Best Ultralight Sleeping Bags of 2020

Packing the lightest gear is the most important thing for backpacking. Considering that your sleeping bag will be the heaviest item in your backpack, you should choose it wisely. To help you to find the most suitable lightweight sleeping bag for you, we have gathered up the top 6 best ultralight sleeping bags by making comprehensive researches and comparisons.

Before going into the list. You should know that there are other features to be taken into consideration before selecting the best sleeping bag. Such as;

• Insulation
• Shape
• Compressed Size
• Temperature Rating
• Size

If you already have some knowledge about them Skip the “How to Choose” and go straight to the best ultralight sleeping bags!

How to Choose a Sleeping Bag

As we mentioned earlier there are several things to consider before jumping into buying the cheapest, or the lightest one. The sleeping bag is one of the most important gears for camping, especially during cold weather.

Insulation

There are two main categories for sleeping bags when it comes to insulation. They are down-filled and synthetic.

Down: Insulation material for down sleeping bags is basically the down of goose or duck (the feathers which keep the egg warm). Down-filled sleeping bags are much lighter and more compressible than synthetic sleeping bags, but they are more expensive. And not every down-filled sleeping bags provide the same efficiency the quality of down sleeping bags varies and is measured by the fill power. Higher the fill power, the greater the insulation. Generally, above 800 FP is considered as a high-quality sleeping bag.

Synthetic: Insulation material for synthetic sleeping bags is generally polyester. Synthetic sleeping bags are not as light as, or as compressible as down sleeping bags, but they are budget-friendly. If you like to camp in the rainy seasons, you should go for a synthetic sleeping bag. Even though the down technology has improved a lot lately, down-filled sleeping bags still tend to lose their effectiveness of protection from the cold in damp conditions.

Shape

There are four main categories for sleeping bags regarding shape.

Rectangular: They are much more comfortable than other types since they provide a great amount of space to sleep but they are heavier and bulkier than other types.

Mummy: These types of sleeping bags have the highest warmth to weight ratio. They are considered the best type of sleeping bags for backpacking and mountaineering due to their small compressed size, weight. All those features make mummy shape sleeping bags the first option for someone who is looking for the best ultralight sleeping bag.

Semi-Rectangular: They are much comfortable than Mummy sleeping bags but, they are not the best when it comes to weight.

Double Sleeping Bags: These types of sleeping bags are made for two-person. They are perfect for camping with your significant other.

Compressed Size

A sleeping bag can be light but bulky at the same time. So before jumping into buying the lightest sleeping bag, you should consider the dimensions of the compressed size.

Temperature Rating

There are 3 types of temperature ratings for sleeping bags:

Comfort Temperature: The temperature you can sleep comfortably.

Lower Temperature: The temperature you can sleep comfortably in a hunched position.

Extreme Temperature: The lowest temperature you can sleep to survive.

Most of the brands use Extreme Temperature rating during marketing, so look for the Comfort Temperature before purchasing. If you don’t find Comfort Temperature, go for a sleeping bag that is tagged for at least 15 degrees warmer than the weather in the place you will be camping at.

Size

Most of the sleeping bags come with three different sizes; Short, Regular and Long. In this article, the mentioned dimensions are the dimensions of regular size sleeping bags. But If you are a bigger or a shorter fellow don’t forget to look for the long or short size dimensions.

If you would like to know more about sleeping bags, make sure to look at our comprehensive article about different types of sleeping bags.

6 Best Ultralight Sleeping Bags

Western Mountaineering Ultralite 20

• Shape: Mummy
• Weight: 1 lb 13 oz
• Compressed Size: 7″ x 13″
• Size: 72″ (Length) x 59 ” (Shoulder Girth) x 51″ (Hip Girth)
• Insulation: 850 FP Down (Goose)
• Temperature Rating: 20˚F
• Outer Shell: Extremelite Shell Fabric

Western Mountaineering Ultralite 20 is an 850 FP Goose down-filled mummy shaped sleeping bag. It is one of the lightest sleeping bags on the market. It is slightly more expensive than other sleeping bags on the list but it has almost every feature you should be looking for on a sleeping bag. The hood has drawcords, so you can cinch it down to keep the heat inside, in extremely cold conditions. The bag has draft tubes behind the zipper and around the neck area to reduce the heat loss.

It has horizontal continuous baffles to transfer down, from front to back so you can arrange the amount of heat transfer for a specific area. If the price is not a big issue for you Western Mountaineering Ultralite 20 is one of the best ultralight sleeping bags.

Marmot Sawtooth 15

• Shape: Mummy
• Weight: 2 lbs 8 oz
• Compressed Size: 7.5″ x 16″
• Size: 72″ (Length) x 62 ” (Shoulder Girth) x 57″ (Hip Girth)
• Insulation: 650 FP Down (Duck)
• Temperature Rating: 15˚F
• Inner Lining:  20-Denier Mini Ripstop Nylon

Marmot Sawtooth is a 650 FP down insulated Mummy shaped sleeping bag. The bag has drawcords on the hood, it can be cinched down to keep the heat inside. Due to its great design, it provides a great amount of space in the foot area to increase comfort.

It has a draft tube along the zipper to reduce heat loss. It has a dual-direction zipper which allows unzipping from the bottom for venting if it gets too hot. The main zipper has an anti-snag slider to prevent the zipper’s teeth from catching the fabric.

Kelty Unisex Cosmic 20

• Shape: Mummy
• Weight: 2lbs 6.6 oz
• Compressed size: 8″ x 15.5″
• Size: 72″ (Length) x 62 ” (Shoulder Girth) x 58″ (Hip Girth)
• Insulation: 600 FP DriDown
• Temperature Rating: 20˚F
• Outer Shell: 50D Polyester Ripstop Shell
• Inner Lining: 50D Polyester Tafetta

Kelty Unisex Cosmic 20 Degree is a 600 FP DriDown insulated mummy shaped sleeping bag. Its Dridown insulation is specially designed to work better than traditional down insulation in damp conditions.

Its hood has drawstrings so you can cinch it down on to decrease the heat loss on cold nights. It has a two-way slider so if you feel hot you can unzip only the bottom side of the zipper for venting. Cosmic 20 has a draft tube behind the zipper to reduce the heat loss through the zipper. It also has anti-snag material at both sides of the zipper to prevent the zipper from tearing the fabric off.

Hyke and Byke Shavano 32°F

• Shape: Mummy
• Weight: 2 lbs 2 oz
• Compressed Size: 6.5″ x 9″
• Size: 78″ (Length) x 28″(Shoulder Width) x 22″(Hip Width)
• Insulation: 650 FP Down (Duck)
• Temperature Rating: 30˚F
• Inner Lining: DWR 400T Rip-Stop Nylon  

Hyke and Byke Shavano 32°F is a 650 FP down-filled mummy sleeping bag. It has horizontally designed baffles to retain heat evenly. One of the most important features of the bag, it has a small channel along the left side of the sleeping bag to transfer fill from one baffle to another. For instance; If your feet get colder than your upper body you can move fill from the top baffles to bottom baffles to get your feet cozy and warm.

It has a draft tube to reduce heat loss through the zipper. The bag also features a two-way slider, if it gets hot, it can be unzipped only from the bottom side for venting. The hood has drawcords that allow you to chinch it down and keep the warmth inside in cold weather.

Klymit KSB 20

• Shape: Mummy
• Weight: 2.75 lbs
• Compressed Size: 8.5″ x 13.5″
• Size: 82” (Length) x 30” (Shoulder Width)
• Insulation: 650 FP Down (Duck)
• Temperature Rating: 20˚F
• Inner Lining: DWR 20D Sil-Nylon

It is a 650 FP down-filled mummy sleeping bag. The bag has horizontal baffles to facilitate an even temperature distribution from head to toe. Dual-direction zipper of the sleeping bag allows venting from the bottom if it is too hot. It has a draft tube to reduce heat loss through the zipper.

The bag feature Length Lock Technology which basically allows you to shrink the sleeping bag for your size. DWR coated outer material keeps the down from getting wet and losing its effectiveness. The draft collar has a pocket to keep the valuables inside.

Nemo Disco 15

• Shape: Semi-Rectangular
• Weight: 2 lbs 11 oz
• Compressed Size: 9″ x 12″
• Size: 72” (Length) x 64 ” (Shoulder Girth) x 59″ (Hip Girth) x 62 (Knee Girth)
• Insulation: 650 FP Down (Duck)
• Temperature Rating: 15˚F
• Inner Lining: 30D Nylon Taffeta w/ DWR
• Outer Shell: 30D Nylon Ripstop w/ DWR
• Foot-box Fabric: 40D Nylon Ripstop OSMO™ w/ DWR

Nemo Disco 15 is a semi-rectangular shaped, moist resistant, 650 FP down-filled sleeping bag. It is one of the most comfortable sleeping bags due to its award-winning design. It is one of the best sleeping bags for side sleepers.

The bag features Thermogills on the front side which are basically two zippers that allow you to vent the sleeping bag and adjust the temperature. It also has a draft tube to reduce heat loss through the zipper. The hood of the sleeping bag has drawcords to simplify adjustment. Besides its high Warmth to Weight ratio, Nemo Disco 15 provides a great Comfort to Weight ratio.

One of the best features it offers is, if you are planning to travel with your loved one, you can purchase two Nemo Disco 15 Men’s and Nemo Disco 15 Women’s and zip them together to make a double sleeping bag.