Along with a healthy dose of 550-fill down, the bag offers cozy warmth and good compressibility. And considering the typical price of a down bag, the Cosmic Down’s $165 MSRP really stands out. I’m a journalist who writes about outdoor and fitness gear for several publications, including Outside, Forbes and the REI Co-op Journal.
Look through mummy sleeping bags, semi-rectangular sleeping bags and rectangle sleeping bags. Browse through lightweight sleeping bags that are designed with a warm outer shell and a soft inner liner for comfort. The superior box stitching keeps the insulation from shifting to help eliminate cold spots. Look through sleeping bags that will keep you warm throughout the night thanks to the Thermolock™ draft tube that prevents heat from escaping through the zipper. These sleeping bags also come with a convenient interior tuck pocket that lets you securely store small essentials, so you don’t have to sleep with them in your pockets.
However, that bag doesn’t come cheap at $320, and car campers uninterested in roughing it can save a considerable $100 with the Forte Endless Promise 20. In this case, Nemo opted for synthetic rather than down fill, which translates to a higher weight and bulkier packed size. All told, it’s another thoughtfully made Nemo bag that’s high on comfort and quality. Mummy bags are popular for both camping and backpacking, but rectangular bags are roomier and can offer an even better sleeping experience. Our top pick in this category is REI Co-op’s Siesta Hooded 20, which replaces the Siesta 25 for 2023. For a reasonable $139, you get a high-quality bag with a useful 20-degree temperature rating, which is great for three-season car camping in a variety of conditions.
For those who plan to get out a lot, opting for an upgraded design may be worth it. A final shape worth mentioning is the semi-rectangular bag, which—as the name implies—shares commonalities with both rectangular and mummy designs. In terms of dimensions, they’re typically roomier than standard mummy bags (particularly at the shoulders and hips) but not overly generous like some rectangular models. All in all, semi-rectangular bags typically offer a good mix of comfort and weight, shaving away excess material while still providing enough space to roll around during the night. For instance, Nemo’s Disco 15 and Forte Endless Promise 20 have roomier fits than most traditional mummy bags, with a noticeable boost in space around the knees and elbows.
Keep the kids comfortable as they sleep under the stars with the Coleman® Plum Fun™ 45 Youth Sleeping Bag, even when it’s 45 °F outside. The Comfort Cuff™ design makes sure they only have soft fabric around their face while they sleep. Thanks to the ZipPlow™ zipper, they’ll get snag-free opening and closing every time. My husband is a tall man (6 foot, 4 inches) so thought I better find him a sleeping bag made for tall people so that he would actually stay covered instead of sticking out at the top!
Colorado-based Kelty has been in the camping business for a long time, and we like what they’ve come up with in the Galactic 30. What makes this bag unique is its combination of quality 550-fill-power down with a rectangular shape. Most traditional camping bags stick to synthetic fill for coleman canopy cost savings, but lofty down clusters offer a premium feel and warmth that polyester just can’t match. And as we’ve come to expect from Kelty, the Galactic is solidly built and priced pretty affordably at $170, which is around $30 less than REI’s similarly intentioned Hunkerdown above.
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.
We feel the Coleman Brazos is a great bang for your buck that allows infrequent campers to enjoy the pleasure of spending a night under the stars. For retail purchases returned without a receipt, the refund will be issued as a store merchandise
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To be sure, most of these additions won’t be deal-breakers for many, but they can be helpful in deciding between similar models (and we’ve called them out in the write-ups above whenever possible). Sleeping bags inherently are barebones, but we’ve seen an uptick in available features coleman sleeping bag on many mid-range and high-end models of late. Notable extras worth calling out are built-in pillows or pillow sleeves (the Nemo Disco and Forte Endless Promise boast the latter), which are a nice luxury for those annoyed by camp pillows that tend to move in the night.