Looking for cheap sleeping bags?

I realize it's easy for me to say but I personally don't think that cheap sleeping bags are the way to go when you're planning your camping trip.I understand that you have a family of six and do not wish to spend $200 per bag (which is only a moderate price) but I really feel that this is one area where you should spend SOME money.

Most of you are likely camping with your family. It's your summer vacation and you're spending a couple of weeks at the lake. Others are more interested in getting away from it all and either are heading out in the early spring or even in the fall. Others still are very enthusiastic campers and will venture out into the snowy back country for some winter camping.

Now for the family going out to their favorite campsite, cheap sleeping bags are probably more than adequate. It's summer time after all and the weather is very nice, if not too hot for sleeping. But even the summer time can have cool nights so you should be aware of the types of bags that are available to you.

As I write this page I'm looking in a magazine from one of my favorite outfitters and I see their most expensive (winter) bag is $1050. You sure don't want to buy that for six family members do you?

I'm not suggesting you go buy a bag like that anyway. It's specifically designed for winter use and really only the most extreme winter campers would require it. I think that depending on how seriously you take your camping, you should be considering value for the money.

The most expensive bags in general are down filled. Down is desirable because it is the lightest and most compressable fill available. Compressability is something to consider when your camping trip(s) requires repacking and movement from site to site. It's also very durable. Even though it's expensive it is good value for the money because of its' useful life being almost unlimited. However down does not insulate well when wet so if you intend to use your bags in damp locations you would be wise to consider something using synthetic fills.

Bags that employ synthetic fill are not cheap sleeping bags necessarily but are in my opinion the best value for the money. You will still pay quite a bit of money for a three season bag from an outfitter but if you look around you should be able to find them cheaper. Synthetic fills are heavier than down and the warmer a bag is the heavier it is. However synthetic filled bags will offer at least some warmth when they're wet and for most of us that's very desirable.

Most people are only camping in the summer season so cheap sleeping bags will be sufficient for most people. You can buy them cheap at Wal-Mart and places like that. They will however only be good for the summer season regardless of the temperature rating on them. They also will not be as durable so you can expect to buy two or three over the life of a single more expensive bag.

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