Choosing the Right Sleeping Bag for Comfort

During our recent road trip to Amado, Arizona for an OzTent show my wife and I experienced some interesting weather traveling from March to April. We decided to take the southern route from IL through Missouri into Oklahoma to visit our Son and his new bride of 6 mos. they also introduced us to our "grand dogger", an italian miniature greyhound.

As we entered Albuquerque, NM we experienced temps overnight down to 18 degrees, in a camping tent! Needless to say my wife was not a happy camper, unless you are prepared for the elements it could be a dangerous situation if your body temp drops and is not able to warm up could lead to hypothermia.
Choosing a sleeping bag is critical when it comes to comfort and a restful night sleep, a sleeping bag's temperature rating identifies the lowest temperature at which a bag will keep the average sleeper warm. When you hear a bag described as a "20 degree bag," it means that most users should remain comfortable if the air temperature drops no lower than 20°F. These ratings assume that the sleeper is wearing a layer of long underwear and using a sleeping pad under the bag. The other key element in choosing the right temp rating is the metabolism of the person, which can vary from one person to the next, for example my wife & I were both set up on camping cots using + 25 degree bags with a micro fibre fill, which for me was good but in order to provide the needed additional warmth for her we added a fleece blanket for underneath her body with a wool blanket as a liner inside the sleeping bag for added insulation.
Here is a Tip for choosing a sleeping bag:
Select a bag with a temperature rating a bit lower than the lowest temperature you expect to encounter. If you're headed for near-freezing temperatures, then choose a 20°F bag instead of a 35°F bag. If temperatures climb higher than expected, you can easily vent the bag to provide more circulation on warmer nights.
Here is a general rule of thumb when choosing a sleeping bag:
Bag Type Temperature Rating (°F)
Summer Season +35° and higher
3-Season Bag +10° to +35°
Cold Weather -10° to +10°
Winter/Extreme -10° and lower

You will find that sleeping bag temperature ratings vary from one manufacturer to the next. Use these ratings as a guide only, not a guarantee. However, I have found that the newer fibres, oversized and also bags for sleeping 2 have made a huge difference in a restful and comfortable nights rest. you can find them on-line at lots of camping locations including Family Tent Camping

Your OzTent Experience - Jet Tent F30X

Hi Randy,

Thanks for your invitation to provide feedback. Fantastic timing as I just returned from my first “trial by fire” trip for the F30X Jet Tent. Everything about the tent performed famously. I had another set of hands helping with set up. We had no problems whatsoever. I put down a ground cover, staked out the corners of the tent, lifted the center hub and raised and locked the frame. Also put in the peaked sides and front awning. I used the extra awning poles that you shipped just a few weeks ago (from the road trip) to put up the front panel awning. We used the space between the side panels for cooking, bar, cooler, etc. I put up a table under the front awning. See attached pics. Also regarding set up, I put custom made canvas floor coverings in the tent itself (to further protect the pvc floor and make it easier to sweep out dirt) and also as a floor in the deluxe side panel area). Very useful. We had three guys with gear in the inner part of the tent. Plenty of room to spread out.

Performance of the tent during the week was stellar. We had rain, cold, thunderstorms and significant wind pretty much every afternoon. One evening a thunderhead produced dime sized hail for nearly an hour. Not a drop of water inside any part of the tent. I did have some pooling where the front awning attaches but that was easily solved by lowering one of the awning poles just a bit. The two other tents we had in the group were covered with tarp set ups – staked out poles, bungee cords to the tarp, full coverage over the tents. During the storms they both had all kinds of problems with pooling, stakes pulling out, sudden release of large quantities of water, etc. The Jet Tent worked so well, everyone in the group of 8 used it for shelter in the worst of the storms. One of the guys dubbed it “Ice Station Zebra”. Pretty creative, I thought.
As we had significant amounts of rain, the tent was wet when it came time to break camp. So, rather than pack it in the bag, I formed it up and laid it in my cap-covered truck bed. I was on my own for the take down and had no problems. It took a while but most of that time was packing and stowing gear.

For a selection of family camping gear Visit www.FamilyTentCamping.com