Best Brands for Sleeping Bags

Here you have my selection of the best brands for sleeping bags, they build them for all climates and for all outdoor activities so you will surely find something for you.

Sleeping bags can be classified in various ways with respect to their best use, type, insulation material, etc. This is why it may be difficult to make a relatively short list that would include the best brands which build sleeping bags.

Quite generally, you can have the following possible groups of sleeping bags:

• Bags built either for the trail or for the camp. Obviously, the former type is much lighter and more compact.
• Single or double sleeping bags. The meaning of these two should be obvious.
• Rectangular or mummy-style bags, or quilts. Some people feel constricted in a mummy bag, and if you are one of them, go for a quilt or for a rectangular bag. A quilt is usually the lightest and the most compact option, but it is not the warmest. So it could be a great option for summer use.
• Bags for cold weather or for warm weather.
• Bags with synthetic or down insulation. The latter are usually lighter and you will see them mostly among the trail bags.
• Gender specific bags, separate for male and female users. Top brands make them separate, and you will see them here.

There may be more ways to classify outdoor sleeping bags, but you already have some idea of the complexity of the issue.

Now, what I mean by “best”? This can be about:

• Highly advanced, technical, ultralight, and ultra-compact sleeping bags. You will see a few of them below.
• But this can also be about great money/value combination. So here you have some of the brands that make incredibly affordable sleeping bags that are far different from the first group. But they are very warm and reliable.

My list of best sleeping bag brands

The sleeping bags in the list below are ordered alphabetically, so this is not a rating list, the numbers are just for easier navigation:

Note that the brands presented in the list are globally known, and this is not only because of their sleeping bags. They build various outdoor products, like sleeping pads, tents, and much more.

1. Alps Mountaineering

When this is about sleeping bags, the Alps Mountaineering brand is best-known for its camping sleeping bags, and a number of them is in the group of those designed for the coldest possible climate. You can see their ALPS Mountaineering Blaze -20 Degree Mummy Sleeping Bag in my list of sleeping bags for cold weather. So these are heavy bags and typically with synthetic insulation.

But they have a variety of bags to offer and they are widely available on Amazon. So you can find some of their bags for summer camping and even for backpacking. Note also that they have double-wide sleeping bags, and quilts as well. You can see this ALPS Mountaineering Pinnacle Quilt that weighs only 1 lb 8 oz (0.68 kg).

Yet another detail worth mentioning, their sleeping bags are usually very affordable, but no worry, this is not on the account of quality. In fact, this brand is well-known for its reliable outdoor products. Some of them are quite innovative, see this Alps Mountaineering Fusion 40 sleeping bag to realize what I mean.

2. Big Agnes

Such a list is impossible to imagine without Big Agnes. When this is about innovations and unique features, I would dare to say that no brand can match them. If you visit their page on Amazon, you will realize that the bags of this brand are mainly built for the trail. This means that practically all of them are mummy type, with reduced size, bulk, and weight.

So their sleeping bags are among the lightest on the market, and this implies top-quality fabric and the best types of treated down. But it is true that this also comes at a price, and if you are on a budget better check some other brand.

This is one of the brands that builds gender specific sleeping bags separately for men and for women, and they also have sleeping bags for kids. They build solo sleeping bags and sleeping bags for two people.

They have so many sleeping bags on the market that it is difficult to decide which of them to show. Did you know that they have expandable sleeping bags?

But here is one of their latest innovations, you will not find anything similar on the market, the Big Agnes Sidewinder Camp FireLine Eco Fill Sleeping Bag.

3. Browning Camping

This brand builds some of the warmest and the most durable sleeping bags on the market. They are heavy and also heavy-duty, most suitable for camping, hunting, expeditions, and any other activity in a cold environment. In fact, I shall not exaggerate if I say this this brand has became a synonym for reliable and durable outdoor products.

To see what I mean it is enough to have a look into my list of best-rated cold weather sleeping bags where you will find some of their bags. Being designed for cold weather, they are equipped with all the features that such environment requires.

Their sleeping bags are typically with a synthetic insulation and with excellent temperature rating. This is why they are both bulky and heavy. They build them both as rectangular and mummy shaped. It is also important to point out that their sleeping bags are usually very affordable.

One of great examples of their sleeping bags is this Browning Camping Klondike -30 Degree Flannel Sleeping Bag. Here you have a 7 denier TechLoft Silver Insulation and a heavy duty outer cotton canvas that is combined with a cotton flannel liner. But note that the weight is 15 lb (6.8 kg).

4. Coleman

There are several reasons why this brand is here in the list. I would start with the price first. So if you are really on a budget, I do not think you will find a more affordable sleeping bag than a bag from Coleman.

Now, this also means not to expect some really advanced technology. These are normally synthetic bags, easy to maintain, machine washable and inexpensive.

However, I do not think that any other brand has more sleeping bags on the market, except Big Agnes perhaps. When you see them listed on Amazon you will realize this. So you have plenty of options to choose from. Note that these are mostly camping bags, only rarely you will find a bag of this brand that is light and compact enough to be carried on the trail.

They have many sleeping bags that are designed for the coldest environment. In this sense they are quite comparable to the bags of Alps Mountaineering and Browning Camping. The Coleman Big & Tall Sleeping Bag 0°F shown in the picture is one great example of their bags for low temperatures.

5. Marmot

The Marmot brand is one of those that build sleeping bags in the group of highly technical, trail bags suitable for experts, hikers, backpackers, and explorers. You will see a couple of them in my list of best cold weather sleeping bags. But they have them for all seasons as well, you can see this if you visit their page on Amazon.

I do not remember any of their bag that would be rectangular or double-wide. So these are solo mummy-style bags, typically with some basic features only, to shed weight and to reduce bulk.

This also means they are usually with down insulation, and shell is sometimes waterproof, ultralight and thin but very strong. This is one of the brands here that builds separate sleeping bags for women. Below you can see one example of this type, the Marmot Trestles 15 Women’s Cold-Weather Mummy Sleeping Bag.

Regarding the price, the sleeping bags of Marmot are quite generally somewhere in the middle here among the most expensive and the least expensive. For example, the bag shown above is surprisingly affordable. But indeed, they also have some really technical and very expensive bags for the most extreme conditions.

6. Teton Sports

The Teton Sports brand has many of their sleeping bags on the market, and this means also on Amazon. Some of them are built for backpacking, but when this is about the weight and packed size, they cannot be compared with those of Big Agnes or Therm-a-Rest.

Most of their sleeping bags are for camping or more generally for activities where you would not carry them in the backpack. But if you follow the Amazon links given above, you will realize that most of them have thousands of reports by customers. There are some good reasons for this, i) they are incredibly great price/money combination, and ii) they have been on the market for years.

So this all means that they build reliable and budget-friendly outdoor sleeping bags, and you can find them for any temperature and climate. Note also that they have mummy and rectangular, solo and double, for adults and for kids, and for all seasons as well.

I guess you would want to see an example, so here it is, one of their best-known TETON Sports Mammoth Queen-Size Double Sleeping Bag. They build it in several different colors. As of the moment of writing this text, this bag has well over 4000 reports on Amazon.

7. Therm-a-Rest

This brand is best known for its ultralight sleeping bags suitable for hikers and backpackers. This implies quite a number of things. So their bags are usually with high-quality down insulation that is ultralight and also with the best compression features.

But this also implies sleeping bags with minimal sizes, in other words mummy-type bags. Regarding the temperature rating, they have them in full range, from bags for the coldest environment, to sleeping bags for summer backpacking.

The lightest possible options for backpackers you will find in the group of quilts, and Therm-a-Rest brand has them many, you can see some of them in my separate list.

One great example of sleeping bags from this brand is this Therm-a-Rest Oberon 0-Degree Down Mummy Winter Sleeping Bag. Here you have a 800-fill Nikwax Hydrophobic Down that dries three times faster than untreated down and this is achieved without using dangerous PFC.

It also offers SynergyLink Connectors that integrate the bag with a mattress. It is designed with a zoned insulation that maximizes warmth and saves weight by intentionally placing fill where you need it most. This means 60% of the fill on top and 40% on the bottom. But they have also added the Toe-asis Foot Warmer Pocket, this is an ergonomic toe box that rapidly warms cold feet in a pocket of warm down.

The bag is equipped with quilt and blanket loops, and this means it allows for layering their quilts or tech blankets for increased warmth. There are also heat-trapping draft collars, full-length zipper draft tubes, a differential cut, a snag-free zipper, a cinchable hood, and an external zip pocket. The bag is also Responsible Down Standard certified and this ensures that the animals in the down supply chain are treated humanely.

Final thoughts

So this was my selection of the best brands for sleeping bags, and if you want a bag from an outstanding brand, you should definitely check among the sleeping bags from the brands in the list above.

Now, which is the best? I would say there is no answer, it depends on what type of a sleeping bag you want. You can in principle buy a backpacking bag and use it for any outdoor activity, but such bags are far from the most comfortable. This is how I see them, but perhaps you feel great in such a bag. On the other hand, if you need a bag for warm weather camping or backpacking, you would not waste money on some expensive winter bag.

So here is what I would suggest instead of pointing out just one brand. If this is about car camping, check among the bags from the Alps Mountaineering, Browning Camping, Coleman, and Teton Sports. They have them for all climates, and they are very affordable and reliable.

But if this is about a bag that will be used on the trail, check all the other brands in the list above. Then make sure that you know the climate and weather conditions in the area where you will be using the bag. This will narrow down your options and you will find the most suitable sleeping bag for you.

Let me know if you have questions, there is a comment box below. Thank you for reading.