hufty wrote:I would take sleeping bag ratings with a large pinch of salt. If you've never had a sleeping bag before it might be an idea to borrow one for a night during some cold weather to calibrate yourself against the stated comfort rating.
One issue with this is whether a standardised test is used to rate the bag, or if it's just something someone in marketing trying to make it sound good, and these days there is indeed a standardised test so at least for reputable concerns if Brand X say it'll do -5 Comfort then it should be pretty much as warm as Brand Y's -5 Comfort offering.
However, while that -5 will work for a lot of people a lot of the time there are people that can get a sound night's sleep well below zero in a summer bag and people who need a serious expedition bag to get any sleep on a pleasant summer evening (I used to have a -25 rated bag for winter camping in Scotland and it was just too hot, I eventually sold it to a friend who liked to borrow it in summer). As hufty suggests, a bit of personal calibration is in order.
yostumpy wrote:Hmm, what do folks wear in bed then? At home, I always sleep naked, even in v cold weather in a chilly bedroom. I find that my body heat warms the air in the bed v quickly, but if I wear a t shirt etc, I find I stay cold, as every time I move I get chilled by the cold air in the bed, as my body is not warming it up, but warming my t shirt, if that makes sense. Is this the same with bags?
Wear whatever you want. Just as with normal beds different folk like different things. One thing worth remembering for the naked approach is it makes the bag dirtier and down bags are a pain in the backside to clean. For this reason a light liner may be worth using, these are typically silk for a mix of comfort and lightness. The thinnest ones add very little insulation value but there are thicker ones if you want to uprate the bag a little. Some sort of PJs help keep the bag clean too, but bulk more and you'd need socks and gloves to do a proper job.
Warin61 wrote:Bag temperatures are given with you wearing something.
Thermals do a good job inside the bag - thin, light yet warm. They add much more warmth than their weight. Warm socks help too, but they tend to weight more than their warmth.
Bag temperatures are given from the standard test, I don't know that there's any assumption of what you wear, but back up to the top paragraph in any case. I think it's quite possibly the case that if you want to add warmth as effectively as possible by weight you buy a greater weight of the primary insulation, but of course not many people have a large range of bags so they can take the optimum model. Once you're camping the bag you've got is the bag you've got, and if you start shivering then thermals are indeed a great way to stay a bit warmer... followed by anything else you might have handy!
mnichols wrote:Lots of comments about getting the sleeping mat right, but any recommendations?
I’m doing a supported tour next year so not bothered about size or weight....hope I’m not hijacking the thread.....seems on topic
In the back of the support campervan! But if you're camping and it's warm and you're not planning on doing much camping again then a basic airbed is actually very good: cheap and comfy and pretty robust. Fancier ones add insulation but this is typically a moot point in summer. For longer term light camping I personally rate the NeoAir as a great mix of light, insulating, low bulk and comfortable. The Exped mats with extra filling if you need warmer, and something like a Thermarest self-inflating if you want someything a bit cheaper but still nice.
Pete.