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Appreciation post: My old sleeping bag's temperature rating was way off
I was cleaning out my gear closet and found the original tag for my 15 degree sleeping bag from a trip to the White Mountains. I decided to look up the brand's testing standard online, and the company admitted they use a 'limit' rating, not a 'comfort' rating. That means the 15 degrees is the lowest temperature a man can sleep without waking, not a cozy sleep. It was a real eye-opener. I always wondered why I was so cold on a 20 degree night in that bag. Now I know to add 10 or even 15 degrees to that number for my real comfort zone. Has anyone else found a big gap between the rating on the tag and how a bag actually feels?
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the_pat6mo ago
I saw a review on Outdoor Gear Lab that tested a popular 20 degree bag. Their thermal manikin data showed the comfort rating was actually around 32 degrees. Makes you wonder why they even print the lower number so big on the tag, right?
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skyler_thomas6mo ago
Classic marketing. The big number is for your hopes, the real one is for your hypothermia.
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