Warning: My new sleeping bag's temperature rating was way off

I just got back from a trip to the White Mountains and my 20 degree bag felt freezing at 35 degrees. I found the tag inside saying the rating is for 'survival, not comfort' which I had no idea about. I looked it up and a lot of brands use this EN or ISO testing that gives two numbers, a comfort limit and a lower limit. My bag only shows the lower, extreme one. I spent $180 on this thing thinking it would be cozy down to 20. Has anyone else been caught out by this and found a brand that actually labels their bags with the comfort temp first?

3 comments

3 Comments

ray_sullivan3d ago

Yeah, that survival rating nonsense got me once too. I woke up shivering in what was supposed to be a 30 degree bag, wearing every piece of clothing I brought. Now I just automatically add 15 degrees to whatever number is on the tag before I even look at the forecast. It feels like they're all just guessing anyway.

olivia6703d ago

Have you checked if the ratings are for comfort or survival? Some bags list the survival limit as the main number, which is way colder than you'd actually want to use it. That might explain why you were so cold in a 30 degree bag.

taylor_patel3d ago

You're right about adding that buffer, @ray_sullivan. The ratings seem to be for ideal conditions that never happen in the real world. It's safer to just assume the bag won't perform as advertised.