The nicest comfort touch is the added fleece in the footbox; it adds a touch of coziness to an already plush and comfortable bag. The bags that surprised us the most were the Coleman Brazos and Coleman Kompact 20. Looking at the modest price tag of the Brazos, we expected to be quite underwhelmed by its performance. However, its coleman 4 person tent warmth ratings outperformed several of the more expensive bags. It is nearly tied with bags like the Teton Sports Celsius XXL. Additionally, despite its basic design, the Coleman Kompact also lived up to its cold weather rating. We were also very impressed with the Kelty Galactic — its warmth to weight ratio, in particular.
If you want to try backpacking, you can get away with hauling the Big Bay for an overnight hiking trip, but you wouldn’t want to take it too far. It’s much smaller than a traditional rectangular bag—especially one that’s fleece-lined—so it stows better in a trunk, and you don’t lose out on comfort. Mummy sleeping bags trim away material in the shoulders, hips, and feet for a shape that mimics your body. The advantage of having a tapered cut is there is little extra space for cold spots to creep in. And with a quality hood cinched around the top of your head, you can really maximize the temperature rating potential.
Weighing 2.3 lbs, the Galactic is a very lightweight bag among the rectangular, traditional car-camping models. It’s not exactly built for backpacking, but it also packs down small enough that we would certainly consider it for short hike-in campsites. Most will find it more comfortable than a mummy-style sleeping bag and easily worth it when your camping goal is a few miles from the car.
We’ve seen this feature on many other Coleman bags we’ve tested and can confidently say it’s very effective. Additionally, this bag comes with a small interior storage pocket and an over-stuffed cuff around the opening of the bag which tucks nicely around the shoulders and neck. If you plan to camp a lot and see backpacking in your future, the Nemo Forte is a worthy upgrade for a synthetic sleeping bag. If you plan to camp a few times a year, and mostly at campsites, the Big Bay will save you money and keep you as warm.
It’s not cheap outfitting an entire camping setup, and for those who plan to add backpacking into the mix, the cost can get out of hand quickly. If this sounds like you, choosing a crossover camping/backpacking bag is a viable way to save. A few models above can pull double duty for both activities with few compromises, including the NEMO Forte 20 and Kelty Cosmic Down 20. Both bags weigh less than 3 pounds, compress reasonably small for stuffing into a pack, and offer enough warmth for most three-season adventures. If you’re looking for fancy or unique features on a sleeping bag, the Coleman Kompact might not be the best option.
Sleeping bags inherently are barebones, but we’ve seen an uptick in available features on many mid-range and high-end models of late. Notable extras worth calling out are built-in pillows or pillow sleeves , which are a nice luxury for coleman air mattress those annoyed by camp pillows that tend to move in the night. Additionally, integrated blankets, interior pockets for stowing small items like a headlamp, and draft tubes at the collar for trapping warmth are becoming more common.