The Best Sleeping Bags for Camping of 2023: Staff Picks

This sleeping bag from REI Co-op probably deserves its own fan site, given its many customer accolades. “People come in asking for the Siesta,” says Jenny Askey, a retail sales specialist at the REI store in Boulder, Colorado. “It’s an outstanding bag, given its features and price point.”  

Though it costs less than comparable bags, the Siesta 20 doesn’t skimp on comfort or versatility. It combines a roomy, rectangular shape with the hood of a mummy bag to help trap heat. The hood is spacious enough to accommodate a full-sized pillow from home or one of Therm-A-Rest’s comfy camp pillows—because who says camping has to entail roughing it? Another stay-warm feature is in the stitching. Synthetic fill is secured using offset quilt construction, which stitches one sheet of insulation to the shell fabric and a second sheet to the lining using staggered seams that don’t overlap. This design eliminates the cold spots that are common among single-layer baffles with stitch-through seams. 

The bag also has two zippers that allow for some versatility in your sleep setup. The main zipper opens the bag completely and gives the option to zip it to a second Siesta sack to create a double bag for couples or co-sleeping kids. A shorter, secondary zipper allows the top of the bag to fold down like a bed sheet. “That improves comfort on warm nights or when sitting or reading in the bag,” says Lauren Bowman, a senior product developer for REI. 

With the spacious rectangular cut and the synthetic insulation (which isn’t as compressible as down), the Siesta isn’t the lightest or most packable option. Campers who are short on cargo space may find it too bulky when stored, says Diller McGrath, a sales lead at the REI store in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. The bag is most popular among car-campers who sleep in rooftop tents or vans where size and weight aren’t concerns. 

When they created the Jazz 30, the design wizards at NEMO set out to offer a bedlike sleeping experience in a camping bag. Karen Cutter, a sales lead at the REI Knoxville, Tennessee, store, calls it a truly impressive engineering feat: “Oh, my gosh. I don’t own this bag—yet—but I want it really badly. I think this bag would absolutely offer the most comfortable sleep.”

The Jazz 30 even comes with its own silky-soft bed sheet (made out of recycled polyester to help you sleep a little more soundly at night). You can also remove the sheet to simplify laundry chores. NEMO designers added recycled materials throughout the bag, too: in the shell, lining and synthetic Stratofiber insulation.

It doesn’t end there: NEMO also gave a lot of thought to your mattress needs, souping up the Jazz with an integrated sleeve that can securely cradle the camping pad of your choice. It’s big enough to accommodate a 78-inch-long, 30-inch-wide, 4-inch-thick mattress (the size of the extra-large NEMO Roamer sleeping pad, which won an REI Co-op Editors’ Choice Award in 2021). The insulated underside of the bag also has a soft quilted layer that’s reminiscent of your mattress at home.

Zach Matthews, a retail sales specialist at the REI store in Portland, Oregon, loves the Jazz for its roominess: “It’s the most comfortable because it’s the most spacious bag—by far.” He also notes that the hood is equally generous in size, easily swallowing a pillow for all-night cushion. “I also like that it’s got double zippers so you can vent on whatever side you like,” Matthews says.

Inside the Jazz is a recycled Stratofiber synthetic insulation, which offers reliable all-conditions warmth. The 30° F (lower limit) temperature rating is legit, too, because this is the rare camping bag that’s been through rigorous ISO testing. Even the bag’s “comfort rating” comes in at 32° F, which suggests its warmth level is consistent for a wide range of body metabolisms. Buy here.

For many people, the word “budget” simply means the lowest-priced item. It’s a reasonable assumption, though it’s also important that a product offer a baseline level of quality. “Kelty does a great job of giving you good bang for your buck,” Cutter notes. Affordable quality is the brand’s specialty, which is why the Catena was the unanimous budget pick of our staffers. Customer-reviewers agree: “A great entry-level bag, especially for car camping.”

Though it’s adult sized, many parents send the Catena with their kids to summer camp. (It fits a twin mattress perfectly.) Mild-weather summer campers also are drawn to the Catena because it features the classic rectangular shape most of us envision in a sleeping bag—a shape that offers ample room for arms and limbs to stretch out and relax. The rectangular shape and zipper design also allow the Catena to be flayed open fully for use as a comforter. (Zip two Catenas together and you’ll have yourself a sleeping bag for two, a leading contender for the title of “best budget double bag for camping.”)

Even though the brand offers the Catena at such an alluring price, Kelty doesn’t skimp on the bag’s materials. The Catena features a durable polyester shell and liner, along with a Cloudloft synthetic fill, materials that wear well and can handle mild spills and damp conditions. Buy here.

Exped might have more aptly named the MegaSleep Duo the “Quatro”: You’re getting a bag that can be deployed as 25° double bag, a 40° double bag, a 25° single bag and a 40° single bag. It’s another well-loved pick among several of our staffers, too, and it’s easy to see why a bag that offers this much versatility would garner this much love.

Cutter explains why this bag’s concept works so well for her. “I did this exact same thing in the past by buying two sleeping bags with different temperature ratings. Depending on the weather, we’d flip the warmer side up or down. I loved that versatility.” Cutter also adds: “With the Exped, you can also create two separate sleeping bags, which you can’t do with a traditional double bag. So, the fact that you can create two separate bags and you have the temperature range—I just think that’s awesome.”

Matthews agrees, and is especially impressed with the simplicity of temperature adjustment: ”All you have to do is flip it on over.” Matthews also approves of the brand’s performance over the years: “Exped’s quality shines in all their gear.”

Sarah Miller, a sales manager at the REI store in Marina, California, points to the story the specs tell: “Width can really play into how much people like a double bag, and this is one of the widest options (126") available.” Miller adds: “And the fact that it only weighs 5 pounds is awesome for portability.” The bag’s microfiber insulation is indeed extraordinarily light and compressible for a synthetic fill.

“It also has a fun little (duffel bag) carrying case,” she says. “Who doesn’t love that?” Buy here.

Buying a single bag for both camping and backpacking makes perfect sense when it’s a kids’ sleeping bag. A child’s preference for camping over backpacking—or vice versa—isn’t fully formed yet. They’re also going to outgrow any gear you buy in a few years. REI Co-op’s venerated Kindercone backpacking bag is the perfect answer—it comes with built-in growth-spurt insurance. The included stuff sack, which is attached to the bottom of the bag so you won’t lose it, can be cinched to make the bag shorter when your child is younger; as your child grows, simply move the cinch point down to lengthen the bag.

Kindercone, which in various iterations has been in the REI Co-op bag line for more than two decades, has just the right mix of toughness and tech required in a kid’s bag. The sturdy shell and two-way anti-snag coil zipper resist rough use, while its polyester materials offer resistance to spills and drizzle. The Kindercone is estimated to provide warmth down to 25°F, which should help kids stay comfortable, even on a cool-weather trip. Miller points out, too, the bag’s mummy-bag shape—one of it obvious backpacking features— is key here: “The slim shape isn’t merely a backpacking advantage, it’s also a warmth advantage because a kids’ small body doesn’t have to work so hard to heat the bag up.”

Because the sleekly built Kindercone tips the scales at just a hair over 3 pounds, budding backpackers should also be able to carry their bag—just like their adult trip leaders.

Even the material choices in the Kindercone consider your child’s future. Both the shell and lining are recycled polyester that’s certified to meet bluesign® criteria. Buy here.

Admittedly, a blanket is an outlier in an article devoted to sleeping bag picks, but Rumpl has created such a beloved piece of gear that we couldn’t leave the brand’s blankets out of our roundup. Campers use them as a campfire shawl, an impromptu ground cover and, of course, another layer of warmth in their sleep systems. Wheelchair campers often use blankets for their sleep setups, too, because sleeping bags can be hard to manage with limited leg mobility.

Miller also points out that a Rumpl works just about anywhere: “It’s a camp blanket and it’s an office blanket.” Miller also explains that Rumpl’s many water-resistant flavors work well in both environments: “I spilled so much stuff on that blanket, and still it has persisted. You just wipe it right off and continue.” (Miller also got a Rumpl for her partner to use in his office.) The Original Puffy version is machine washable.

Cutter says that her Rumpl was one of the first purchases she made after becoming an REI employee. She loves the blanket’s practicality: “Because it’s a sleeping-bag material, it’s great around camp because it doesn’t pick up any dirt or grass.” Cutter is also impressed with the warmth: “The second you put it around your body, you can feel it starting to heat up. It’s super cozy.”

The Rumpl might also be available in more versions than any other camping gear. The Original Puffy version has a synthetic material and fill, both of which are made using recycled materials. There’s also the NanoLoft Puffy and Down Puffy. Rumpls come in two basic sizes: 1-person (72" x 52") and 2-person (84" x 80"), plus a travel size (52" x 38"). Most of the variations involve pattern and color: The product page looks more like an art gallery than a gear assortment. Buy here.