Shapes and Designs of Sleeping Bags
The contemporary sleeping bag comes in a number of
basic shapes, each with its advantages and drawbacks, and built with a
particular lifestyle or activity in mind.
It is one of the foremost considerations when buying a sleeping bag,
as the shape of the bag influences many other significant factors.
The three most basic categories of sleeping bag shapes are
Rectangular, Barrel, and Mummy.
- Rectangular
– this classic sleeping bag design is the one that is most commonly
associated with the device, particularly in various forms of media that
depict camping in the woods or other non-intensive outdoor excursions.
Built for maximum room and comfort, rectangular bags are best for
warm or pleasantly cool weather, when escaping heat isn’t an issue.
Because of their simple design, rectangular bags provide poor
insulation compared to sleeping bags of other shapes, though they
conversely allow for the most space to toss and turn into a optimal
sleeping position. Rectangular
bags are like blankets or comforters with zippers, and some variants
allow two bags to be zipped together to provide a larger sleeping area
for more people. These bags are
heavy and bulky, and not as easy to carry around as bags of other
shapes, but they are much cheaper in price.
Serious adventurers and expedition teams will pass these bags up.
- Barrel
– the barrel sleeping bag is a compromise between the rectangular and
mummy designs, retaining some of the best features of both, though
lacking in the strengths of the other two.
The barrel is essentially a modified mummy design that is more
spacious, particularly around the middle area, which accounts for why
its shape is described as being that of a barrel.
These sleeping bags are normally oval in shape, and, while they
resemble the mummy bags in that they taper inwards in the foot region,
they do not come with hoods or head guards like mummy bags do.
- Mummy –
a newer design and undisputedly the sleeping bag design of choice for
backpackers, hikers and mountain climbers, the mummy type is a sleek,
sophisticated design that optimizes warmth retention and insulation.
Mummy bags are relatively lightweight compared to other bags,
owing to their minimalist, elegant design.
They are built to be form-fitting so that as little air as
possible within the bag needs to be kept warm with the person’s body
heat, and they come with various features, such as a draft tube and a
hood, to ensure an even distribution of warmth and provide protection
against low temperatures. Casual
sleeping bag owners will usually shy away from a mummy type, as it is
deliberately rather restrictive, and the sleeper will have little choice
but to sleep on his back. Some
users deride the mummy type bag for inducing claustrophobia, though they
do acknowledge that it is necessary for the sleeping bag to perform its
job well in bitterly frigid weather.
A fourth type of bag shape, far less common than the
others, exists – basically, the sleeping bag has arms and legs, so it is
akin to wearing a full-body costume, except that you can fall asleep on the
floor. The bag’s design provides
adequate insulation, and is meant so that its user can pick up objects and
go about last-minute matters before turning in for a good night’s rest by
just laying down on the ground.
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