Sleeping bag ratings

What does it all mean?

In Europe, the EN 13537 standard normalises the temperatures at which a sleeping bag can be used. Tests provide four temperatures:

upper limit is the highest temperature at which a 'standard' adult man is able to have a comfortable night's sleep without excess sweating.

comfort rating is based on a 'standard' adult woman having a comfortable night's sleep.

lower limit is based on the lowest temperature at which a 'standard' adult man is deemed to be able to have a comfortable night's sleep.

extreme rating is a survival only rating for a 'standard' adult man. This is an extreme survival rating only and it is not advisable to rely on this rating for general use.

Getting a good nights sleep

When your in your sleeping bag you lose more heat through the ground than the air so it’s important to insulate yourself from the ground by using a good sleeping mat, we recommend an inflatable mat with built in insulation such as the Thermarest NeoAir or Exped Synmat (see: http://goo.gl/amdpp), which both have built in insulation.

While in your bag it’s also a good idea to tighten the shoulder collar and hood drawstrings in order to trap your body warmth inside the bag.

If you feel the cold, it may be a good idea to add a fleece liner to your kit list which will add extra warmth to your sleeping bag.

Also getting up in the middle of the night for a pee is an easy way to get cold, so consider taking a pee bottle, to save getting up.

For our selection of sleeping bags and liners which have been tested for their selected environment

Selecting the right sleeping bag