tent. Winter tents tend to be less vented than summer or three season tents so I think it would work to help add maybe a few degrees to the tent air. I’ve used these lanterns in three season tents in the colder temperatures and found that those tents are just too vented to benefit from any potential warmth a candle lantern may offer, although it still helped with the condensation.

    So three things, The right bag, a liner, and a candle lantern.


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