The 7 Best Sleeping Bags of 2023
The adage “you get what you pay for” is as true today as ever, but with a few exceptions—one being sleeping bags.
You simply don’t need to overpay to get a bag that’s comfortable and functional, whether for car camping, backpacking, or camping with kids.
The REI Co-op Siesta Hooded 20 is as much sleeping bag as anyone could want for basic car camping, and it costs almost a third the price of more specialized backpacking options. It is light, comfortable, and adjustable, and comes in two sizes: regular and long, as well as a single version and a double version. The Siesta 20, which has synthetic insulation, is plenty warm for three-season camping (it’s rated to 20 °F—that is, below freezing) but still packs into a cylindrical stuff sack, about 13 inches by 11 inches, that won’t take up much room in the trunk of your car—a pertinent detail for large families. Though the bag is hooded, it’s more akin to bunching a pillow around your head rather than a traditional mummy bag hood. Additionally, the polyester exterior is water resistant, and REI’s return policy is generous. In 2023, REI updated the Siesta to include 98% recycled insulation fill.
If you already know you want to work a lot of backpacking into your camping habits, you’ll need a lighter, more stuffable bag than the REI Co-op Siesta 20, and we think the unisex Montbell Down Hugger is the best choice for people with broad shoulders and narrower hips who tend to get hot at night, as well as for people who move a lot in their sleep. It’s rare to find a comfortable down bag that costs less than $400, yet the Down Hugger was softer and had more loft than some bags that cost $100 more. The bag’s shape and diagonal baffles made it feel far roomier and more accommodating than most of the traditional mummy bags we tested. We didn’t notice any fraying during our testing period, either—but should you experience any manufacturing defect, the bag is backed by Montbell’s lifetime warranty. (The warranty does not cover normal wear and tear; Montbell does offer repairs for which the company will charge “a reasonable rate.”)
Although it’s billed as a women’s bag, the Marmot Women’s Teton is a good fit for any narrow-bodied person who gets cold at night. It’s warmer and slimmer than the Montbell Down Hugger, but it’s also among the softest, warmest bags we tested: The fluffy insulation feels plush and almost overstuffed; it swaddles you while you sleep. The Teton also has thoughtful features, like a pocket within the bag to store electronics, and (new in the 2022 redesign) a compression zipper in the footbox that you can unzip to create more room. It is EN rated to 15 °F—and after many cold nights of sleeping under the stars, our testers found that number to be accurate. It’s worth noting, however, that this is a much warmer bag than many of the others we tested; at times it was too warm. A lifetime warranty covers manufacturer’s defects but not normal wear and tear.
Let’s face it, most people toss and turn when they’re sleeping outside. We think the Big Agnes Sidewinder SL 20° is a great bag for backpackers who move around while they’re sleeping in a tent, including side-sleepers. The shape of the shell is one factor: It’s cut more widely in the middle than your average mummy bag. We were able to move between every possible position you might want to lie in with this bag—on our side, stomach, back, and even in the fetal position. While we were moving around inside, the bag never felt constrictive. And in addition to the bag’s “main” down insulation, the hip areas have an additional layer of synthetic fill, which compresses less than down does. Anyone who moves in their sleep has probably woken up tangled in their mummy bag, unable to find the side zipper. Well, no matter how much we moved around, we could always find the zipper that runs down the front and center of this bag. Plus, the Sidewinder has a pillow sleeve behind the hood that holds a pillow beneath your head as you find that comfortable position on your sleeping pad. Big Agnes offers a limited warranty against manufacturing or material defects; it does not cover wear and tear.
The lightweight Swallow YF 30 Sleeping Bag is a solid choice for people who bring a sleeping bag with them often while hiking or traveling. This bag is simple and unadorned yet filled with top-quality down. It is rated to 30 °F and offers a looser fit for wide bodies, making it a good buy for larger people or people who sleep hot. It’s not an ultralight bag, but its 900-plus fill-power goose down (more about fill power later, but in short, this means the bag is very lofty and therefore both lightweight and warm) is a rare find for under $500 and makes it light enough to carry easily on long-distance trips. All Feathered Friends products come with a lifetime guarantee (which doesn’t cover regular wear and tear) and are made with certified RDS down.
Like the Swallow, the Feathered Friends Egret YF 20 is a high-end bag that is, nonetheless, a rare find for its price. Thoughtfully constructed with the same 900-plus fill-power down), the Egret is made with top-quality materials resulting in a simple, proven design that works in all conditions. It is billed as a women’s bag, but we think the bag’s extra insulation (it’s rated to 20 °F) makes it a good fit for anyone who sleeps cold, as long as they’re not taller than 5-foot-9. (The bag comes in two sizes: small and medium.) As with the Swallow, the Egret is backed by Feathered Friends’s lifetime warranty.
The Big Agnes Dream Island is spacious, warm, and comfortable, with a built-in sleeping-pad sleeve that solves a problem it had never occurred to us to try to solve: the annoyance of bag and pad getting misaligned in the middle of the night. The pad, which you have to buy separately, replaces the synthetic polyester insulation on the bottom half of the bag, making the Big Agnes, which is rated to 15 °F, extra warm relative to its packed size. Since there is no insulation on the bottom of the Dream Island, it really needs to be paired with the sleeping pad to work. The sleeve fits one of Big Agnes’s 50-by-78-inch double air mattresses (such as the Hinman) or two standard 25-by-78-inch pads. Many companies make car-camping pads with these larger-than-average dimensions, and any of them will fit the Dream Island just fine. Big Agnes offers a limited warranty against manufacturing or material defects; it does not cover wear and tear.
