My old sleeping bag was a 20 degree rated oven bag, or so I thought

Took my old Coleman bag out last weekend up near Lake Tahoe and froze my ass off when it hit 38 degrees. Been using that thing for about 6 years and never realized the filling had flattened out to almost nothing. I picked up a new synthetic bag from a gear shop this week and the difference between the two is massive. The new one is twice as thick and I actually slept warm at 35 degrees on a test night in my backyard. Anyone else notice their old bags lose their puff over time and not keep up with the temp rating?

3 comments

3 Comments

finleyf881mo ago

Mine lost its fluff after 5 years, totally useless now.

mark3611mo ago

Five years is a pretty solid run for any pillow honestly.

abbyg141mo ago

Man that's brutal, I feel for you. Nothing worse than packing up all your gear thinking you're set and then shivering through a cold night. It's wild how much insulation compacts down over time, especially with those cheaper bags. I've definitely had the same thing happen with an old synthetic bag I had, thought it was fine until I actually compared it to a newer one side by side and realized it was basically just a thin blanket. It's kind of sneaky too since it happens so gradually you don't really notice until you're miserable. At least you figured it out with a backyard test instead of learning the hard way again on a real trip.