TIL my old sleeping bag was rated for way colder temps than I thought

I was cleaning out my garage in Portland last weekend and found the tag on my old synthetic bag from a big box store. I always thought it was a basic 40-degree bag, but the fine print said it was actually tested to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. I've been freezing my butt off on spring trips for years thinking I needed an upgrade. Has anyone else had a bag that was secretly warmer than the marketing made it seem?

3 comments

3 Comments

miller.jason2mo ago

Honestly, that's a super common mix-up. The ENTIRE rating system is based on survival, not comfort. A 15-degree rating means you probably won't get hypothermia at that temp, but you'll be miserably cold all night. For a comfortable sleep, you usually need a bag rated 10 to 15 degrees LOWER than the expected overnight low. So that bag was probably perfect for nights around 30 degrees, not 15.

faithb782mo ago

My old car's MPG rating felt the same way. The sticker said 30 highway, but you had to drive 55 with no AC to actually get that. These official numbers always seem to leave out the real world cost.

davis.casey1mo ago

Survival, not comfort" is a really good way to put it. It's like how they test crash safety with dummies that are exactly average size - miss that reality by just a bit and the whole thing falls apart. Do you think people buying gear really just look at the number and assume it covers their exact situation?