Double Sleeping Bag

The double sleeping bag has become a popular piece of camping and outdoor equipment over the last few decades. Camping too has also increased in popularity greatly over the last couple of decades and with this increase in popularity has come the emergence of more manufacturers supplying goods relating to the favourite outdoor pursuit of many.

So if you are looking to buy a new double sleeping bag be rest assured that you have many different brands to look at and compare against each other. With such a wide selection of makes and brands you are sure to find a double sleeping bag that will suit your requirements. Some of the most well known companies making sleeping bags and camping equipment are Coleman, Black Pine, Slumberjack, Big Agnes and Grizzly.

By having the larger bag, two people can easily fit in and share the warmth together on a cold night. .

Camping and Outdoor Equipment

Double sleeping bag

Coleman Hudson Double Sleeping Bag by Coleman

Here we have another customary high quality piece of camping and outdoor equipment from Coleman. This particular double sleeping bag is part of a range by Coleman called the Hudson range. There are 4 sleeping bags in the range. This bag has wide dimensions. Additional hood, flannel lining and also a very nifty integrated pillow pocket. Coleman have designed this extra spacious sleeping bag purely for couples in mind. It is ideal for camping, caravanning or for even entertaining guests in your own home. The features on this bag are are a double sleeping bag hood which gives you more comfort whilst you are asleep. There is the sleepingzipplow to stop the zipper snagging. The specifications are the shell is soft polyester insulation and the lining is single layer Coletherm hollow fibre. The size is 235 x 150 cm and when packed 48 x 38 cm with a weight of 3.7 Kg. This is a very nice camping accessory.

So when choosing your bag choose the one that is rated for the lowest possible temperature that you could encounter when out camping or backpacking. Sleeping bag manufacturers give ratings on all their bags so for example if you are planning a summer trip then a bag rated at +35 or higher should suffice nicely. If you choose to camp on higher elevations or go camping in spring then you should be looking at bags rated from +10 to +35. In winter the ratings ideally need to be in the range of -10 to +10 and for those of you who participate on serious winter alpine climbs and expeditions you need a bag rated lower than -10. One little trick when working out the bag ratings is to realise that the manufacturers only estimate the minimum temperature at which the bag will provide warmth. So to be doubly safe it is a good idea to add on about 10 points to the manufacturer rating to give you the perfect bag for your camping and outdoor equipment.

Down or synthetic

Now we shall take a look at the most important part of the sleeping bag and that is the insulating material. Today’s modern bags give us 2 choices. These choices are either having goose down or synthetic bags. Both bags have advantages and disadvantages but the goose down bag is definitely considered to be the better of both options. Goose down bags have a phenomenal warmth to weight ratio and warmth to bulk ratio. They give you great insulation from the cold as well as being very light and extremely compressible. The goose down bag should last you many years with it’s long term durability.

They may not be as good as the goose down bag but the synthetic double sleeping bag has some very high quality examples on the market place. Another point to note is that the synthetic materials are getter better and better all the time. The synthetic bag weighs more than it’s counterpart the goose down bag but it does perform better when it is wet. The goose down bag loses all it’s insulating properties when wet whilst the synthetic bag excels. So if you go camping where it will probably be wet then there is no choice to make. Goose down bags are superior but synthetic bags work better when wet, are cheaper to buy and there is no risk of allergy from them. Many people find themselves allergic to down.

Shape

Finally we shall take a quick look at the shape of the double sleeping bag. Sleeping bags generally come in 2 basic shapes that reflect their intended use. The first basic shape is the mummy shaped bag. With the second being that of the rectangular shape. The mummy shaped double sleeping bag gives the best warmth of the two because of it’s shape. It is shaped to conform to the contours of the body. This means that the amount of body heat the body has to put out to maintain a constant temperature is minimized. There are mummy bags out there as well that are shaped to fit the female body as well as the male body and of course they come in all sizes for small or large people. The rectangular double sleeping bag is a roomier bag and allows you to move around more freely but as said earlier they are not as warm. The reason for this being that they contain more open air because they do not conform to the body like the mummy bag. They are also heavier than the mummy bag and do not come with down insulation. In our opinion they are best for car camping or short backpacking trips. So there you have a couple of tips and comparisons to help you in making the right choice for the perfect double sleeping bag to add to your camping and outdoor equipment.

Nordik camping Double Sleeping Bag by Nordikcamping

Here is a high quality double sleeping bag that has been designed to last and is a great addition to your camping and outdoor equipment items. To make sure that it stays hygienic and clean this bag is machine washable. On the insulation front this bag is well insulated with hollow fibre at 400 grams per square metre. This is enough insulation to make sure that you have a comfortable and warm night’s sleep. We like the attention that has been given to the zips on this double sleeping bag. Instead of the zips that you find on many days today which are plastic, the zips on this bag are robust metal which means that they are less likely to break or jam. The specs on this bag are 195 x 152cm in size and 50 x 30 x 30 cm when packed and 4 Kg in weight. The filling is 100% polyester hollow fibre lining cotton shell 100%polyester compression sack.

The materials in which the double sleeping bag is made from vary depending on what purpose and use is planned for the bag. Some bags are constructed with materials to keep you very warm on extremely cold nights whilst others are designed with waterproof fabrics to ward off any early morning dew. It is you who must decide on the likely conditions that you will be sleeping out in and then choose your bag accordingly. And even though some people do still opt to buy the single bag it does seem more wiser to opt for the double on economic reasons and also the fact that a double is far less bulky to carry around than two single bags. The double sleeping bag is a far better option when it comes to couples camping.

Guide to choosing a double sleeping bag

Correct temperature rating

The technology within a sleeping bag these days has come a long way to give us all high quality performance not experienced by those use sleeping bags a few decades ago. So now that you are in the market to buy a sleeping bag here are a couple of pointers that will help you along your way in making a decision.

When buying a double sleeping bag you should always buy for the cold. Maybe not on every camping trip you embark upon will it be cold but you can almost guarantee that sometime, somewhere you will be faced with an unexpected drop in night time temperature.

Vango classic 250 Double Sleeping Bag by Vango

Vango have made a very nice camping bag here. The exterior is very durable whilst the lining is luxurious and soft and very welcoming actually. The insulation is hollow fibre insulation and very easy to wash. This double sleeping bag is ideal for camping, family camping and caravanning. It has a En 13537:2002 rating. The zips down the side are auto lock zips which go all the way down to the base to seal in the warmth. By buying this sleeping bag you have once which has 2 layers of filling that are separated by interlining. This keeps the fill sliding instead of snagging or lumping The hollow fibre insulation is single hole silliconised which reduces matting in the filling whilst increasing the durability of it. The shell of this sleeping bag is poly cotton which gives your comfort and warmth and is very easy to clean. The dimensions of this bag are 220 x 150 cm and 40 x 31 cm packed with a weight of 3.6 Kg.

Lakeside Double Sleeping Bag with Hood by Gelert

Gelert is a company renowned for it’s good quality camping and outdoor equipment items and this double sleeping bag is no exception. Being very easy to transport around in the oxford carry bag it is supplied with, this bag will be popular among many. The lining is soft flannel lining and the shell made from poly cotton so you have a very comfortable bag to sleep in. On the warmth side of things the bag does not lack, having filling 300g/m square and a fibre polyester mix. The zips to secure the bag have zip baffles and even on the inside of the bag is a secure internal pocket. The hood offers you extra warmth and snugness making this bag compete very well with the mummy style sleeping bag. The dimensions packed are 62 x 55 20 cm and the weight of the whole bag is 5.2 Kg.

And of course if there is a dramatic drop in the night time temperature you are both in the ideal situation to feed off each others body heat. A double zipper on these bags as well allows each person the freedom of getting into or out of the bag without disturbing the partner. On the expense front they give you a bonus as it is cheaper to buy the double sleeping bag as opposed to purchasing two separate single sleeping bags. Single bags can sometimes be rather confining and restrictive so if you are a person who is above average size then the double sleeping bag certainly gives you more options. Yes you may be sleeping on your own for instance but a double bag will give you more room and comfort than the single bag which you may find restricts you too much and kind of traps you. The thing with the double sleeping bag is that it is such a more convenient alternative than to having a single sleeping bag and then zipping it together with your partner’s sleeping bag to form a larger bag to fit you both in.