Looking for a natural fibre sleeping bag in Canada
August 24, 2023 6:07 AM Subscribe
I’m going to be camping early September and sleeping in a cabin mid September. Polyester sleeping bags make me sweat like crazy - I find I need clothes and bedding made of natural materials or I wake up drenched in sweat.
I was looking at these two options: https://hemporganiclife.com/collections/hemp-sleeping-bags
https://rawganique.com/products/100-organic-cotton-sleeping-bag-kilimanjaro
But I’m not sure how warm they would be. I’m open to other suggestions, but I can’t afford anything like the $500 wool ones I’ve seen.
I was looking at these two options: https://hemporganiclife.com/collections/hemp-sleeping-bags
https://rawganique.com/products/100-organic-cotton-sleeping-bag-kilimanjaro
But I’m not sure how warm they would be. I’m open to other suggestions, but I can’t afford anything like the $500 wool ones I’ve seen.
How cold is it going to be where you are, and what is the rest of your sleeping kit like (like, do you have a cot/air mattress/foam sleeping pad)? I doubt that a 4-pound cotton or hemp bag is going to be very warm - I wouldn't count on it being usable below 60F/16C.
Like rd45 says a natural fiber bag liner might be helpful - you can find them in silk or cotton (and probably wool as well). These are also called hostel sheets/travel sheets (these are generally rectangular, while a sleeping bag is more likely to be tapered). In France this is called "un sac à viande" (meat sack) which is probably not a useful term for you but I just really like it.
Lots of ultralight backpackers use a top quilt rather than a sleeping bag (the bottom of a sleeping bag provides very little insulation, since you're crushing all the fluff with your body weight); if pack weight is not a big issue (e.g. if you're car camping), you could even bring a regular duvet and a cotton hostel sheet.
posted by mskyle at 6:40 AM on August 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Like rd45 says a natural fiber bag liner might be helpful - you can find them in silk or cotton (and probably wool as well). These are also called hostel sheets/travel sheets (these are generally rectangular, while a sleeping bag is more likely to be tapered). In France this is called "un sac à viande" (meat sack) which is probably not a useful term for you but I just really like it.
Lots of ultralight backpackers use a top quilt rather than a sleeping bag (the bottom of a sleeping bag provides very little insulation, since you're crushing all the fluff with your body weight); if pack weight is not a big issue (e.g. if you're car camping), you could even bring a regular duvet and a cotton hostel sheet.
posted by mskyle at 6:40 AM on August 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
How far do you need to carry your sleeping gear? I have thoughts - I cannot abide the sound of waterproof materials and have camped down to freezing with my own solutions - but they are NOT ultralight backpacking hike-in thoughts.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:10 AM on August 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Lyn Never at 7:10 AM on August 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Team Fluffy Duvets! It's heavenly and you get to be all serene and snuggly in a world of noisy, zippered tyranny.
posted by mochapickle at 7:36 AM on August 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 7:36 AM on August 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Temperatures are expected to be 22 day/14 night where I’m camping, so not super cold. I have to take my stuff up and back on the train - I don’t drive. However, I’m only going to be there two nights and could manage a large wheeled suitcase. I don’t have a pad or anything like that, just a tent and whatever my sleeping solution will be.
I’m not at all an experienced camper, haven’t been since I was a kid at summer camp. I just need to set up a tent overnight to stay before and after my friend’s wedding as her house is full.
posted by wheatlets at 8:13 AM on August 24, 2023
I’m not at all an experienced camper, haven’t been since I was a kid at summer camp. I just need to set up a tent overnight to stay before and after my friend’s wedding as her house is full.
posted by wheatlets at 8:13 AM on August 24, 2023
Yeah, you'll be fine without a sleeping bag, just bring a duvet and a sheet or two. Sleeping bags suck. Do you have a yoga mat? Or two? They'd work fine for sleeping on for a night or two. In your friend's overfull house is there a cot you could put in your tent? Or maybe an air mattress? Find out what's available there before you spend any money.
posted by mareli at 8:37 AM on August 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by mareli at 8:37 AM on August 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
Given your update about expected temperatures and the details of how this will work, I'd recommend bringing blankets/duvet/sheets from home rather than spending money on a cotton sleeping bag.
And I'd strongly recommend wool blanket(s) if you have them, especially for the tent. Cotton and other natural fibers are notorious for losing all their insulating power if they get wet ("cotton kills" is a saying for a reason) but wool will still insulate you if it's wet. 14C isn't really into hypothermia territory, especially if there's a house you can bug out to if it gets really bad, but cotton is not going to be comfortable and you're not going to sleep well if you get even a moderate amount of damp. This is less of an issue for the cabin than the tent, but for the tent you really need to take that into consideration.
For a sleeping pad, yoga mats can work, or see if you can pick up a closed-cell foam pad at a big-box store (e.g., this) for relatively cheap. You will sleep a lot better (and warmer) with some insulation between you and the ground.
posted by spamloaf at 8:47 AM on August 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
And I'd strongly recommend wool blanket(s) if you have them, especially for the tent. Cotton and other natural fibers are notorious for losing all their insulating power if they get wet ("cotton kills" is a saying for a reason) but wool will still insulate you if it's wet. 14C isn't really into hypothermia territory, especially if there's a house you can bug out to if it gets really bad, but cotton is not going to be comfortable and you're not going to sleep well if you get even a moderate amount of damp. This is less of an issue for the cabin than the tent, but for the tent you really need to take that into consideration.
For a sleeping pad, yoga mats can work, or see if you can pick up a closed-cell foam pad at a big-box store (e.g., this) for relatively cheap. You will sleep a lot better (and warmer) with some insulation between you and the ground.
posted by spamloaf at 8:47 AM on August 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
With a low of 14 the sheets and blankets from your bed should be fine, unless you really want a sleeping bag for future trips. If you usually sleep cold, you could buy a natural fabric liner, as that will keep any cold air from getting in (backpackers will sometimes use them with quilts in colder weather.
posted by Narrow Harbor at 8:57 AM on August 24, 2023
posted by Narrow Harbor at 8:57 AM on August 24, 2023
Do you have any wool blankets? Especially any slightly damaged wool blankets that have shrunk from being washed wrong?
The old way to make a sleep sack was to use two blankets and put them on the ground with the left side of one blanket over the right side of the other blanket. You lay down on them and then folded one blanket over you from the right and the other side from the left.
If you don't have wool blankets you can do this with cotton quilts, or comforters, but wool is your best bet because it will keep you comfortable even if you sweat or there is dew that makes things damp.
If you don't like the idea of sleeping in two blankets that could open up if you fling yourself around in your sleep, the old solution was blanket pins. Blanket pins are basically jumbo sized safety pins, about the size of a kilt pin. They can also be used to turn your blankets into a cloak, should you be hanging out sleepily in the morning, watching someone cooking breakfast on a camp stove when its cold enough to see your breath.
Investing in a couple of used wool blankets would likely cost no more than an all natural fibre sleeping bag, but because they are blankets they will be more useful afterwards, even if you never go camping again.
The thing to watch for is the cold from the ground seeping up and chilling you. There are two main ways to avoid this. One way is to pitch your tent on a knoll. Cold air sinks and will be coldest in the lowest area. If you are a foot higher than the surrounding ground you will be significantly warmer.
The other way to avoid the chill from the ground getting to you is some insulation - that can be probably just be a couple of close cell sleeping pads/yoga mats, but back in the day before we put the ground sheet down inside out canvas tent it was all hands to gathering grass, pine needles etc. If the place you are camping has it you can use natural materials for the insulation layer. I have scythed the long grass in a meadow to make a place to pitch a tent and heaped the grass up underneath it.
You are better off using a couple of sleeping pads, if you can get them, because you may not have time or materials to make a layer of natural bedding, and you may not want to deal with the stems sticking to everything, or you might want to be minimizing your possible contact with ticks.
posted by Jane the Brown at 9:33 AM on August 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
The old way to make a sleep sack was to use two blankets and put them on the ground with the left side of one blanket over the right side of the other blanket. You lay down on them and then folded one blanket over you from the right and the other side from the left.
If you don't have wool blankets you can do this with cotton quilts, or comforters, but wool is your best bet because it will keep you comfortable even if you sweat or there is dew that makes things damp.
If you don't like the idea of sleeping in two blankets that could open up if you fling yourself around in your sleep, the old solution was blanket pins. Blanket pins are basically jumbo sized safety pins, about the size of a kilt pin. They can also be used to turn your blankets into a cloak, should you be hanging out sleepily in the morning, watching someone cooking breakfast on a camp stove when its cold enough to see your breath.
Investing in a couple of used wool blankets would likely cost no more than an all natural fibre sleeping bag, but because they are blankets they will be more useful afterwards, even if you never go camping again.
The thing to watch for is the cold from the ground seeping up and chilling you. There are two main ways to avoid this. One way is to pitch your tent on a knoll. Cold air sinks and will be coldest in the lowest area. If you are a foot higher than the surrounding ground you will be significantly warmer.
The other way to avoid the chill from the ground getting to you is some insulation - that can be probably just be a couple of close cell sleeping pads/yoga mats, but back in the day before we put the ground sheet down inside out canvas tent it was all hands to gathering grass, pine needles etc. If the place you are camping has it you can use natural materials for the insulation layer. I have scythed the long grass in a meadow to make a place to pitch a tent and heaped the grass up underneath it.
You are better off using a couple of sleeping pads, if you can get them, because you may not have time or materials to make a layer of natural bedding, and you may not want to deal with the stems sticking to everything, or you might want to be minimizing your possible contact with ticks.
posted by Jane the Brown at 9:33 AM on August 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for all the tips - I will probably just do blankets for this trip, as I don’t know if a sleeping bag will come in time, but I am looking to get a new one anyway.
posted by wheatlets at 10:07 AM on August 24, 2023
posted by wheatlets at 10:07 AM on August 24, 2023
My solution for those temps is indeed Home Blankets, a knit cap, and a hot water bottle.
You said "cabin", which might mean you have rudimentary mattress beds to sleep on? If so, that is generally enough insulation under you. If you think it might be metal frames only or the floor, that is where you lose the most body heat and really should have some sleeping pads or something with meaningful insulation under you.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:15 AM on August 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
You said "cabin", which might mean you have rudimentary mattress beds to sleep on? If so, that is generally enough insulation under you. If you think it might be metal frames only or the floor, that is where you lose the most body heat and really should have some sleeping pads or something with meaningful insulation under you.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:15 AM on August 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
If you walk into any Canadian Tire you'll be able to get a sleeping bag with a cotton inner for reasonably cheap. I was going to say for around $50 but I've looked it up and the cheapest I could see is $70, I guess that's inflation for you. The one linked is rated to 6 degrees so it should be comfortable enough for you. If you actually want a good sleeping bag to use for the future as well then I'd say get one with a fully synthetic shell and use a liner as rd45 suggested.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:00 PM on August 24, 2023
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:00 PM on August 24, 2023
I dislike sleeping bags. I made a bag out of a cotton sheet, camping pad goes inside it, then I use a down comforter, with wool or fleece blankets to put on top if it's really cold. Sleeping bags hold in more warmth and are more efficient, but if I'm indoors and it's not super cold, this is most comfortable. You could use your current sleeping bag, unzipped, as a quilt. Wear warm clothing, esp. socks and a comfortable hat. Start the night with a hot water bottle; if you start out cozy, you're more likely to stay warm. I often car camp, and this has worked well, though I have a dog who adds warmth.
posted by theora55 at 12:02 PM on August 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 12:02 PM on August 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
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posted by rd45 at 6:13 AM on August 24, 2023 [4 favorites]