How to Select a Sleeping Bag for Camping

Series Summary

Roughing it in the great outdoors is one of the those activities that awakens something deep inside of us, reminding us of the relationship between man and earth, reminding us to look at the greatness, the intricacy of the world around us. Many people in the post-industrial world are surrounded by the infrastructure of the city and must drive 30 miles out of town to find someplace semi-deserted and free from the concrete of man's influence. Yet, even then some people even prefer to bring the city with them, only semi-roughing it with electricity, television and air conditioning. A camper should always be prepared and have everything he or she needs to survive in the wilderness, but also not be too weighed down that they cannot hike long distances. So packing for your camping trip is almost as important as the camping itself. Packing is an art. Fitting many things into a small space and knowing what is essential to bring and what should be left behind is sometimes a difficult process. Our expert will show you exactly what you need and what you don't. Learn about tents, clothes, boots, water purification and containers, GPS and communication equipment, food and cooking equipment, first aid and survival gear, ground mats and pack covers. Get advice on balancing and wearing a backpack. Use these tips on your next camping trip!

Video Transcript

"Hi. This is John Stewart and this is how to select and pack your sleeping bag for the camping trip. You can find many different types of sleeping bags in different sizes, shapes. The two different types of styles are going to be a rectangular shape sleeping bag or a mummy style sleeping bag. You can figure out what the rectangular one is. A mummy shaped sleeping bag is cut to the natural shape of your body, so wider at the shoulders and narrower at the feet. There's two different types of materials you're going to find with a sleeping bag. You're going to find down sleeping bags made from goose feathers and stuff like that. You're going to find synthetic sleeping bags. Synthetic sleeping bags are going to be better for wet cool conditions. Down sleeping bags are going to be better for your summer, ultra light trips, like that. When you pack your sleeping bag though you're going to want to take and put it in what's called a compression sack, because when you store your sleeping bag it's all bound up, unrolled and stuff and it takes up a lot of space. So to take up little space as possible in your pack, you need to get a compression stack; sack. Put your sleeping bag in it and it comes with straps on the outside that you can loosen and tighten to get your sleeping bag compressed to a smaller volume. This is going to be key for not taking up a lot of volume in the pack so that you can put other essential stuff in your sleeping bag. It's key to compress your sleeping bag down just so it takes and it doesn't get regular folds in it by rolling it. You can get uniform folds that aren't good for your sleeping bag. So, pack it down in a compression sack and then just put it in the bottom of your pack. Some packs have a sleeping bag compartment; some doesn't, so you can just put it in the very bottom of your pack. That's where you always want to put your sleeping bag. This is how to select and pack your sleeping bag for putting it in a pack."