The rest of the design is equally premium, including a water-resistant YKK main zipper, roomier-than-average hood, and fleece-lined compression sack that can pull double duty as a pillow. For most, the primary weight and packability consideration for a camping bag is whether or not it can be carried from the garage to the car, squeezed in with the rest of your stuff, and then moved from the trunk to the tent. That said, we still recommend checking the weight and stuffed size that will be listed in the product specifications to get an idea of just how large and heavy the bags are.
To be clear, liners are totally optional and not everyone needs one, but they do offer added warmth and comfort and help keep your bag in good shape. For campers looking for a sleeping bag that can pull double duty on the occasional backpacking trip, we like Nemo’s Disco. With a 14-degree temperature rating, sub-3-pound weight, and decently packable build (it even includes a compression stuff sack), the Disco is fully serviceable for short forays into the backcountry. Just as importantly, it’s supremely comfortable for camping thanks to its unique “spoon” shape, which resembles a mummy bag but with a noticeable boost in space around the knees and elbows. This makes it less restrictive inside, particularly for side sleepers and those prone to tossing and turning.
With this Coleman Warm Weather Sleeping Bag with Wrap N Roll, you’ll have no problem handling the heat and the warmth while still maintaining comfort. In fact, it’s great in cool weather too, ensuring that you’re properly wrapped up and protected from the outside weather. And when you’re camping, nothing’s more important than a good night’s sleep. We do live in Georgia and humidity is high even in the winter time so in another climate 30 degrees may be comfortable in this bag. I liked that it is very comfortable sleeping on the ground with one of the most comfortable interiors of any sleeping bag i have slept in. This sleeping bag has a quick cord for convenient one-person packing.
You don’t need to wash your sleeping bag after every camping trip, but you should clean it once or twice a year, depending on how much you use it. Using a front-loading washing machine (never use a top-loading agitator-style machine), wash your sleeping bag with a small amount of mild liquid detergent on a warm, gentle cycle and rinse it with cold water. Coleman recommends using a fabric softener, but do not use bleach.
Tumble dry on low heat in as large a dryer as possible (high heat can burn the fabric or insulation). You can toss in some tennis balls to help fluff it back up, but make sure your bag is completely dry before storing it away. The Coleman Big Bay 20° is rated for a lower temperature limit of 20 degrees Fahrenheit, which seems about right based on my experience. Wearing long johns and wool socks, I crawled into the Big Bay, napped on a cot in 32-degree weather and found it comfortably warm.
Below we rank our top picks for 2023, and if you need some background information, our comparison table and buying advice dive into topics like fill type and temperature rating. To complete your camping kit, we’ve also tested and written about camping mattresses and camping tents. Our annual family camping trip does not involve hiking and then camping so we weren’t looking for tiny sleeping bags. We take day hikes and do outdoor activities from our drive up camping spot in the Smoky Mountains.
Most of the picks on our list are geared toward three-season use, but for campers who like to get out year-round, a cold-weather bag is essential. In this category, REI Co-op’s Frostbreak 5 stands out for its excellent warmth at a very reasonable price. Other functional additions include a well-insulated hood, draft tube, and differentiated drawcords (one round and one flat) that make it easy to adjust the aperture in the dark. Added up, the Frostbreak is an excellent value for casual winter adventurers.
Therefore, I was looking for sleeping bags for camping that offered comfort. I also wanted them to keep us comfortable in cold weather down to degrees. The Big Bay is best suited for car camping, road tripping, backyard sleepovers and other adventures where you don’t need to carry it that far. At less than 5 pounds, it’s not overly heavy, and it packs down to a decent size using the compression coleman canopy sack, but the size and weight will take their toll if you’re hiking into camp. If you want to try backpacking, you can get away with hauling the Big Bay for an overnight hiking trip, but you wouldn’t want to take it too far. It’s much smaller than a traditional rectangular bag—especially one that’s fleece-lined—so it stows better in a trunk, and you don’t lose out on comfort.