I took a stroll through all of my posts on this subject before deciding on what to write about. My intent was to write more on the firearms area when I started doing this. But, since I haven’t been doing much in that area in the last year, I have lost some of the mojo. It is why there have been posts on preparedness and mindset.

Did you know that you can have hypothermia in the middle of the summer? It is not likely, but possible. If your body temperature drops below 95 degF for whatever reason, then you will begin to experience hypothermia. In this scenario, it would be be from extended time in the water where the temperature of the water is below normal body temperature 98.6 degF.

Today, I thought that I would talk about sleeping bags and staying warm. Have you ever been really cold? It makes for a long night for sure. The last time I decided my sleeping bag was inadequate was a snowy night where the temperatures dropped down into the 20s. Fortunately, I had a wool blanket as well that kind of made it bearable, but I was still cold.

Here’s a picture of a few of our bags. Sleeping bags come in a wide variety of choices and prices. A lot of what you pay for is performance and weight. Starting in the upper left corner, that is a cheapo $15 bag that works for a temperate nights (no colder than 45 degF for sure). Below that is an ‘generic’ bag that was purchased at Amazon and rated for 30 degF. I haven’t used it, but my son says that it doesn’t perform to that temperature. Next to that (red) is a bag that was purchased at Costco. One son said that it works fine in the snow, the other says no. To the right are the performance and more costly sleeping bags rated to 20 degF.

In the picture, the prices range from $15-$180. The smallest and lightest is the Kelty (and most expensive) and the heaviest is the most inexpensive bag. As performance gets higher, so does the specificity of application For instance the North Face bag is marked as a Women’s bag making is shorter and smaller inside. I have not used it, but getting in it, I think it would work fine for me. It is also purple, but that doesn’t bother me either.

Why do we have so many sleeping bags? That is because we started with cheap ones and keep adding to our collection as needs dictate. My boys are in Boy Scouts and we are occasionally upgrading as the trip dictates. Having extras is nice when there is an occasional sleepover or even having options. A 20 degF bag can be too much during a casual summer overnighter, especially if you have a penchant for being hot at night.

I am not going to get technical but you can buy natural or synthetic materials as options. The naturals tend to have higher temperature ratings but are heavier and are less water resistant. They also are expensive. Unless you know exactly what you want, in which case you won’t need my advice, you will probably have a synthetic bag.

You generally get what you pay for. Not only are better performing bags more expensive, but they tend to be way more durable. Most of our $20 and under bags have broken zippers and straps. I still keep them around because they make a good insulation layer, or they are good to put down for a dirty dog in the car and things like that. But I have gone through and culled some of the worst of the worst in the last year.

End Your Programming Routine: You can never go wrong with quality. But, you may not want to toddler that wets the bed in your $200 bag. I think that there is a role for having different bags available if you are going to use them. Going to an authority on the subject like REI can give really helpful and insightful advice if you are a novice. If you think that you are going to run off into the woods to live when the SHTF, you better have some protection from the environment to keep you alive.