Finest Ultralight Sleeping Baggage of 2022 – iRunFar

A fastpacking journey may start the place a snowmelt river runs out right into a heat, sunlit meadow, however we fastpackers transfer shortly, so night might discover us effectively above treeline the place it’s chilly, even in the summertime. So with regards to a sleeping system, we wish to carry an ultralight sleeping bag or quilt that feels weightless when shifting and heat and comfortable in camp.

A great ultralight sleeping bag or quilt for fastpacking will compress down sufficiently small to slot in a fastpack, and will probably be gentle sufficient that most individuals can comfortably run with it. It should even be comfy to sleep in all through a variety of temperatures as a result of, as most fastpackers and ultralight backpackers know, the wilds are capricious.

This yr we researched dozens of ultralight sleeping baggage and quilts, examined 14 of them, and selected eight for this record. The sleeping baggage that made the reduce are all gentle, heat, sturdy, comfy, and packable.

Beneath are our favourite fastpacking sleeping baggage of 2022. For extra background info, see our shopping for recommendation, testing methodology, and incessantly requested questions beneath the picks.

Ensure to take a look at our finest fastpacks information and finest ultralight sleeping pads information as effectively!

Use these hyperlinks to skip shortly to the sorts of sleeping baggage and quilts you’d wish to be taught extra about:

Our testers agree that the Feathered Mates Flicker UL 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag can be utilized comfortably all through a wider vary of temperatures than every other sleeping bag on this record, prompting us to call it one of the best hoodless sleeping bag for fastpacking.

As this sleeping bag is hoodless, it’s designed for use along with a hooded jacket or heat hat. Its full-length zipper and drawstring footbox closure present ample venting choices. This bag may even be opened up right into a blanket for hotter nights. It’s also astonishingly gentle and packable, stuffed filled with 14.7 ounces of 950-plus fill down and weighing solely 25.8 ounces in a dimension common on our scale.

We discovered this sleeping bag to be warmest and most comfy if we saved the zipper beneath the physique. On this orientation, we may unzip the bag to simply beneath the hip, successfully utilizing it as a quilt. This was comfy and heat between about 27 and 45 levels Fahrenheit.

Beneath about 25 Fahrenheit, we’d suggest zipping up the sleeping bag all the best way however conserving the zipper underneath the physique as a result of, though it has a draft tube, zippers are typically a chilly spot in most baggage. This zipper’s low profile makes it nearly imperceptible when laying on it.

When absolutely zipped, the form is mummy-like for thermal effectivity, snugging in across the legs. The Enlightened Gear Convert 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag, against this, is extra egg-shaped, a possible motive it wasn’t as heat as this sleeping bag.

This sleeping bag is sort of excellent however we did discover one downside with it. The neck cinch options two shock wire drawstrings — one on both sides — which are adjusted by cinching a small wire lock. Sadly, these wire locks aren’t enough for holding the neck opening closed, and even small actions uncinch the opening. We added an extra wire lock to every shock wire to remediate this situation.

The Feathered Mates Flicker UL 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag’s versatility is really excellent, making it our suggestion for anybody wanting just one sleeping bag. It’s cozy effectively into the kids Fahrenheit, tremendous gentle for a way heat it’s, vents simply, and may be draped blanket type for hotter nights.

Sort: Hoodless Sleeping Bag/Quilt

Marketed Weight: 25.2 ounces (715g) in a dimension common

Precise Weight: 25.8 ounces (731g)

Fill Weight: 14.7 ounces (417g) of 950-plus fill

Temperature Ranking: 20 levels Fahrenheit

Packed Measurement: 7 x 13 inches (17.8 x 33cm), 8 liters

Professionals:

• Very gentle
• Conservative temperature ranking
• Comfy
• Tapered mummy form is thermally environment friendly
• Opens into blanket

Cons:

Store the Feathered Mates Flicker UL 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag

The Feathered Mates Swallow UL 20 Sleeping Bag is the warmest sleeping bag we examined that’s nonetheless gentle sufficient — 27 ounces — to qualify as a fastpacking sleeping bag. It’s constructed from gentle, sturdy, and downproof materials and crammed filled with 16.8 ounces of 950-plus fill down.

We slept on this sleeping bag on a number of fastpacking journeys in temperatures ranging between 22 and 45 levels Fahrenheit. It was clear that even at 22 Fahrenheit, we weren’t approaching this bag’s restrict. It’s heat. There isn’t any actual draft collar, forcing you to cinch the opening snugly round your face in temperatures beneath freezing. If this bag had a draft collar, you may go away the opening principally uncinched, which might be extra comfy, in our opinion.

A number of of our girls testers have been proud of the 60-inch shoulder width of this sleeping bag. They discovered it to be extra thermally environment friendly than the 63-inch shoulder width of the REI Co-op Magma 15 Sleeping Bag – Males’s. For that reason, we consider that the Feathered Mates Swallow UL 20 Sleeping Bag is a really unisex sleeping bag, becoming a variety of our bodies higher than different wider and narrower baggage. It’s additionally simply insanely heat. If you happen to can afford the excessive price ticket, you gained’t be disenchanted.

Sort: Hooded Mummy Bag

Marketed Weight: 27 ounces (766g) in a dimension common

Precise Weight: 26.95 ounces (764g)

Fill Weight: 16.8 ounces (476g) of 950-plus fill

Temperature Ranking: 20 levels Fahrenheit

Packed Measurement: 7 x 12.5 inches (17.8 x 31.75cm), 9 liters

Professionals:

• Comfy
• Extraordinarily heat
• Dimensions match all testers effectively

Cons:

• Costly
• Minimal draft collar

Store the Feathered Mates Swallow UL 20 Sleeping Bag

The Katabatic Gear Alsek 22F Quilt is an amazingly gentle and heat quilt with well-thought-out options. It weighs a complete of 23.7 ounces in a dimension common and is filled with 14.1 ounces of 900 fill goose down. It additionally has probably the most safe sleeping pad attachment system we’ve seen on any quilt.

Certainly one of our testers used an older model of this quilt for practically 5 years earlier than deciding it was just a bit too slim. To our nice shock, Katabatic Gear has revamped it this yr with new wider dimensions to extend consolation and cut back the potential for drafts. Narrower quilts by default are extra liable to drafts. This quilt used to have a shoulder girth of 52 inches and it has been widened to 54 inches. This may occasionally not sound like so much, however it’s sufficient to make a distinction for our 5-foot, 11-inch and 155-pound tester.

A number of sleeping baggage in our record endure from inherent inflexibility as a consequence of their form and dimension, typically becoming sure our bodies and never others. As a result of this one has an adjustable girth, we discovered it to suit a wider array of our bodies higher than every other sleeping bag on this record, from very narrow-shouldered to very broad-shouldered individuals. Certainly, it may be narrowed to solely 54 inches and widened to an efficient width of round 66 inches, all whereas nonetheless sealing in physique warmth.

All zipperless quilts are susceptible to turning into drafty, however this one mitigates the chance effectively by way of a number of means. This quilt’s differential reduce offers it a everlasting tube form relatively than a blanket form, so it all the time appears to be like prefer it needs to offer you a hug. The elastic-hemmed edges appear biased to cosy underneath the physique relatively than spill out over the sides of your pad. And the pad attachment system makes use of a static wire, so it doesn’t stretch while you toss and switch within the evening. We had no points with drafts when utilizing this bag.

We now have nothing however good issues to say in regards to the up to date model of this quilt. It’s heat and comfy all through an enormous vary of temperatures and may be adjusted each for local weather management and to suit totally different physique sizes. The Katabatic Gear Alsek 22F Quilt is one of the best quilt for fastpacking we’ve discovered.

Sort: Quilt

Marketed Weight: 22.2 ounces (629g) in a dimension common

Precise Weight: 23.7 ounces (671g)

Fill Weight: 14.1 ounces (400g) of 900 fill

Temperature Ranking: 22 levels Fahrenheit

Packed Measurement: 6.5 X 11.5 inches (16.5 x 29.2cm), 6.5 liters

Professionals:

• Very gentle
• Comfy
• Tapered mummy form is thermally environment friendly
• Adjustable shoulder girth
• Small packed dimension

Cons:

• Fidgeting with sleeping pad attachment straps isn’t for everybody

Store the Katabatic Gear Alsek 22F Quilt

Certainly one of our testers has used the Feathered Mates Tanager 20  CFL Sleeping Bag as his go-to fastpacking sleeping bag for over a yr, primarily due to its spectacular warmth-to-weight ratio. For under 20.2 ounces within the 74-inch size, you get a bag full of 13.3 ounces of 950-plus fill down that may take you to twenty levels Fahrenheit or decrease comfortably. It’s additionally the lightest sleeping bag on this purchaser’s information.

To avoid wasting weight, Feathered Mates gave this bag a 5- x 7-denier nylon shell. This shell is frightening gentle in each look and really feel however has held as much as stuffing, unstuffing, and the unavoidable claws of a canine simply high quality. It’s additionally much more downproof than every other 7-denier shell materials we’ve come throughout.

Being a zipperless, tube-style sleeping bag, it isn’t for everybody. The claustrophobic amongst us may shudder on the concept of sliding a sleeping bag on like a sock. The 62-inch shoulder girth was each comfy and thermally environment friendly for our slim to common male testers, however slightly extensive for our smaller feminine testers — except they have been layering with further clothes, wherein case this bag labored effectively.

This bag additionally has a fairly excessive taper, so the leg space is sort of slim. We discovered this to be considerably uncomfortable after lengthy days when our joints have been feeling tight and our legs needed to bend and stretch. Then again, we have been grateful for the environment friendly reduce of this bag throughout colder nights as a result of the down wrapped warmly round our legs.

The higher finish of this bag’s consolation zone might be about 45 levels Fahrenheit, after we simply go away the neck opening utterly uncinched. Certainly one of our testers slept this fashion three nights in a row throughout a fastpacking journey by way of the mountains and deserts of central Arizona. If you need a bag to be comfy all through a better vary of temperatures, have a look at a sleeping bag with higher venting choices such because the Feathered Mates Flicker UL 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag, which is about as heat however can even be comfy in hotter temperatures in blanket mode.

In our expertise, the decrease finish of this bag’s consolation is about 14 levels Fahrenheit when carrying base layers and a down hood and sleeping on an insulated pad. That is astounding contemplating the Feathered Mates Tanager CFL 20 Sleeping Bag is the lightest on our record.

Sort: Hoodless Zipperless Sleeping Bag

Marketed Weight: 19.7 ounces (558g) in a dimension common

Precise Weight: 20.2 ounces (573g)

Fill Weight: 13.3 (377g) ounces of 950-plus fill

Temperature Ranking: 20 levels Fahrenheit

Packed Measurement: 5.5 x 11 inches (14 x 28cm), 6 liters

Professionals:

• Loopy gentle
• Glorious warmth-to-weight ratio
• Tapered mummy form is thermally environment friendly
• Tiny packed dimension

Cons:

• Pulling a sleeping bag on like a sock isn’t for everybody
• Minimal venting choices

Store the Feathered Mates Tanager 20 CFL Sleeping Bag

The REI Co-op Magma 15 Sleeping Bag – Males’s shocked us greater than every other sleeping bag we examined. For under $399, you get an exceptionally heat mummy bag with well-designed options and premium-grade supplies. This bag is commonly 30% off throughout REI’s gross sales, making it solely $280, and we don’t suppose you’ll find a greater mummy bag cheaper than that.

In a dimension common, this sleeping bag has 15.9 ounces of water resistant 850 fill down inside it and weighs a complete of 27.4 ounces. These specs compete very instantly with the opposite hooded mummy bag on our record, the Feathered Mates Swallow UL 20 Sleeping Bag, however prices $190 much less, making it a straightforward alternative for most individuals.

This sleeping bag went with us on a number of journeys by way of Capitol Reef Nationwide Park in southern Utah and the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah, the place it saved our testers heat in temperatures ranging between 25 and 45 levels Fahrenheit. We agreed that the 15-denier liner and shell materials was comfy and sturdy, the zipper slid easily, and the partial draft collar successfully prevented physique warmth from escaping.

We didn’t check the ladies’s model of this bag as a result of it has a lot down in it that it most likely qualifies as a winter sleeping bag and, at 36 ounces, is just too heavy for this record. Sadly, the boys’s model was slightly too extensive for our girls testers at 63 inches within the shoulders.

We want REI would cut up the distinction between the boys’s and girls’s baggage, making a 60-inch shoulder-width unisex sleeping bag with a complete weight of about 28 ounces. In our opinion, that might swimsuit a wider vary of our bodies and wishes higher than their present choices.

Sort: Hooded Mummy Bag

Marketed Weight: 28.2 ounces (800g) in a dimension common

Precise Weight: 27.4 ounces (776g)

Fill Weight: 15.9 ounces (451g) of 850 fill

Temperature Ranking: 16 levels Fahrenheit

Packed Measurement: 7.5 x 15 inches (19 x 38.1cm), 10.9 liters

Professionals:

• Comfy
• Heat
• Cheap

Cons:

• Shoulder width a bit extensive for narrower individuals
• Footbox too massive for thermal effectivity
• Ladies’s model too heavy to qualify as a fastpacking sleeping bag

Store the REI Co-op Magma 15 Sleeping Bag – Males’s

The Out of doors Vitals StormLoft Down TopQuilt 15 made our record primarily due to its affordable price ticket of $245. This quilt is reasonably gentle at 24.5 ounces, is constructed from first rate supplies together with 10-denier shell and liner materials, and is full of 15 ounces of 800-fill water-repellent duck down. In case you are simply stepping into fastpacking and don’t wish to spend a ton of cash, we extremely suggest this quilt.

We selected this quilt with a temperature ranking of 15 levels Fahrenheit however have been skeptical that this ranking was reasonable. With 15 ounces of water resistant 800-fill duck down inside, this quilt will not be fairly as heat as different baggage on this record with comparable quantities of a better grade of down. The Feathered Mates Flicker UL 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag, for instance, has 14.7 ounces of 950-plus-fill down in it and is far loftier and hotter. That’s all proper with us although as this quilt has an unbelievable price ticket!

The legs and footbox of this quilt seem like loftier than the torso space, which isn’t essentially a foul factor as a result of it’s simpler so as to add an additional layer to your higher physique than your legs if want be. Certainly one of our testers obtained chilly within the excessive desert when temperatures plunged unexpectedly to the excessive 30s after a storm handed, however she warmed up after placing on her down puffy jacket. Different testers discovered the quilt to be lots heat to about 35 levels whereas carrying solely base layers and a heat hat.

The quilt’s stretchy pad attachment straps don’t slide by way of the wafer clips simply, making them practically not possible to regulate. Attempting to regulate the straps, certainly one of our testers broke a clip, rendering the quilt extra prone to drafts throughout one chilly evening within the San Juans of Colorado. Luckily, she was capable of merely tuck the sting underneath her physique and she or he slept comfortably all evening.

That mentioned, don’t suppose twice in regards to the shortcomings of this quilt when you can’t spend a ton of cash on a premium quilt — it’s ok for many conditions. And typically — dare we are saying normally — ok is all anybody ever wants. Particularly if Out of doors Vitals improves the StormLoft Down TopQuilt 15’s sleeping pad attachment system, we’ll proceed to suggest it to fastpackers on a price range.

Sort: Quilt

Marketed Weight: 23 ounces (652g) in a dimension common

Precise Weight: 24.5 ounces (695g) with pad attachment straps

Fill Weight: 16.2 ounces (460g) of 800 fill water-repellent down

Temperature Ranking: 15 levels Fahrenheit

Packed Measurement: 7 x 12 inches (17.8 x 30.5cm) 9.6 liters

Professionals:

Cons:

• Ineffective sleeping pad attachment straps and flimsy clips

Store the Out of doors Vitals StormLoft Down TopQuilt 15

The Zpacks 20F Full Zip Sleeping Bag is a high-end quilt/sleeping bag hybrid that might be nearly excellent in the event that they made one single revision. As a result of it lacks a differential reduce it needs to be priced a bit decrease. However first the nice.

Weighing solely 21.4 ounces in a dimension common, that is the second lightest bag on our record, proper behind the Feathered Mates Tanager CFL 20 Sleeping Bag. It’s constructed from premium supplies, together with 13.7 ounces of 900 fill DownTek goose down and 0.51 ounce/sq. yard, 7-denier liner and shell materials. The materials are skinny and light-weight, permitting the right down to loft absolutely. The shell can also be so skinny it’s scary however is constructed with a tiny ripstop woven all through, offering some peace of thoughts. Sadly, this materials has confirmed to be the least downproof on any bag we examined, with little feathers leaking by way of right here and there.

The bag has a protracted, two-way zipper so you possibly can open it practically all the best way on heat nights and zip it closed in the course of the chillier instances of the yr. The neck opening cinches closed with a really skinny shock wire, stretchy sufficient to not really feel constrictive across the neck. And the collar clasp is a plastic wafer clip as an alternative of the snap most corporations use, a transfer we will get behind as a result of it’s safe and straightforward to make use of.

So now you is likely to be questioning what on earth may very well be incorrect with this sleeping bag. In our opinion, it’s slightly overpriced for what it’s, particularly when in comparison with the Feathered Mates Flicker UL 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag. The Feathered Mates bag has extra high-quality down — 14.7 ounces of 950-plus fill versus Zpacks’s 13.7 ounces of 900 fill — and is constructed with a differential reduce whereas being solely $10 dearer.

Why is a differential reduce vital? Briefly, baggage constructed with the shell reduce a few inches wider than the liner are able to lofting absolutely even when elbows, knees, and shoulders are urgent into the liner. We anticipate premium quilts with excessive value factors to come back with this function. However, in the event that they added a differential reduce to the Zpacks 20F Full Zip Sleeping Bag, the value may very well be justified and it might actually begin to compete with our high picks.

Sort: Hoodless Sleeping Bag

Marketed Weight: 21 ounces (595g) in a dimension customary/medium

Precise Weight: 21.4 ounces (606g)

Fill Weight: 13.7 ounces (388g) 900 fill water-repellent down

Temperature Ranking: 20 levels Fahrenheit

Packed Measurement: 6 x 12 inches (15 x 30cm) 7.1 liters

Professionals:

• Very gentle
• Sturdy #5 coil zipper

Cons:

• Costly for no differential reduce
• 7-denier shell materials much less downproof than others we examined

Store the Zpacks 20F Full Zip Sleeping Bag

The Enlightened Gear Convert 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag is a really comfy, fairly priced, and versatile quilt. The inventory mannequin is constructed with a 10-denier shell and liner. The scale common/common is stuffed filled with 17.9-ounce, 850-fill water-repellent goose down and weighs a complete of 27.2 ounces. It’s potential to order this similar quilt in numerous temperature rankings or full of totally different grades of down. We selected the ranking and down high quality that might most carefully examine to the opposite quilts on our record.

That is certainly one of solely two sleeping baggage on this record that has a drawstring footbox closure — the Feathered Mates Flicker UL 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag being the opposite. Each of those quilts may be absolutely opened into blankets for hotter nights or cinched and zipped closed for colder nights. Certainly one of our testers appreciated this function when sleeping on the banks of Lake Powell in 60-degree Fahrenheit nights. In these conditions, it’s potential to easily drape the quilt over one’s physique in order that cool air can discover its solution to your ft or torso.

The foot cinch doesn’t shut as securely because the cinch on the Feathered Mates Flicker UL 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag and is the potential perpetrator for the chilly ft certainly one of our testers skilled throughout one 20-degree Fahrenheit evening within the Wasatch Mountains in early Could. As a result of the absolutely open bag is kind of rectangular, it transforms into an egg-shaped, relatively than mummy-shaped, tube when zipped, and is due to this fact very roomy within the legs. A few of our testers wished it was extra mummy-shaped for thermal effectivity whereas others preferred the consolation of the roomy leg space.

The sleeping pad attachment straps are stretchy, which we discovered to be much less efficient than the static wire attachments on the Katabatic Gear Alsek 22F Quilt. The wafer clips, alternatively, are simpler to make use of than the little wire lock system on the Katabatic Gear quilt.

The shell and liner supplies are worrying, in look no less than — they don’t have ripstop. Whereas they really feel thicker than the 7-denier materials on the Zpacks 20F Full Zip Sleeping Bag or the Feathered Mates Tanager CFL 20 Sleeping Bag, and will theoretically be extra downproof, they most likely gained’t deal as effectively with canine claws or basic abuse. If a tear begins, it can solely get larger over time. Solely time will inform if it is a actual situation, however our testers most well-liked the feel and appear of a number of the materials on different baggage that obtained our highest rankings.

Lastly, this quilt will not be constructed with a differential reduce, however that is acceptable contemplating the affordable value.

All in all, the Enlightened Gear Convert 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag is a strong alternative for these wanting a sleeping bag/quilt hybrid that can carry out effectively between 20 and 60 levels Fahrenheit. If you need versatility and don’t wish to spend the additional cash for the premium options of our higher-rated baggage, positively test it out.

Sort: Hoodless Sleeping Bag/Quilt

Marketed Weight: 26.5 oz ounces (750g) in a dimension common/common

Precise Weight: 27.2 ounces (772g)

Fill Weight: 17.9 ounces (507g) 850 fill water-repellent down

Temperature Ranking: 20 levels Fahrenheit

Packed Measurement: 6.5 x 12 inches (16.5 x 30.5cm) 8.3 liters

Professionals:

• Cheap
• Heat
• Comfy

Cons:

• Egg form much less thermally environment friendly

Store the Enlightened Gear Convert 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag

Purchaser’s Information: The right way to Select a Fastpacking Sleeping Bag or Quilt

Forms of Sleeping Baggage

There are three main sorts of ultralight sleeping baggage with some variation and crossover between the classes. On this record, we’ve reviewed hoodless sleeping baggage, hooded sleeping baggage, and quilts. You’ll wish to select certainly one of these primarily based in your sleeping type, how you intend to make use of the remainder of your gear along with your sleep system, and the sorts of journeys you wish to do.

We hesitate to say that one sort of bag is best for again sleepers and one is best for facet sleepers. As an alternative, we’ll simply clarify how every of those kinds is meant to work.

Hooded or Mummy Sleeping Baggage

Basically, hooded baggage just like the REI Co-op Magma 15 Sleeping Bag – Males’s are supposed to transfer with you as you toss and switch as a result of your head stays within the hood. So far as heat goes, the principle advantage of hooded baggage is that they supply insulation to your head, that means you don’t need to put on a beanie or hooded jacket inside.

The difficulty with that is when you have been wanting to make use of your hooded jacket or beanie as part of your sleep system to avoid wasting weight, you’ll face some redundancy points. A few of our testers additionally like that hooded baggage maintain your pillow proper the place you need it.

Hoodless Sleeping Baggage

Hoodless sleeping baggage can both transfer with you or keep stationary as a result of there isn’t any mounted hood. These baggage shine partly as a result of they work with no matter layers it’s possible you’ll wish to deliver alongside. If you happen to plan to pack a hooded jacket on each journey, you possibly can put on it inside your Feathered Mates Tanager 20  CFL Sleeping Bag, for instance, successfully tacking a hood onto it. Fastpacking necessitates the implementation of multiple-use gadgets for effectivity and weight financial savings, which is why many people right here at iRunFar like hoodless baggage.

Quilt-Type Sleeping Baggage

Quilts such because the Katabatic Gear Alsek 22F Quilt are supposed to stay mounted to a sleeping pad, along with your physique spinning rotisserie-style inside them. They, like hoodless sleeping baggage, additionally work together with hooded jackets and the like to cut back gear redundancy.

However, in our opinion, the actual advantages of quilts are threefold: First, they maintain weight low by making a sleeping bag “bottomless,” successfully leaving out material and down that might usually wrap beneath the physique. Second, they enhance consolation by making the width of the bag adjustable. Third, they be certain that the highest of the bag — the world the place condensation and frost will land — by no means finally ends up beneath the physique the place the moisture would get pushed by way of the material into the down.

The primary draw back of a quilt is its susceptibility to drafts. Futzing with straps and cords can be annoying, particularly after a protracted day when all you wish to do is sleep.

 Weight

We put a cap of 29 ounces for sleeping baggage on this information as a result of fastpacking sleeping baggage must be gentle. Basically, lighter sleeping baggage will compress sufficiently small to slot in a 25-liter pack and can make for extra pleasing operating. The lightest bag on our record is the Feathered Mates Tanager 20  CFL Sleeping Bag with a complete weight of 20.2 ounces.

However fastpacking sleeping baggage can’t simply be gentle, they need to be heat too.

Heat

After narrowing our record to solely baggage underneath 29 ounces, we then recognized those with sufficient fill in them to theoretically be heat at or beneath about 25 levels Fahrenheit on an insulated sleeping pad. Most often, that meant we have been selecting 20-degree baggage with between 12 and 16 ounces of fill relying on the grade, however another claimed temperature rankings made it into the record. So, earlier than even taking a look at price or options, we had compiled a listing of theoretically gentle and heat sleeping baggage.

For probably the most half, that left us with fairly costly baggage such because the insanely heat Feathered Mates Swallow UL 20 Sleeping Bag. Lighter baggage by default use the best high quality down, which is among the causes they’re extra pricey than heavier baggage. Exceptions to this rule are the price range choices we discovered such because the Hammock Gear Economic system Burrow — which we hope to check subsequent yr — and the Out of doors Vitals StormLoft Down TopQuilt 15, which obtained our price range award. This quilt makes use of mid-grade down and ultralight shell supplies whereas having minimal options and the only design. It’s additionally fairly heat.

Insulation Materials

The 2 predominant sorts of insulation supplies in sleeping baggage are down and artificial. Down comes from both geese or geese. Artificial insulation, similar to Climashield Apex, is a steady filament insulation, that means it’s manufactured in giant sheets and requires no quilting for building. Individuals select synthetic-fill sleeping baggage for exceptionally moist climates as a result of it will probably maintain you heat even when damp.

A better quantity of artificial insulation is mostly required to attain the identical heat as a high-grade down fill, which is the principle motive we didn’t check any artificial sleeping baggage. Artificial insulation additionally doesn’t pack down fairly as small as down and doesn’t spring again from compression as effectively, that means it has a shorter lifespan.

Down Fill Energy or Loft

Fill energy measures the poofiness or lofting means of goose or duck down, one of many predominant insulation supplies in sleeping baggage. Lofting may be considered the potential of down clusters to lure air. The upper the grade of down, the loftier will probably be and the extra air — and thus physique warmth — it can lure.

Fill energy is measured by inserting 30 grams, or about one ounce of down, in a plexiglass cylinder after which inserting a weight on high of it. Larger grades of down will compress much less underneath the load than decrease grades.

To maneuver this right into a real-world instance, because of this a sleeping bag with 15 ounces of 800-fill down shall be much less lofty and due to this fact colder than a sleeping bag with 15 ounces of 950-plus-fill down. To achieve the identical loft and heat as that 950-plus-fill sleeping bag, the one with 800 fill would wish a number of extra ounces of down in it, making it heavier.

The one draw back to high-loft down is its excessive price ticket.

When purchasing for a sleeping bag, we suggest searching for a sleeping bag with as excessive a loft ranking as your pockets can afford, as this implies you’ll be getting a hotter sleeping expertise at a decrease weight.

Accountable Down Customary (RDS) Certification

In response to Textile Trade, “The Accountable Down Customary (RDS) goals to make sure that down and feathers come from animals that haven’t been subjected to any pointless hurt.” Each sleeping bag on this record makes use of RDS-certified down, and we wouldn’t have chosen any of them in the event that they didn’t.

Versatility

Versatility in fastpacking gear permits you to use single gadgets in a number of circumstances. The Feathered Mates Flicker UL 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag might be probably the most versatile bag on this record as a result of it’s gentle and heat whereas additionally being able to open on the foot or be used like a blanket in hotter climate. This may be good when you solely wish to personal one bag and know that your journeys will take you thru mountains and deserts in all seasons.

Tube-style baggage, just like the Feathered Mates Tanager 20  CFL Sleeping Bag, may be much less versatile than hoodless zippered baggage or quilts as a result of they’ve fewer venting choices.

Sturdiness

Most of the sleeping baggage on this information are made with ultralight shell supplies that typically seem scarily skinny. The 7-denier shell on the Feathered Mates Tanager 20  CFL Sleeping Bag is an instance of a shell materials that needs to be handled with care. That mentioned, not all shell supplies are created equal, and it’s potential that the 7-denier shell on the Tanager may really outlast 10-denier or 15-denier supplies on some cheaper baggage.

Certainly one of our testers has been utilizing the Tanager very repeatedly for over a yr and it hasn’t abraded or leaked any down. On a number of events, a canine walked throughout it leaving no proof in any respect of her passing.

A unique bag that didn’t make it into this record wasn’t so fortunate, with the canine’s claws going proper by way of the 10-denier materials prefer it was butter. This bag’s predominant situation was an absence of ripstop inside the material. Ripstop is a woven material with a grid of stronger reinforcement fibers in it to make it extra resistant to tearing. Select a sleeping bag material with a ripstop irrespective of the denier.

Sleeping bag sturdiness refers not simply to the shell materials but additionally to the standard of the down. Larger grades of down such because the 950-plus fill discovered on the Feathered Mates sleeping baggage will typically proceed lofting longer than the 800 fill discovered on the Out of doors Vitals StormLoft Down TopQuilt 15.

Zippers are one other level of failure on a sleeping bag, as sand can work its manner into the coil and both jam or put on down the sliders. Basically, a bigger coil will last more than a smaller coil. We’d suggest sleeping baggage with #5 coil zippers such because the REI Co-Op Magma 15 Sleeping Bag – Males’s over baggage with #3 zippers such because the Enlightened Gear Convert 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag because of this.

Packed Measurement

Each sleeping bag on this record is constructed with ultralight shell and liner supplies and high-quality down for wonderful packability. The smallest packing sleeping bag on our record is the Feathered Mates Tanager CFL 20 Sleeping Bag with a packed dimension of 5.5 x 11 inches. This bag takes up little or no area, becoming simply inside even a tiny fastpacking pack such because the Pa’lante Packs Joey — learn our Pa’Lante Packs Joey assessment.

Why You Ought to Belief Us

The iRunFar staff has been fastpacking for over a decade, and now we have watched this journey area of interest develop. What began off as two separate endeavors — ultralight backpacking and journey operating — have now merged into one, fastpacking.

For many people, evening’s relaxation is vital for making the following day’s miles potential. We incessantly do not know the place we’re going to finish up for the evening — parked on the sting of a snowfield at 13,000 ft or cowboy tenting beneath the chilly, cloudless firmament — so we wish to haul alongside a sleeping bag that can carry out wherever we lay down.

Whereas a few fastpacking-appropriate sleeping baggage have been within the iRunFar staff’s private rotation for just a few years, this yr we got down to analysis dozens and check 14 of what we thought may very well be one of the best sleeping baggage for three-season fastpacking and ultralight backpacking.

We examined sleeping baggage on adventures in Silverton, Colorado, the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah, the Mazatzal Mountains of central Arizona, and numerous places all through the canyon nation of the Colorado Plateau. A staff of fastpackers with an enormous variety of physique sorts put these ultralight sleeping baggage to the check in a variety of temperatures and environmental circumstances that can assist you resolve what bag will work finest for you.

Often Requested Questions on Fastpacking Sleeping Baggage and Quilts

What fill energy is finest for a fastpacking sleeping bag?

This is among the only a few areas the place there’s a fairly easy reply that doesn’t require a complete lot of nuance. Larger fill-power sleeping baggage are lighter, shall be hotter for the load, and can last more than decrease fill-power sleeping baggage. The one draw back is the fee.

In our opinion, nonetheless, that is one space the place we’d suggest plunking down some money. sleeping bag crammed with high quality down will simply final 20 years when you maintain it. The Feathered Mates sleeping baggage use the best grade down of any on our record.

How ought to my sleeping bag or quilt match?

Match is considerably subjective, so we gained’t offer you any absolutes right here. However take into accout when purchasing for a fastpacking sleeping bag that narrower baggage will typically be extra thermally environment friendly, that means they’ll be hotter for the load than wider sleeping baggage. Wider sleeping baggage create plenty of air area between your physique and the bag, which might typically be troublesome to heat up.

If you realize you simply can’t stand narrowness and would favor wider baggage for consolation, check out quilts as a result of the shoulder girth is adjustable. The shoulder girth of the Katabatic Gear Alsek 22F Quilt may be widened to a measurement of round 66 inches and in addition narrowed to 54 inches. Moreover, you should buy most sleeping baggage on this record in numerous widths and lengths.

Do I want water resistant down?

A number of the sleeping baggage on our record have hydrophobic or water-repellent down. Which means the down clusters themselves have been handled with a sturdy water-repellent (DWR) chemical coating. Third-party checks present that this remedy does certainly enhance the water resistance of the down. What’s much less clear is how lengthy this remedy will final or if it impacts the long-term lofting means of down.

Some main manufacturers similar to Western Mountaineering and Feathered Mates nonetheless haven’t adopted using handled down. However if you’d like slightly further peace of thoughts throughout fastpacking adventures in a moist local weather, it most likely couldn’t harm to decide on a bag with hydrophobic down.

These are costly! Do I actually need to spend $400 or extra on a sleeping bag?

The 4 most costly gadgets in a fastpacking equipment are your fastpack, sleeping pad, tent, and sleeping bag. Glorious price range choices can be found in each class apart from sleeping baggage. You’ll find $150 packs, $50 pads, and $100 tarps, however sleeping baggage are totally different. The most cost effective bag on our record remains to be $245!

However as a result of a high-quality sleeping bag can simply final 20 years, we’d suggest saving up for one. We selected our high decide, the Feathered Mates Flicker UL 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag, with this in thoughts. At $489, it’s costly little question, however when you maintain it it can proceed performing effectively for you in nearly any fastpacking state of affairs for no less than 20 years. Give it some thought, if a $500 sleeping bag makes it 20 years, that’s solely $25 a yr.

Ought to my sleeping bag be constructed with a differential reduce?

Most high-end sleeping baggage and quilts are constructed with a differential reduce, that means the within of the bag is smaller than the skin of the bag. This basically makes it harder for a jutting elbow or a knee to compress the insulation, and thus prevents chilly spots. Setting up a bag with a differential reduce is a bit more time-consuming than simply stitching two items of equally-sized material collectively, so these baggage are normally dearer.

That mentioned, we don’t suppose it’s obligatory for a sleeping bag to have a differential reduce. Lack thereof saves cash, making baggage just like the Out of doors Vitals StormLoft Down TopQuilt 15 accessible to extra individuals. And in our expertise, the baggage on this record and not using a differential reduce are nonetheless very heat.

Ought to I get a down or artificial sleeping bag?

Excessive-quality down sleeping baggage are hotter for the load than equally rated artificial sleeping baggage, prompting us to decide on them for many fastpacking journeys. Down insulation additionally compresses smaller than artificial insulation and bounces again from compression higher than artificial, giving it an general longer lifespan. The primary advantage of artificial sleeping baggage is that they continue to be heat even when moist. Individuals who attempt to keep away from utilizing animal merchandise can also choose to go for an artificial sleeping bag.

What’s the distinction between a sleeping bag and a quilt? Ought to I get a sleeping bag or a quilt?

The primary distinction is that sleeping baggage absolutely encapsulate you whereas quilts are open beneath your physique. Select a sleeping bag just like the Feathered Mates Tanager 20  CFL Sleeping Bag if you’d like it to maneuver with you while you toss and switch. Select a quilt just like the Katabatic Gear Alsek 22F Quilt if you’d like it to stay mounted to your sleeping pad as your physique spins inside it.

Quilts save weight by dropping the zipper and the fabric that might usually be beneath the physique. In addition they are adjustable in width, widening for consolation and snugging in shut for thermal effectivity. This adjustability additionally signifies that a single quilt may match a variety of physique styles and sizes.

One draw back of quilts is that they will endure from drafts. The cordage or webbing used to affix them to your sleeping pad generally is a ache to fiddle with, particularly while you’re drained and chilly.

For these causes, we suggest sleeping baggage for individuals who don’t wish to put all that a lot thought into organising their sleep system. You simply get in it and cross out. Quilts have a little bit of a studying curve.

Do I want a sleeping bag liner?

Sleeping bag liners do three issues: They enhance the heat of a sleeping bag, enhance consolation for some individuals, and defend the bag out of your pores and skin oils and your filthy fastpacking ft. A few of us at iRunFar like to make use of them on each journey, primarily for consolation. They’ll add weight to your equipment, although.

Others at iRunFar counsel that you simply carry baselayers and socks which are devoted to sleeping. This can cut back redundancy as this stuff can be utilized along with your different layers extra successfully than a sleeping bag liner. For instance, on the final day of your journey, you may make your ft blissful by mountain climbing or operating in your sleeping socks.

I sleep chilly at evening, which sleeping bag ought to I get?

As an alternative of taking a look at temperature rankings, word how a lot down is in every sleeping bag you’re attempting to decide on between. For instance, the Feathered Mates Swallow UL 20 Sleeping Bag has 16.8 ounces of 950-plus fill down in it and is rated at 20 levels Fahrenheit. The REI Co-op Magma 15 Sleeping Bag has a decrease claimed ranking — 15 levels Fahrenheit — however has much less down, a decrease grade of down, and a wider reduce. On this case, the Swallow shall be a far hotter bag than the Magma. Our testing proved this, with all testers agreeing that the Swallow was the warmest bag we tried.

I sleep scorching at evening; which sleeping bag ought to I get? Are quilts for decent sleepers?

Most sleeping baggage on our record may be ordered in numerous temperature rankings. Our high decide, the Feathered Mates Flicker UL 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag can be ordered in 30- or 40-degree rankings for individuals who sleep scorching.

If you happen to sleep scorching at evening we’d suggest getting a sleeping bag or quilt with a full-length zipper and a drawstring footbox such because the Feathered Mates Flicker UL 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag or the Enlightened Gear Convert 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag. These baggage present extra venting choices than any others on our record. You possibly can uncinch the drawstring and poke your ft out or unzip the whole factor and drape it over you want a blanket when you get too scorching.

Some quilts are higher for decent sleepers than others. The Katabatic Gear Alsek 22F Quilt doesn’t vent in addition to the Feathered Mates Flicker UL 20 Quilt Sleeping Bag as a result of it doesn’t unzip all the best way or open on the ft.

How ought to I maintain my sleeping bag? How do I wash my sleeping bag?

Sleep in base layers or a sleeping bag liner to forestall pores and skin oils from soaking into the sleeping bag and degrading the down.

Don’t go away your sleeping bag compressed for any longer than you could. An excessive amount of compression can cut back the lofting means of down.

Retailer your sleeping bag hanging or in a big, breathable storage bag the place it will probably loft as a lot as potential. If you happen to plan to hold your sleeping bag, achieve this in a closet with a door that closes. Cats like to climb sleeping baggage as certainly one of our testers has tragically found.

Wash your sleeping bag by hand or in a front-loading washer on a mild cycle. Use cleaning soap made for laundry down-filled gadgets similar to Nikwax Down Wash Direct. Rinse no less than twice to verify all of the cleaning soap is gone. Set the drier to low and tumble it with three tennis balls to interrupt up clumping down clusters.

I ripped a gap in my sleeping bag, what do I do?

We suggest that you simply carry stick-on patches in your fastpacking journeys to be able to field-repair sleeping bag holes. A single sheet of Tear Assist Sort A needs to be lots. First, reduce the patch so that it’ll cowl the tear utterly and around the corners in order that it gained’t peel. Then clear any filth away from the tear with water or alcohol and let it dry utterly. Peel the backing from the patch and press it firmly over the tear.

A Tear Assist patch may final a very long time however might not make it by way of a number of laundry cycles. If the tear is giant, contact the producer to see if they are going to sew a extra everlasting patch over the tear earlier than laundering.

Why didn’t you check my favourite fastpacking sleeping bag?

We’d love to check every part on the market, and actually, now we have an enormous record of sleeping baggage we hope to check sooner or later. In case your favourite sleeping bag or quilt didn’t make it in our purchaser’s information, tell us about it within the feedback and why you selected it over all the opposite choices available on the market!

Name for Feedback

• Do you like sleeping baggage or quilts?
• How low have you ever pushed a 20-degree sleeping bag?
• What’s your favourite layering system for sleeping?