The Coleman Big Bay 20° mummy bag emerged as the best value pick in my sleeping bag review, and the Nemo Forte Synthetic Sleeping Bag (available in men’s and women’s) was given the top overall spot. The Nemo Forte is a more luxurious-feeling synthetic sleeping bag—the fabric is more supple and the insulation loftier—but the Big Bay doesn’t feel as slick as many bags around the same price do. It’s a little slippery on the inside, which makes getting in and out easy, but the outside coleman sleeping bag isn’t slick, so it doesn’t slide around on a cot, sleeping pad or air mattress. The Big Bay also has a cinchable hood, no-snag zipper and plush collar, plus it allows for foot ventilation, just like the Forte. Turn your kid’s next adventure into a luxury trip with the Coleman® Snug Bug™ 30, a mummy-style bag that can help keep them warm in temperatures as low as 30°F. It’s constructed with lightweight Coletherm® hollow polyester insulation to help keep them warm from top to bottom.
She said lots of the girls were sitting on it with her during the movie because it was so comfy. The TETON Sports Mammoth Queen-Size Double Sleeping Bag is your ultimate companion for family camping trips, offering both warmth and comfort in one spacious package. With its thoughtful design and generous dimensions, this sleeping bag ensures that you and your loved ones can rest well during your outdoor adventures. Elevate your camping and outdoor sleeping experience with the POWERLIX Sleeping Pad.
When it’s time to pack up, the included stuff sack makes storage a cinch. The compromises in choosing the cheaper fill type are relatively minimal for camping. With a car or camper to transport all of your gear, the larger stuffed size and extra weight are much less of a concern than when your sleeping bag has to be crammed into a pack and carried on your back.
I’m a journalist who writes about outdoor and fitness gear for several publications, including Outside, Forbes and the REI Co-op Journal. You can read my in-depth review of the best sleeping bags, including the Coleman Big Bay 20° as the best value for car camping and general use. 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.
For the extensive sleeping bag review, I also interviewed experts who could speak to what makes a great sleeping bag and how to choose the right one for your needs. I talked to an assistant professor at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), Preeti Arya, who’s an expert in technical fabrics and sustainability. I also spoke with Jeremy Cronon, the expedition equipment lead and outfitting manager at NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) Rocky Mountain, and Austin Robbs, director of equipment and accessories at Patagonia. When it comes to packed size, the Brazos landed close to the middle out of all of the bags we tested.
Browse through a wide collection of sleeping bags and find the perfect pick. As we touched on above, temperature ratings tend to be fairly generous and often require adding a sizable buffer to ensure you’ll stay warm throughout the night. For those who run cold or simply want to bring their bag into lower temperatures, adding a sleeping bag liner can help keep you cozy without breaking the bank. Liners are made of soft materials like fleece, wool, polyester, or silk and typically add around 5 to 15 degrees to the warmth rating of your bag. They also serve as a barrier between you and your bag’s interior, which can help boost lifespan (you can wash the liner after use rather than getting your bag dirty). Liners typically cost between $30 and $60, and a couple of our favorite options are Sea to Summit’s Thermolite Reactor for mummy bags and their Silk-Cotton Blend Liner for rectangular models.
Some bags, like The North Face’s One Bag, feature unique warmth-tailoring systems that allow you to customize the amount of insulation depending on conditions. 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 coleman canopy we’ve called them out in the write-ups above whenever possible). Whether you’re a side sleeper, back sleeper, or stomach sleeper, this sleeping pad is designed to provide optimal comfort and support. It contours to your body, relieving pressure points and ensuring a restful night’s sleep.
That being said, we feel this is still a great choice for young kids (who sleep through most anything) or teens (who don’t sleep and will most likely be around the campfire all night). Gear designed for the outdoors will get dirty, but there are ways to prevent dirt and oil on your body and clothes from breaking down a bag. That’s not always feasible when camping, but sleeping in a clean base layer or pajamas increases your bag’s longevity.
Mummy bags typically have a ¾-length side zip that requires some wriggling to get in and out of and can’t be opened up completely should you want to zip the sleeping bag together with another compatible bag. Not only is it easy to create a large and comfortable space for two if you zip it to another bag, but unzipping the bag on its own opens it up for use as a blanket. And if the bag has a tough exterior shell, you can use it as an outdoor picnic blanket in a pinch.