Whether you’re living the van life full-time or stocking up for your first camping trip, there’s a lot of essential gear to consider. We’ve tested just about everything you could want for your next camp trip and can recommend the warmest sleeping bags and the most functional top-rated backpacks. If you find yourself overwhelmed by our vast selection of gear and aren’t sure where to start, we recommend taking a look at our complete camping checklist. Trailspace’s community of gear reviewers has field-tested and rated the top warm weather sleeping bags. GearLab Review Editor Jason Wanlass lives in a camping paradise. If not already in the outdoors, he’s certainly busy planning his next adventure.
The Teton Polara and REI Siesta shared the spotlight in this metric. Each has its own unique features that earned it a top score. The Polara stands out for its unsurpassed layering system that allows the bag to be customized for warmth. The Siesta’s main draw is its plush hood and several smaller design considerations that help it effectively retain heat.
Our testing confirmed that shelling out three figures will generally get you a higher-performing bag. Most of the top bags we reviewed all fit in this price profile. In general, more warmth (i.e., more insulation), more features, and more comfort (i.e., higher quality materials and typically more spacious dimensions).
In particular, the Echo Park packs down smaller and lighter than the Siesta or Wawona because its entire back side lacks insulation, which saves on weight and volume. The sleeping bag sources all of its bottom insulation from whatever sleeping pad you ozark trail chair put beneath you. However, I used this bag two nights last weekend and found it was too cold on its own—lowest temp was 51 degrees each of those nights. I was in a large tent (admittedly, a smaller tent would have been better) with one other person.
Lastly, the Teton Celsius XXL, Kelty Catena, and Coleman Brazos all packed up well enough to get on the board with above-average scores for this metric. Of the three, the Kelty is the easiest to pack, thanks to its larger stuff sack. It is easy to get in and out of, ozark trail chair since the zipper runs down to your feet. It is water resistant, but not waterproof, and it stores extremely well. When it’s in the compression sack it comes with, it’s about 12 inches tall and 5 inches wide. Your order should arrive by this date if you buy today.
Our team has spent countless nights in the great outdoors, scoring each bag’s details and quirks side by side. Our road trips have landed us under the stars in national parks as well as dozens of common campgrounds from Alabama to Utah. We’ve spent hours examining each bag, prioritizing warmth, comfort, thoughtful features, spacious cuts, and more. For our take on how each bag ranks against one another, we compiled an extensive review aiming to help lead you to cozy, restful nights in the outdoors.
Send me exclusive offers, unique gift ideas, and personalized tips for shopping and selling on Etsy. Our proprietary tech ensures that recalled items are never listed. I think the expensive bags are just marketing and overengineering, unless you are going to the arctic.
We inspected everything from the zipper function to how well they rolled up. Generally, bags with the coolest additions received the best scores. However, even basic bags have features that are often missed, like recycled materials, cool colors, or unique insulation. I bought the zero degree bag and nearly froze to death. Day one, night one…the zipper tore and cord in hood broke.
The Kelty Galactic 30 takes the best features of the high-performance mummy and the traditional camping sleeping bag and blends them into one. Its rectangular shape is wide and non-restrictive, and it’s loaded with 550-fill duck down. These two features offer a near-perfect bag for campers desiring better-performing down insulation minus the cocooning nature of narrow mummy-shaped bags. The Galactic kept us warm down to 30 degrees Fahrenheit and maybe a touch colder.
Weighing just 2.9 pounds for a size long, the Galactic is very lightweight among the rectangular, traditional car-camping models. It’s not exactly built for backpacking, but it also packs down small enough that we would certainly consider it for short hike-in campsites if we didn’t have another option. Finally, the Kelty Galactic 30 is a more basic bag that offers a stand-out feature worth mentioning. The Galactic’s 550-down insulation sets it apart from the other bags on our list. Our two double-person bags scored almost evenly in this metric.