Sleeping Bag Insulation
More Articles Related to Survival GearIn a previous survival topic we discussed the four basic types of sleeping bags. Another very important consideration in the selection of a sleeping bag is its type of insulation. The type of sleeping bag insulation you choose should be dependent upon the weather conditions you expect to encounter, your mode of travel, and your budget.
How Sleeping Bag Insulation Works
Insulation is generally a function of thickness of material, also known as loft. An inch of feathers has roughly the same insulation value as an inch of wool or an inch of cotton. Each of these materials has differing characteristics in different environments. For any survival situation where staying warm while resting is required, it is important to understand how to choose the best sleeping bag insulation.
If bulk, weight, and exposure to wet conditions are of no consideration, as when you are somewhere in civilization, any comfortable material would be a good choice to help keep you warm while sleeping. However, while hiking, camping in the wild, or in a survival situation bulk, weight, and exposure to wet conditions are of vital importance in the choice of sleeping bag material and construction.
Basically there are two kinds of insulation for sleeping bags: synthetic and natural.
Natural Sleeping Bag Insulation
Natural sleeping bag insulation includes goose and duck down, wool, cotton, and more exotic materials such as silk, camel hair, yak hair and even the hair from musk oxen. In general, natural sleeping bag insulation is confined to the more common downs and cotton.
Wool is an excellent insulating material but is usually considered too heavy to use for most sleeping bags except perhaps for light use at home or at camp. One particular advantage of wool is it's ability to keep you warm even when wet, though wet wool can weigh alot. This makes wool an excellent choice for clothing. Unfortunately a warm sleeping bag made entirely out of wool would be prohibitively heavy and bulky for all but camping in civilization where with this disadvantage is less of a concern.
Cotton sleeping bags are only a good choice for family camping in benign conditions. Cotton tends to become clammy with hard use, and its value as insulation declines rapidly as it becomes wet and is difficult to dry. In fact, wet cotton is possibly worse that using nothing at all when attempting to stay warm.
Down has the advantage of being very light and has excellent loft qualities. The two most commonly used types of down in sleeping bags is goose down and duck down. Goose down is the loftiest of the two, allowing for the construction of the warmest sleeping bags for the least weight. Goose down sleeping bags are generally more expensive than duck down sleeping bags, though both types of sleeping bags can be of excellent quality.
An important drawback to down sleeping bags is that wet down compresses to next to nothing, eliminating it's use as insulation. A wet down sleeping bag is a soggy mess that is next to useless in keeping you warm and a wet down sleeping is very difficult to dry. If you are planning to frequent areas that are likely to be wet much of the time, such as kayaking or in areas where rain is frequent, synthetic material sleeping bags may be the way to go. If your area of choice receives little rain, is very cold (where water remains as ice and snow rather than the wet stuff) or you can be assured that your sleeping bag will not get wet, then a down sleeping bag may be an excellent choice.
Synthetic Sleep Bag Insulation
There are a number of synthetics used in the manufacture of moder sleeping bags. Some modern synthetic insulations rival down in loft per unit of weight. The small synthetic fibers are treated with silicon which helps to ehance loft. The micro fibers are also made hollow, which creates very tiny chambers of dead air that aid in retaining warmth.
Synthetic sleeping bags tend to be a little heavier and bulkier than down sleeping bags. This is offset by synthetic bags being easier to care for, warmer when wet, easier to dry, and usually less expensive. Common modern synthetics include Quollofil7, Loftlite, and Hollofil.
Wiggy's Bags use a proprietary fiber called Lamolite. Lamolite has advantages including loft and hydrophobic properties that may surpass the previously mentioned synthetic materials,
Another advantage to chosing synthetic bag is that you can wash it in an ordinary commercial front loading washer while a down sleeping bag requires careful dry cleaning.
Sleeping Bag Liners
Most sleeping bags come with a slippery nylon lining. For a softer feel a fleece liner can be added to the inside of the bag, which also gets you an additional 15 or 20 degrees of warmth.
My Sleeping Bag System
From my personal experience, I would generally recommend a good synthetic sleeping bag for all around use rather than a down bag. In a survival situation, it would be bad form indeed to be relying on a down sleeping bag, only to have it become wet while crossing a stream, during heavy rainfall, or some other accident. When wet a synthetic sleeping bag continues to retain at least some insulative value and is also much easier to dry.
Here in the north, my favorite sleeping bag system is actually made up of two bags. My primary bag is a synthetic rated to about 20 degrees Fahrenheit. This is good temperature compromise between summer and winter. Here in the north country it can snow above tree line any month of the year. Even in the valleys it can down into the 50's on any summer day and the twenty degree bag can then be used as an open blanket instead of crawling into it.
I also have a secondary, lighter bag, rated to about 35 degrees into which my primary bag can fit. The combination of the two bags brings the rating down to the minus twenty degree Fahrenheit range. In a pinch, I can wear my clothing in the bag. Include a tent or some other kind of good shelter out of the wind and storm, and this combination should keep me alive and warm under any condition the northern forest will dish out.
The main Wiggy's bag I have been using for years is cut a little wider for my wide powerlifters frame (5 feet 7 inches and 215 lbs). It is a well constructed and dependable sleeping bag.
Wiggy's has created an excellent sleeping bag system called the Flexible Temperature Range Sleep System for the US Military. Also known as FTRSS, this system uses a main bag and a lighter overbag either singly or in combination to allow temperature ratings of between 35 degrees F down to as cold as you will ever know.
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