Do you roll around in your sleeping bag or with it

I was just wondering when you sleep on your side do you just roll inside the sleeping bag or do you roll your sleeping bag on its side with you. I always thought you were supposed to roll your bag with you, like if you were wearing it, so you always breath out of your bag and keep condensation inside low. Ive been looking at some sleeping bags online and it seems like they are made to stay flat on its back. Big Agnes bags you can't roll on its side since the bottom has no insulation and your supposed to have your pad in the bottom sleeve. Hardwear Mountain Sleeping bags look like they are made to mainly stay on its back, and I'm basing this only on the images Ive seen of the bag.


So are you supposed to roll with your bag or inside. If "with your bag" do the bags have enough insulation on the bottom to keep you warm?

One more question.... When bags have a listed loft is it measured by laying the sleeping bag on the ground and measuring how high it "puffs up" or by how much insulation you will have around you when laying in it. If the latter, wouldn't it mean you really only have half the loft insulating you since your laying on the other half. So when you lay on your side the other 3" will loft back up and insulate you back? Or does it mean that is how much insulation is between you and the cold air outside. So when you measure your loft it should actually be around double what is listed? Which I would doubt or I got screwed on my bags loft. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I think I can answer this question. I am a side sleeper and a flopper. I go constantly from one side to the other. I keep my bag in one place and move inside of it. This is mainly because I put my "pillow" in the bottom so if the bag rolls the pillow is on my head rather than under it. This also keeps the opened part of the bag up so that I get good air flow.

As for the loft, I believe it is measured from the gound to the top (both layers). However, I am not positive on that.

ken

And I roll with the bag, usually (sometimes not).

Do whatever makes you comfortable - there's no "should" here.

Usually, a bag's "loft" refers to the overall loft, from the ground to the top of the bag. Sometimes you'll see the term, "top loft," which means just that, the thickness of just the top portion of the bag. So, a bag with 5" of loft puts about 2.5" of insulation between you and the outside air.

There are some bags that have the down distributed other than half & half. I have an old Trailwise bag that has 60 percent of the down on top, and 40 percent on the bottom. It has a side block baffle to prevent the down from shifting. This is probably more likely found on cold-weather bags these days.

Get a quilt. You won't have to worry about it and you'll be much more comfortable!

BF <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I found instructions in the DIY section of this site and want one for the warmer nights here in the southwest but don't know how warm Id stay for the colder nights since I toss and turn a lot. I would think I would let a lot of cold air in each time I roll over. I guess I just need to try one out.

So I shouldn't worry too much about condensation within the bag then? Its my first down bag Ive ever owned so still not to familiar with the do's and don'ts
Thanks

I have learned over the past 60-some years to take my sleeping bag with me when I turn over, which I do a lot. I therefore avoid sleeping bags with less insulation on the bottom, those with a pad pocket instead of insulation on the bottom (the pad would end up on top), quilts, etc. I would like to have side baffles, because every evening I have to fuss with my bag to get the down evenly distributed on top and bottom, and it's a pain. And yes, the down does loft up again when the spot you've lain on ends up on top.

You don't need to worry about condensation inside your bag unless it's below freezing. Above freezing, the heat from your body pushes the moisture coming from your body through the insulation and through the outer shell of your sleeping bag into the tent. That's why the outer shell needs to be breathable. Below freezing, though, the moisture from your body tends to condense when it hits the colder (in those temps) outer shell of your sleeping bag, thus dampening the down. I experienced this during my recent trips to the Rockies. It's therefore helpful to have some kind of vapor barrier liner inside your bag on below-freezing nights, especially if you're out for several nights in a row and will not be able to air out your bag. The vapor barrier is actually quite comfortable in low temperatures and even adds a little warmth to your bag.

My old bag was to small for me to turn in it. I now have a bag that streaches and I turn in it..

If I've got it zipped and the hood cinched, I roll the bag with me. If it's warmer, and I don't need to batten down, I just unzip it all the way and lay it over me like a quilt; my Thermarest pad keeps me insulated from the ground in those situations. If I'm using it as a quilt, I turn underneath it.

It all depends on how cold it is versus my bag's rating.

I've never had any problem with my back getting cold when I roll the bag with me onto my side.

Cesar:



Oh no, you might have re-opened Pandora's Box.*

*In reference to the thread opened by PauloPereira on 3/7/07 titled (innocuously enough), "New Gear @ Luxurylite,"
that soon degenerated into a literal slugfest over "loft," "thickness," and those fighting words, "fill power."
Sides were drawn. Verbal spears thrown (like 78 posts).
By the last post, it had descended into THIS.

(Bearpaw, I see why Braveheart is on your list -- good movie.)

Especially since you're in Texas, I'd say no - don't worry too much about that. Unless you're on a multi-day trip where temperatures will cause your breath to condense somewhere in the down, and collect over time, it's not a big concern.

If you're planning on camping in the Arctic, or have plans for week-long snow camping in the mountains or in tropical storms, let us know - we can provide additional suggestions for minimizing condensation - but otherwise you won't have any big worries. Just do your best to dry the bag out each morning (put it out in the sun), and you'll be fine.

Do you let a lot of cold air in at home under your blankets? Same thing...try it, you'll wonder why you ever used a sleeping bag in the first place.

BF <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

You probably wouldn't be. I love sleeping quilt style - I do it in my hammock, or on the ground.
Yes, a mummy sleeping bag may stay warmer on you when done up. but I don't find it that much
different. Especially if you sleep in clothing, which in the cold, well, I always do.

Case in point, Saturday night I was on the ground (above treeline - boo hoo, no hammock for me) in Kananaskis - Not sure what the overnight temperature was but my playpus bottle had a good pile of ice in it in the morning and the person I was with who didn't blow out their tube had a nice solidly frozen drinking tube. (My guess is it hit about -3 to -4 C) I was on a blue foam pad, with a -3C rated mummy bag, that I had only zipped up the footbox, and had over me quilt style. I was wearing socks, long johns, a merino wool shirt, fleece, and a toque - I was quite comfortable. I roll a lot side to side when on the ground, and I didn't have any trouble.

Quilts are more versatile than bags. No zipper, no extra bulk, kept me warm down to freezing. I made a hat with extra material to match my Ray Way quilt and prefer having the head insulation separate - I can roll under the quilt and the head bit stays where it belongs.