Best Sleeping Bag for UK Wild Camping

A sleeping bag is the camper’s ultimate tool. If there is one piece of equipment you don’t want to leave home without, it’s a sleeping bag. You could go a night wild camping without a stove, you could probably even do without a tent, but no sleeping bag? No way.

Sleeping bags provide you with that warm, insulating barrier to keep you comfortable and safe throughout the night. Temperatures can get dangerously low when you’re wild camping and without the protection of a sleeping bag, a miserably chilly night can actually become a health hazard!

This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to most people. However, it begs the question of: what is the best sleeping bag for UK wild camping? After all, there are plenty of options on the market each with different strengths and weaknesses. To help you buy the best sleeping bag for UK wild camping, here are a few recommendations.

Sleeping Bag Styles

Sleeping bags can be divided into two main types: synthetic and down. To make matters more complicated, there are now synthetic down sleeping bags, but we’ll stick with these two categories for simplicity.

Down is exceptionally warm, lightweight, and easy to pack down. Therefore, it is often a material used when making the best sleeping bag for UK wild camping. However, it’s expensive and useless when wet as it loses its loft. Synthetic fill is cheaper and not as compactable, but they still have a good warmth rating and don’t ruin when wet.

In terms of shape, you have a rectangular sleeping bag, a mummy-shaped bag, and a quilt as three of the main styles. Quilts fall into more of a blanket category so we will focus on the first two shapes instead. Semi-rectangular/rectangular bags offer more space for the individual, but they are usually bulkier, and some say less warm.

Mummy-shaped sleeping bags are more restrictive, but they are snug to the body which reduces excess material. That means they are more lightweight and potentially better at insulating than rectangular bags.

Sleeping bags can also vary in length. This is simply to do with your height. You can find sleeping bags in short, regular, and long sizes. Depending on how tall you are, you may wish to purchase a sleeping bag length that fits your height. However, a bigger bag does mean more bulk and weight so don’t choose a longer bag unless you need to!

Best Sleeping Bag for UK Wild Camping

1 . Budget: Active Era 300

The Active Era 300 is an excellent sleeping bag for those wild campers on a budget. Despite its low price, this bag is still a rough and ready product that can cope with most wild camping conditions. The sleeping bag is suitable for 3-4 season trips, and it has a warm 300GSM polyester filling. It offers a comfort range of 0 to +10 degrees and an extreme limit of -10 degrees (although it’s not advisable to push this to the line).

Brand: Active Era

Model: 300

Cost: £29.99

Pros

• Mummy design and drawstring hood to keep you wrapped up and comfortable
• Good warmth rating for UK wild camping trips
• Water repellent 190T outer shell to keep you dry from condensation and small water leaks
• Lightweight at 1.5 kg
• Amazingly cheap making it the best sleeping bag for UK wild camping when on a budget

Cons

• Not the highest quality. Rips, tears, and broken zippers may occur after some usage

2 . Mid-Range: Vango Treklite Ultra 900

Vango is a well-trusted brand of outdoor equipment. Their products have been kitting out hikers and wild campers for over 50 years. With their Treklite sleeping bags, they tried to create a product that was lightweight enough to be taken on long-distance hikes without reducing its warmth rating and quality. In many ways, they succeeded!

Brand: Vango

Model: Treklite Ultra 900

Cost: £90.00

Pros

• Comes in two styles, the 600 (3-season) or 900 (4-season)
• Lightweight at 1.5 kg
• Thermal Embrace System and aluminised reflective interlining design to improve insulation
• Ergonomic shape and snug fit to retain warmth

Cons

• Low resistance to water

3 . Luxury: Hyke & Byke Eolus

If quality is what you’re after, the Eolus is the sleeping bag for you. A fluffy down base is complimented by a resistant and water-repellent shell layer and a sleek colour design. Together, this winning combination makes the Eolus a strong contender for the best sleeping bag for UK wild camping.

Brand: Hyke & Byke

Model: Eolus

Cost: £154.97

Pros

• Super lightweight at 1.18kg, perfect for long-distance hikers
• High-quality 800 FP goose down & a ClusterLoft fill to keep you cosy down to -10 degrees
• Hydrophobic DWR shell layer for extra water-repellent abilities

Cons

• Expensive
• Some ethical issues with using goose down as it is a harvested animal product

Final Tips

Clearly, there are lots of variables around what makes a good sleeping bag. The best sleeping bag for UK wild camping may change from person to person. However, by following these recommendations and tips, you can ensure you get the right bag to suit your wild camping needs.

First, ensure that the bag is light enough to be carried when hiking. A bulky 4kg bag will hardly be convenient for wild camping! Next, check the warmth rating matches your trip plans. A 4-season sleeping bag in the summer will have you pouring with sweat. However, a 3-season sleeping bag that has a warmth rating of 0 degrees will probably have you shivering around 5 degrees.

Of course, you should also purchase a sleeping bag within your price range. You don’t have to buy a sleeping bag for life. Instead, it might be better to select a mid-range bag to see what you do and don’t like before selecting a more expensive bag at a later date. Lastly, any variation in colours and aesthetics are purely down to you! If you follow these tips, you can’t go wrong when purchasing the best sleeping bag for UK wild camping.