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One of the most common discussions in survivalist and prepper forums is the best sleeping bag for survival. Sorry to burst your bubble, but there is no one “best” sleeping bag.
There are a lot of variables to consider when choosing an emergency sleeping bag. And these variables go way beyond just temperature rating and weight/size.
Here, I want to give you a clear overview of your options, so you get the correct sleep setup for survival.
Short Recap
Instead of just a survival sleeping bag, you will need a “sleeping kit.” That means a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and shelter.
If you are a novice, you’ll need these as 3 separate pieces of gear. If you learn bushcraft survival skills, though – like how to make a camp bed – you may be able to skip some of the gear.
Moderately-Cold Sleeping Setup
Bag: Kelty Cosmic 20 Degree Down Sleeping Bag. Check on Amazon
Mattress: Therm-a-Rest Prolite Ultralight Check on Amazon (or bed of dry leaves/pine needles/other debris)
Shelter: Tent or tarp shelter
Ultralight Sleeping Setup
Bag: Therm-a-Rest Hyperion 20F Ultralight Down Bag Check on Amazon
Mattress: Z Lite SOL Ultralight Check on Amazon
Shelter: Tarp or Mylar blanket shelter
For Bushcraft Experts
Bag: Marmot Lithium 0F Down Bag. Check on Amazon
Mattress: DIY bushcraft bed.
Shelter: Mylar blanket or tarp for making shelter.
Extra: Fire reflector.
Sleeping bag technology has come a long way over the past few decades. There are now dozens of different types and configurations. You could spend weeks reading about all of the features before making your purchase.
While you should learn about sleeping bags, I wouldn’t obsess too much about it. Why?
You’re better off thinking about scenarios where you’d realistically use the sleeping bag.
For example, a person living in Arizona would have very different needs than someone in New Hampshire.
It seldom gets below freezing in Arizona, nor do you have to worry about rain as much. So an Arizonian could get by with a sleeping bag rated for lower temperatures. The person in New Hampshire would need a more robust setup to withstand thunderstorms and frigid temperatures.
Before you start looking, think about your Bug Out Plan.
Where will you be going?
How will you get there?
What conditions will you be sleeping in?
Once you know this information, you can choose the proper sleep setup. For more on this, read:
Once you’ve thought out your Bug Out plan, you can start thinking about the following features.
Good sleeping bags are tested using the EN13537 standard. It gives a range that the bag is suitable for.
Note that the lower limit temperature is usually given. For example, if a sleeping bag is rated for 30F, the bag will keep you alive at this temperature. But you will NOT be comfortable.
Instead, you want to pay attention to the comfort rating.
You might say that “comfort isn’t important” during survival. But let’s see you function after spending a night freezing your butt off at the lower limits of your sleeping bag!
Suggested Sleeping Bag Ratings:
You have two main choices: down or synthetic.
For very cold weather, down is usually recommended. However, down sleeping bags can be very pricey, need to be fluffed, and aren’t as good as synthetic in wet situations.
For winter backpacking trips, down might be the best choice. But synthetic is probably the better choice for emergency bags and kits (like your BOB and car emergency kit).
With down, you’ll need to pay attention to “fill power,” – which is how much space (loft) the down can fill when fluffed. The higher the fill power, the warmer the bag will be.
There is also down weight, which signals the amount of down used. More fill power or weight doesn’t always mean a warmer bag. For example, a sleeping bag with 500 fill power and 32oz. of down will be warmer than a bag with 800 fill power and 16oz. of down.
You can read a good guide to the difference between down fill and down weight here.
You’ll also need to pay attention to how the fill is stitched into the bag. The stitch makes a big difference to how well the bag “lofts” and whether the fill will get bunched in one area of the bag.
DO NOT GET:
Some professional-level sleeping bags for survival have made smart design choices for their bags. For example, you can get features like built-in footboxes for your feet or “stretch baffling” so the bag stays around your body as you move around.
I’m a 5’1” slim female. So, I need a smaller sleeping bag than a 6’ tall husky man.
Why is size so important?
Because sleeping bags trap heat best when they fit your body, too much empty space in the sleeping bag will cause you to lose heat.
Likewise, you don’t want a sleeping bag that is too tight. You’ll end up crushing the insulation, and then it won’t have air pockets needed to trap heat.
Sleeping bag for plus-sized people?
Most sleeping bags are not made for husky people. So, if you are a bigger person, you’ll find your options limited. Do NOT get a double-wide sleeping bag. It will be too wide to trap heat adequately. Instead, consider these good options:
Good, lightweight sleeping pads can be costly. But (I can’t emphasize this enough), they are integral to staying warm while sleeping outdoors.
When sleeping bags are tested, it is with the assumption that you are using them with a sleeping pad underneath. Even a bag rated to -30F will NOT keep you warm if you are sleeping on cold ground!
For this reason, it is vital to consider your sleeping pad along with your survival sleeping bag.
Another plus of having a sleeping pad is using it to sit on. If the ground is wet, you’ll love that you can sit on your sleeping pad while preparing dinner or just taking a rest.
Cheap foam sleeping pads can be purchased for as little as $10 – especially in Army surplus stores. They usually only offer an R-Value of about 0.5-1 though. Self-inflating pads provide more comfort and a higher R-Value but are annoying to inflate when on the go.
You will probably need TWO sleeping pads. Why? Because it is usually cheaper to buy two sleeping pads than one pad with a very high R-value.
Winter backpackers generally use this pad system:
The CCF pad goes above the inflatable sleeping pad because you want the pad with the highest R-value to be closed to your body. However, for comfort reasons, some backpackers put the CCF pad on the bottom.
Like other forms of insulation, sleeping pad warmth is rated with R-value. The chart below gives you an idea of how much R-value you need to stay warm – i.e., prevent the ground from sucking the heat out of you.
Remember that R-values are accumulative. You can put two sleeping pads on top of each other to combine their R-value. For example, a sleeping pad with an R-value 2 on top of a pad with an R-value of 3 equals R-value of 5.
[su_spoiler title=”R Values Table – Click to expand” class=”bottom-spoiler”]
| R-Value | Temperature in Fahrenheit |
|---|---|
| 1.2 | 48 |
| 1.6 | 46 |
| 2.1 | 36 |
| 2.9 | 28 |
| 3.2 | 23 |
| 4 | 12 |
| 4.6 | 5 |
| 4.9 | 1 |
| 5.3 | -4 |
| 5.9 | -11 |
| 7 | -26 |
| 8 | -36 |
When you get more knowledge and experience, you will be able to get rid of some gear. For example, instead of buying a sleeping pad, you could learn how to make a “bushcraft bed.” The bed elevates you so that the ground won’t act as a heat sink.
Raised-platform bushcraft beds can be very comfortable, so long as you add a layer of debris over the logs. The video below shows you how to make one.
Of course, this takes time – something you might not have in a survival/Bug Out situation. So, even if you have the knowledge, it might still make sense to bring a sleeping pad.
It’s impossible to choose a survival sleeping bag without considering your shelter.
If you use your sleeping bag with a tent, you can get one with a lower temperature rating (since the tent will trap some body heat).
But if you are going to use your sleeping bag under a tarp, then you’ll need a much warmer sleeping bag or know survival skills like how to make a fire reflector.
I’d also avoid getting a down sleeping bag if you sleep under a tarp or debris shelter. Down doesn’t do well in wet situations, and even a well-constructed shelter is likely to let some moisture/rain through.
Read:
Because there are so many types of sleeping bags that could be used for survival, I’ve broken them into categories:
These sleeping bags are what you need for cold-weather bugging out (though you might want to consider bugging in in winter if you are in a very cold climate).
As discussed before, remember that it isn’t only the sleeping bag that matters. For surviving outdoors in cold temperatures, you will need a good sleeping pad to prevent heat loss from the ground.
Winter backpackers use a closed-cell foam pad with an inflatable pad on top of it.
For sleeping pads, we recommend using a combo of the Therm-a-Rest Prolite Plus (R-value 2.4) AND the Z Lite SOL Ultralight (R-value 2) for a combined R-value of 4.4.
When used with a good sleeping bag, these should keep you alive and semi-comfy at temperatures down to -11F.
Klymit makes excellent backpacking gear, and their products don’t cost as much as other gear of the same quality (though don’t expect a 4-season sleeping bag to be cheap!).
Check Prices On Amazon
Features:
A lot of people swear by this survival sleep system. It is the setup used by the military, so it has been field-tested more than any other system.
However, I suspect that the popularity of the setup mostly has to do with the fact that it is military and thus seems most “rugged” or “manly.” I dislike this setup but decided to include it here because it is so popular.
Check Prices On Amazon
While it will keep you alive, there are some issues with using bivvy sacks as part of your survival sleep setup. The big problem is that you will get wet because condensation always builds up in bivvy sacks in cold weather. You are better off with a vented tent.
Another issue with this system is that it weighs 11lbs. You won’t want this in your BOB, but it would work for bugging out by vehicle. It’s also a good choice for your at-home emergency kit, such as staying warm during power outages.
Features:
Marmot is a well-known brand used by many professional backpackers. Their Lithium sleeping bag is not only warm enough for winter but light enough for BOBs.
Unlike many other lightweight winter sleeping bags, this one is roomy inside. You can wear multiple layers in it without getting squeezed.
It is a pricy sleeping bag, but you get what you pay for.
Features:
These sleeping bags probably won’t keep you alive once the temperatures get into the minuses. However, this does make them much more affordable.
They are also a lot lighter than 4-season sleeping bags. Choose one of these for situations like:
This is a great synthetic sleeping bag that will keep you warm in moderately-cold weather but doesn’t cost a fortune. With survival skills like knowing how to make a fire and shelter, it will keep you alive in extreme cold.
Note that the temperature rating on this Marmot sleeping bag doesn’t seem to be realistic. It’s more likely good down into the upper 30s or low 40s – but you will probably be very cold if you try to use it in the 20s.
The footbox is a bit drafty, so your feet may end up cold. It’s also a bit bulky, so not the most compact choice for BOBs.
However, it does everything you’d expect it to do and is much more affordable than professional-level sleeping bags.
Features:
This is the same sleeping bag as the Klymit KSB 0 (reviewed above). The only difference is the amount of down filling used.
The lower temperature rating means that this bag is lighter than the 0F bag. It is also a lot more affordable to buy.
Features:
If you want a very affordable down sleeping bag for survival purposes, the Kelty Cosmic 20 is a good choice.
Unlike other cheap down sleeping bags, the temperature rating is pretty accurate. It will keep you comfortable at 32F.
Just remember that you’ve got to keep down bags dry and fluffed!
Features:
If you are planning a Bug Out Bag, the weight really matters. A 20lb pack might not seem heavy when you test it at home—but try trekking 15+ miles per day while wearing it.
The problem with lightweight survival sleeping bags is that they are either 1) really expensive or 2)not very warm. You’ll have to make a tradeoff between price, weight, and temperature.
That’s why it is so important to learn survival skills and get good gear. Also, read these tips for reducing weight from your Bug Out Bag.
All of the following bags weigh 2lbs or under but have varying prices and temperature ratings.
This is by far the best sleeping bag for Bug Out Bags.
Why?
Because it is incredibly light at only 1lb, 4oz yet has a lower limit of 20F. It packs down to just 6×8 inches.
The only potential downside is that it is narrow, so it might not be the best solution for heavier people or people with wide shoulders.
As you’d expect with a lightweight sleeping bag rated for such low temperatures, the bag isn’t cheap — but it is worth it if you can afford it.
Features:
If weight isn’t an issue, the North Face Eco Trail 0F bag is a good choice.
It is made from synthetic materials, so you don’t have to worry about it getting wet like you would with a down bag. It is wider than most sleeping bags, so it will also fit large people.
North Face also makes a 20F and 35F version of this bag, which are lighter weight. They will still be too heavy for most bug out bags, but it’s hard to beat the price and still have this good of a temperature rating.
Features:
Therm-a-rest is best known for its sleeping pads, but they also make some great sleeping bags. This bag is great for warmer temperatures or car/hunker-down survival kits. It is only 1.2lbs and compresses very small (to the size of a 1-liter bottle).
Features:
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