It is hard to have a nice and good sleep if you are not staying in your home and not using your own bed. Blankets and sleeping bags are two good options to provide you with a warm sleep even if you are not using your bed.
Both sleeping bags and blankets serve the purpose of a warm and comfortable sleep, sleeping bags are mostly used for camping. Because of being produced for that purpose, sleeping bags are always chosen over blankets when you are camping or hiking or any outside activity that you need to spend a night. Blankets are produced by a wide variety of fabrics compared to sleeping bags. Caring and storing blankets may seem a better choice but some modern, ultralight sleeping bags can solve that issue. Since sleeping bags are produced for cold and bad conditions, it makes used mostly for the only cold seasons while blankets can be easily used for all seasons. When it comes to price, blankets can be the cheaper option since more materials are used to produce sleeping bags.
When the subject is camping, hiking, or sleeping outside a lot of people will assume that sleeping bags are better than blankets. In this blog, you will find out if that’s the case and see advantages or disadvantages and make comparisons to choose blankets or sleeping bags.
Before going through detailed comparisons, let’s see what sleeping bags and blankets are.
Sleeping Bag
The sleeping bag is bedding that provides you warmth and comfort when you are hiking or any kind of camping. It is the main gear for your camping since sleep is something that you can not skip to keep yourself healthy. Sleeping bags are basically a shell and a filling. The outer shell is generally made with polyester and nylon. The filling can be synthetic or down. While synthetics are easier to clean and take care of, the natural down fillings will keep you warm even on super cold nights when you are camping.
Blanket
Blankets are bedding that can be used in a lot of places not only for camping. Blankets are going to keep you warm whatever the season and wherever you are. They are not only for sleeping also for decorative purposes. Being only one layered makes them easy to take care of and easy to access.
Let’s take a look at a detailed comparison between sleeping bags and blankets.
Comparison
| Sleeping Bags | Blankets |
| Mostly made of polyester or nylon. | Wool, fleece, and cotton are the warmest ones. |
| Only used in winter. | Can be used every season. |
| Hard to maintain. | Easy to maintain. |
| Not versatile. | More versatile. Can be used for other purposes. |
| More Expensive. | Can be cheap or expensive depending on the material. |
Material
Both sleeping bags and blankets are used to keep you warm on a cold night. Sleeping bags outside shells are generally made of polyester or nylon. The filling of sleeping bags is a different story. They can be either synthetic or natural down. Down is gonna keep you warm even in extremely cold weather. On the other hand, blankets are layered and they are mostly made out of fleece, cotton, wool, and synthetics. When it comes to camping most of the campers tend to choose wool blankets because they can keep you warm even in wet weather.
Weight
When it comes to camping, weight is something you really need to consider. Usually, people assume that sleeping bags are heavier. It would be true if we were thinking about old times. Modern sleeping bags are ultralight and easy to pack and carry. For blankets, as I mentioned before one of the warmest and most common choices is wool blankets. The modern ultralight sleeping bags are even lighter than a woolen blanket. So they might be a better choice for backpack campers but even tho they are lighter they are still bulky and will need more space for your backpack. Since weight is not an issue for car campers, you should consider your option according to your camping style.
Maintenance and Protection
Maintenance and care is an important topic when you are deciding. As I mentioned before sleeping bags are basically a shell and filling which makes them a little bit harder to take care of. Most of the modern sleeping bags are easy to take care of with dry cleaning but they will not help you when you are camping. It is also easy to take care of most of the blankets according to their material. Safety is the most important thing for all of us when we are camping or hiking. Depending on the material, blankets are usually are more resistant to fire and the spreading of the fire while most of the sleeping bags shells are nylon and polyester they are more vulnerable to fire so you should be careful. No matter what you choose remember; Safety first.
Size and Design
Size always affects our decision when we are choosing either a blanket or a sleeping bag. Sleeping bags come in various sizes and names. You can choose rectangular with long and standard options. If you are camping as a couple you can easily choose a double sleeping bag that is very wide and good for sharing body temperature which will keep you even warmer on cold nights. Generally is made of polyester and nylon, sleeping bags don’t offer much when it comes to design and good looking. But let’s be honest, no one will prefer design over warmth when camping. Unlike sleeping bags, blankets offer you a lot of different design options. They are made out of a wide variety of materials so it makes the blankets designer’s job a lot easier for sure. Blankets come in more traditional sizes. Such as; standard, double, queen, king. You can also find different customized-sized blankets.
Versatility
Versatility is not something that sleeping bags offer. As in the name, you will just jump into a bag and look for a warm sleep during your camp time. On the other hand, blankets are a different story when it comes to versatility. You can use blankets as sun or wind shelter, something to put on the floor and sit on it. You can use blankets even in your picnics as tablecloths and maybe even in your road trips as easily accessible warming tools. Therefore, blankets are much advantageous in versatility. part so it shouldn’t be so hard to choose if you are only looking for different usages.
Price
For all our shoppings, no matter what you are buying, price is one of the first things that you will check. In our comparison, sleeping bags and blankets do not differ a lot. For both of them, the price range differs from $100 to thousands of dollars, depending on the material that is used for production. As I mentioned before, sleeping bag shells are commonly produced from nylon and polyester but fillings can be wool, cotton, or synthetics. Natural materials always cost more because they will provide you with more warmth and a better insulation system. Blankets are more variable in the production part so the price also differs a lot.
History
There are lots of debates about the invention of sleeping bags but they are patented by a Welsh businessman Pryce Jones. In the late18th and early19th, he developed sleeping bags and sold them all around the world. Sleeping bags were commonly used in armies before they become the most important piece for campers.
Which one to buy?
To answer this question, you need to know where you going to use it. For example, if you are on a family camping trip or you are going hiking with your friends or alone, you may want to choose sleeping bags over blankets. If you are just looking for something simple and easily accessible to keep you warm in your garden or in your living room or your bedroom you may want to choose blankets over sleeping bags. It all comes down to the question “where are you going to use it?”. Here are some options for you to make it easier to compare and decide.
Recommendations
1- Big Agnes Cinnabar Sleeping Bag
Big Agnes brand offers you this %100 down-filled sleeping bags. They come in various sizes like small, standard, and large. Price differs depending on the size and coldproof. There are 2 options for the degree; -20 or -40 degrees. The small one’s price is $749 for the -20 degree option and goes up to $949 for the -40 degree option. There is only a pumpkin color option. You should definitely check this brand’s options before you go to a camp. It can be a lifesaver for you on cold winter camping nights.
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2 – Snugpak Special Forces Sleeping Bag
Snugak brand offers you this strong sleeping bag. It comes at the price of $649. You can choose between various sizes. It is made of synthetic materials and can protect you down to -20 degrees. You can feel the warmth like you are at home on your camping nights with these water-repellent, windproof sleeping bags.
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3 – RAB Ultralight Sleeping Bags
Rab brand offers you this ultralight sleeping bag for $549. It is filled with down and having the reflective technology makes the warmth reflect back to your body. In this way, you will be feeling the warmth even in the very cold weather. The outer shell is made of nylon. It only weighs 590 grams which makes it a perfect choice for hikers or campers. The only downside is having an only standard size and comes in with black color and no other choice for color. Being ultra-light and having a super insulation system covers the downside. If you thinking of climbing that would be a perfect choice for you.
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4 – Mammut Women Sleeping Bags
Mammut offers this comfortable sleeping bag at the price of $535. The brand offers you only petrol color. It is only produced for women campers or hikers. It has a magnetic and 2-way zipper closure system which provides better insulation at the collar that can be a lifesaver in extremely cold weather. They also offer you a sleep mask and earplugs in the package for a better sleeping experience without distracting noises and light. It is made of polyester at the outer shell and filled with down and polyester blends. This product is a very good option for women campers, hikers, or climbers.
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5 – Big Agnes Mummy Sleeping Bag
Another Big Agnes Product is on the recommendation list. This product comes at the price of $509. The outer shell is made of nylon and filled with down. It only comes with the mummy size and it is a unisex product. This sleeping bag can protect you from cold down to -20 degrees. It almost weighs a kilogram which is not much. Being down will make you feel warmth for the cold camping nights.
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Budget Recommendations
1- Display4top Sleeping Bag
Display4top brand offers you these down-filled sleeping bags for only $17.99. The reason being this cheap is that they will protect u only down to 5 degrees. The outer shell is polyester and the fill is down and cotton blend. It may not be for extreme weather but still a good option for a budget recommendation.
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2 – Wakeman Sleeping Bag
Wakeman brand offers these polyester sleeping bags for $18.79. Both outside shell and filling are made of polyester is what makes the product really cheap. Being cheap doesn’t mean that it will not make you feel warm and comfortable. They offer you both kids and adult sizes. Adult size comes with a price of $23.99. Being this cheap and still offering a comfortable and warm sleep on cold nights is making this product a good option for our budget recommendation.
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3 – Uniqwarmer 3 Season Sleeping Bag
Uniqwamer brand offers these three-season sleeping bags for only $19.99. It comes in different sizes and prices change with the different sizes between $19.99 to $21.99. The outside shell is made of nylon and the filling material is cotton. It can keep you down to -20 degrees. Being really cheap and still being able to protect you from extreme weather makes this product one of the best options for the budget recommendation.
