Testing the Sleeping Bag

Since my husband was cold on the test run camping trip to Hocking Hills State Park in Ohio, we thought about returning the sleeping bag. It had been a low of 50 degrees and clear weather and this bag is rated to 15 degrees. We wondered if this was because we hadn't followed instructions properly or because the bag really didn't work in cold weather.

So we set up the tent on our back porch and planned to sleep out on another, colder night (low of 35 degrees) to test the bag. I looked into buying the sleeping pad that went with the bag, but they are about $300, so not an option. I checked the specs on the bag, then measured our ground pads. One was too long. The other two seemed like they should fit side by side. Unfortunately, the two that were the right size didn’t match at all. One’s a simple Ridgerest (https://www.amazon.com/Therm-Rest-RidgeRest-Classic-Sleeping/dp/B0775GGXM6) while the other is a much thicker air-filled pad. It took me ages to jam them in the sleeping bags pockets, which work like a fitted sheet with holes on the corners, but I eventually got it good enough that I thought it would work.

As I was setting up the tent, it started to rain, so we got to test the tent in the rain, which was a nice perk. A little rain got in before I could get the rain fly up, but it wasn’t too bad. I wiped down the floor with a towel before setting up the sleeping bags. We put the NorthFace bag in on the big pad next to ours, which was okay for one night, but it didn’t really fit. We’ll definitely need to bring the child-sized sleeping pad for the long trip.

Anyhow, we stayed warm all night, so that was good.

The next day, I started to take things out of the tent, starting with the single ground pad and sleeping bag. The kids caught me and wanted to go in the tent. So at around 7:30pm, we climbed into the sleeping bag in the tent. It was supposed to be 24 degree F that night, and I thought they would wake up and we’d go inside, but we stayed out all night. The sleeping bag was warm enough, but every time I’d poke my head out I’d breathe the cold cold air. And the kids hats kept slipping off  and I’d have to put them back on. Because you lose heat through yoir head, wearing a warm hat is the best way to stay warm when sleeping out in the cold.

The verdict is that we would be warm enough if the weather was that cold, but it wouldn’t be fun. We will keep the sleeping bag and try to camp when the weather is 40 degrees or warmer as the low.