Sleeping Bags for the Appalachian Trail
Choosing the Right Sleeping Gear for an A.T. Thru-Hike
Mar 11, 2009
Much of the Appalachian Trail can be hiked any time of year. But temperatures vary enormously depending on season, location, and elevation. All of these affect which kind of sleeping bag to buy for an Appalachian Trail thru-hike.
Down versus Synthetic Fill for Appalachian Trail Sleeping Bags
Long-standing hiker wisdom says that synthetics are better for wetter climates (like the American East Coast) because unlike down, synthetics retain warmth when wet. However, the shelters on the Appalachian Trail make it easy to keep a down bag dry. With an eye to lightweight gear, most long-distance hikers choose lightweight, scrunchable down over heavier, bulkier synthetic fill. Note that the higher the quality of the down, the lighter the bag will be for any given temperature rating. Note also that synthetics have improved in recent years. It is possible to find synthetic bags that compete quite well against down, and the price can be less, too..
Design Considerations for Sleeping Bags for the Appalachian Trail
Standard mummy bags offer the most warmth, and are the best choice for the cold sections and seasons of the trail. However, in the hot and humid summers of the Appalachian Trail's Mid-Atlantic States, a lighter bag is recommended. Another choice is a comforter, which can either be home-made, or purchased from specialty manufacturers such as Western Mountaineering. However, the weight savings between a traditional high-quality summer sleeping bag and a comforter are not significant: Both will weigh in at just over a pound.
Choosing a Temperature Rating for an Appalachian Trail Sleeping Bag
It is possible to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail using a 30-degree sleeping bag. But many hikers find that a 30-degree bag is warmer than necessary (and hence unnecessarily heavy) for summer use. And it may not be warm enough for higher elevations in early spring or late fall (although extra clothes can help solve that problem).
Hikers who hike mostly in one season can of course get by with one bag. But the average thru-hiker experiences a season change, and will probably want a different bag for Pennsylvania in July than for the White Mountains in September.
Several factors determine which temperature temperature rating to choose:
- Season and elevation are the most important factors. Plan based on the average low night-time temperatures. In a heat wave, it's always possible to unzip the bag, and in a cold spell, extra clothes will probably close the gap. In general, a 20- or 30- degree bag is good for the higher elevations, and spring and fall. A 30- or 40- degree bag is a good choice for the South and Mid-Atlantic states in summer.
- Individual hiker preferences also come into play: Some people simply get colder than others at night. Women, particularly, sleep colder than men, and typically need warmer sleeping bags.
- Using a tent rather than sleeping out in the open air breaks the wind and increases the air temperature around the sleeping hiker. The use of an air mattress reduces heat lost to conduction to the cold ground. The thicker the mat, the warmer the sleeper will be. What this means: Hikers using tents and cushy air mattresses need less warmth from their sleeping bags than hikers sleeping on thin foam pads out in the open.
A final word about temperature ratings: they are not standardized between manufacturers, and many sleeping bags lose their loft and some of their temperature rating over time. As a result, many hikers choose bags with a rating of about 10 degrees more than they expect to need.
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