Kids sleeping bags

I am looking for a sleeping bag for a 2 year old who is tall for his age. If I get him a toddler bag it will be too short in a year. But the regular "kids" bags are 60 inches long! That is nearly long enough for me. Are there bags in the 48-50 inch range?

I am also considering making an insulated "sleep sack". He sleeps in a regular sleep sack now so he would feel right at home in one. It seems many kids scoot out the top of their bags. I was thinking a sleep sack (where straps on shoulders keep the sack on the kid) and a blanket would be better. If I buy a sleeping bag I am thinking of adding snap on shoulder straps. Part of the scooting out also may be because of the slippery material - perhaps the bottom inside of the sleeping bag should be fleece.

Any ideas?

That's what I used when my kids were little. I didn't switch them to a sleeping bag until 3 or 4. A sleep sack out of a blanket that fastened across the shoulders, plus a hooded jacket, over one of those blanket sleepers. I don't know if the blanket sleepers are still made, and they might be hard to find this time of year. Even at 3 to 4, the kids tended to crawl out of their sleeping bags at night.

I think you are better off getting the kids bag and just tuck the extra length under him. Alternatively at two, you might want to just use a bag wide enough bag that both of you can sleep in it. That way you can better track how he is regulating his body temperature.

Be careful about about straps on any sleeping equipment for a toddler. They can very easily get wrapped around their neck. I think a better idea would be to have a bag that cinches around the neck (not tightly!).

I have a denim fleece lined bag my mom made for son about that age. You are welcome to borrow it, but I don't think you are very close to LA.

The bag is for my grandson and he will be out with my daughter and husband mostly. A sleep sack is safe. There are no straps. I bought material today for making the outdoor sleep sack. It is totally an experiment - hope it works out. I will post a photo when I get it done (if it is not a total failure- my sewing skills are not the greatest). I have only invested $30 in the bag so it is not a great loss if a failure.

The reason I do not like to have a long bag for a small kid is that someone else (Mom, Dad or me) would have to carry all the extra weight and bulk. My daughter loves sleep sacks; she kept her older son in one until he was four. It is the "symbol" for "bedtime". I only considered the regular sleeping bag when I saw that the toddler "Woobie" was on sale, but it is only 44 inches long. OK for now but would be outgrown in a year. When the boys get to be 6-8 then we will invest in higher quality youth bags for them. For now we have no intention of taking them into any really cold weather- just summer mid-elevation and coastal camping. I bought the older boy a Eureka bag two years ago and cut a foot off the footbox and re-sewed it. But, I figured that making one from scratch is not much more work.

Would love to see the posted pics when done, have a 2.5 yr granddaughter soon to go out with us, and another on the way. When my kids were little I bought regular kids bags...when they outgrew them I cut them off at the zipper and my dogs used them for years! Almost lost a dog once to hypothermia b4 I did that....went from sea level to the Sierra and my Sandy went numb and once side of her face drooped ...we put her in one of the kids bags and she pulled thru...after that she always got a bag too....:) She'd go in soon as we brought it out and wouldn't come out til we told her to....

I decided on a mostly rectagular sleeping bag. Inner (2 yrds fleece), outer (2 yrds rip stop) and batting (single bed size medium thickness polyester blanket batting)cost $32, I already had toggles and the zipper and all sewing supplies. It took me 10 hours to complete. It was a design-as-you-go, trial and error method with lots of pinning, unpinning, repinning! I broke 2 sewing machine needles and had to hand sew three spots that were too hard to get to with a machine. I certainly did not do this the most efficient method with respect to sewing. I made the inner bag first, then the outer, put in zipper, and sewed up footbox. The top of the bag has four layers of batting, two attached to the shell and two attached to the liner. I added two pannels on the bottom to hold a sleeping pad. I did not make the hood very heavy since kids usually do not use these. I made a small matching pillow of the small bits of extra material. I am washing it now and hope it survives! I may have to attach the batting with quilting knots, but would rather try to see if it washes OK without.


The total length is 50 inches, the length without the hood is 42 inches. I made the bag fairly wide because kids do not like to be constrained.


The bag, upper and lower zipper baffels and draft collar


better look at the draft collar - velcro top closure on inside so kids can reach it


close-up of closure


draw strings with toggles - individual for top and bottom so there are no loops that could present a strangling hazard


pannels on bottom to hold sleeping pad

My grandson has his 2nd birthday Saturday so I will see if he actually wants to get inside the bag. That is the real test.

I am a little concerned with the quilt batting, but did not want to spend much on this since it is basically an experiment.

I added some strapping to extend on each side of the zipper and am real pleased with how well the zipper works - no catching potential at all! This should be fairly kid-friendly. IT weighs 2 pounds - heavier than I would like but I think the fleece adds more weight. I found some kids sleeping bags on the market that had cotton flannel linings - not great for damp coastal conditions. The fleece I used was ordinary polyester fleece on sale at Hancock's Fabrics. It generates a bit more "static" than I would prefer.

Really cute! Looks like a profession job to my eyes. I'm really impressed (of course I can't sew on a button, so to be honest it doesn't take much to impress me. Though I would have believed it if you said you bought it!)

Those are darling! Who knows, you could be starting a business!

Those look fantastic. I can't get my 2 yr old to sleep in a bag. So far (car camping) I just put a bunch of clothes on him and then he falls asleep in his car seat. Then I put a quilt over him. He then wakes up in the middle of the night and climbs under my quilt.

Wow. They look so functional and .....cute...

I'm sure they will love them 'cause they have been made with love. (Can't believe I said THAT either. I MUST be getting old) You know, hand made ... you know what I mean.

Wow, you did a NICE job!!

I have a 4yr old and 2yr old that both come on the trail with me and my wife. We had the same problem of finding bedding that was efficient. We have a small 3 person tent that we all still fit in (snuggly), so between that and only having me and my wife to haul all of our equipment space conservation and weight were high on our list of needs. We ended up going with two Z-lite Theremarest pads (S) for the ground and I found a camp blanket also made by thermarest that packs very small and is large enough that they can sleep foot to foot. It even has snaps on it so you can create an sort of sleeping bag that is open at both ends.

Theremarest Tech Blanket

Z-LIte Sol Small

We got our 21 month old a Mountain Goat 30 bag (umm, I can't remember the brand!). But it cinches up to be shorter. It extends down to 5'6. True, we end up carrying a bit of extra bag, but this bag should last for several years.

Now here to seeing if he will sleep in it while outside! (if he will sleep at all while outside)

I haven't taken my 4 yo on an overnight trip yet, but whenever we go car camping he climbs out of his big fluffy bag and squeezes into my mummy bag. I'm considering some a bedroll that will fit the two of us comfortably.