Sleeping Bag Recommendation – Women’s

The EN ratings were an *attempt* to standardize how well a sleeping bag would work for an "average" person in specific temperatures. Since the "average" woman sleeps colder than the "average" man, the women's EN comfort ratings differ by +/- 10F from the men's for the same bag.

In general, women-specific bags will be shorter ("regular" size is for up to 5'5"), and they will have relatively more fill weight than the men's bags.

Well, that's the theory… However, in practice, I've found that the EN women's ratings are pretty accurate – at least for a "ball-park" figure of what will work.

Firstly, do NOT pay attention to the stated rating of the bag — look ONLY at the "Women's EN Comfort" rating. For example, the women-specific Marmot Helium 15 (no longer made) was rated by Marmot as a 15F bag; but the Women's EN Comfort rating was 29F, which was MUCH closer to the truth. I felt it was a 32F-35F bag, but I'm a cold sleeper.

Secondly, in general, the higher the down fill rating, the smaller the bag will compress (and the more expensive the bag will be). The bags you're looking at will not compress especially well, but they are all EN woman-rated around 30F-32F, so they should work fine for your purposes.

I hope your daughter has a great summer! :^)

My daughter age 13, son age 10, and nephew age 9 have slept comfortably in the Kelty Cosmic Down 20* to 34*.

You can search EN ratings and you will find a ton of information and a lot of it conflicting on the standards for testing, the actual equipment testers are using and the results. I went through all of that last year while gearing back up for the sport and I was disappointed with a poor preforming set of 15 deg. bags for the wife and I.

I ended up with a pair of WM bags on recommendations from others along with my own research. A good reputation IMO still trumps an EN rating until the ratings get a little more conservative or until folks understand how to interpret them better.

A new WM bag will certainly not fit in your budget but a good used one is definitely not out of the question. A regular length folded under at the feet will still be lighter than a heavier shorter bag and will keep her toasty warm. She can also grow into it if she stays with camping/BPing and the resale will be better. If your not in a hurry you might find a decent deal on a WM, FF, or quality quilt if she could adapt to one.

jimmyb

> The EN ratings were an *attempt* to standardize how well a sleeping bag would work
> for an "average" person in specific temperatures.
A little more than that.
The Standard also allows you to compare between brands safely. When two companies advertise two bags as being EN Comfort-rated to 20 F (say), you know they will behave similarly.
But when a third company advertises their bag as also being 'rated' to 20 F according to their own ideas (but NOT according to the EN Standard), then you know very little about that third brand. The claim could mean anything, or nothing.
Sadly, it must be pointed out that many USA brands are NOT rated to EN Standards and their claims are often pretty wild. Caveat Emptor.

Cheers

Someone I know recently got a Kelty Ignite 20 down women's sleeping bag:

http://www.kelty.com/p-649-womens-ignite-dridown-20-en-28.aspx?category=sleeping-bags-pads

She slept at 12000+ ft in the Andes over multiple nights and loved it – make sure to look for the Women's down version. It is rated EN 28. There are synthetic and men's versions of the same bag but you don't want those.

Read the review here:

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/camping/sleeping-bags/Ignite-DriDown.html

You could probably get it for $200 or a bit less.

Have you considered getting her a quilt instead of a sleeping bag?

My girlfriend and I love our Enlightened Equipment RevX quilts. They're light, versatile, compact well, and are comfortable true to their ratings (mine is 20*, hers 10*). They're also a great value (including high resale) and if you get a new one, she could pick out the colors and have it custom made.

Read this to understand en-ratings and the differences

There a HUGE difference between the lower limit rating and the "comfort" rating for instance

https://www.mammut.ch/images/Mammut_Sleep_well_pt1_E.pdf

The ratings are not an end all but rather a way to compare the insulative properties of 2 particular bags on the "standard" man/woman in euroland

Its also meant to defeat all the hilarious claims or marketers or gear shills

Theres no way in hell for example that an en-rated at 50F LL of the fanciest brand name will be "warmer" than one LL rated at say 30F of a "lesser" brand even allowing for fit differences

Remember all a bag does is insulate you … Just like the stuff in your home walls … And that is very measurable

Now some brands may have better quality control, superior warranty, more features, or fit you better

But short of using unobtanium, theres no magic involved … No matter what the marketers or gear shillers say

;)