Sleeping bag
A sleeping bag is a cover for sleeping that encloses the body with the exception of the head or face (depending on the model). The outer fabric consists of linen , cotton , nonwovens , silk or, today, artificial silk , depending on the intended use , and is now lined with synthetic fibers for thermal insulation , previously lined with down . The shape is rectangle, today mostly mummy shape, with a hood, rarely with sleeves today. Most have a side zip. For reasons of hygiene, a sleeping bag liner is usually used today.
Sleeping bags replace both the usual combinations of duvets, pillows and, if necessary, underbed ( bedding ) as well as their coverings / coverings ( bed linen : covers, sheets, etc.).
Sleeping bags are used as an impromptu place to sleep at night in the open air ( outdoor ) and in tents and traveling, especially in backpacking , when trekking and expeditions , often in conjunction with mattresses or air mattresses to sleep on.
When used outdoors, the most important properties of the sleeping bag are its temperature range in which it insulates, its dimensions and pack size.
One of the inventors of modern sleeping bags was the ski and folding boat pioneer Carl Joseph Luther .
history
The period of creation of sleeping bags is uncertain. There are early examples of sleeping bags made from animal skins and other organic materials.
Sheepskin sleeping bag in the 19th century.
Buffalo fur sleeping bag for three people from the 1880s.
Hezhen (Nanaier) sleeping bag made of reindeer skin.
Indian baby tied in sleeping bag, ca.1910.
In 1876 Pryce Pryce-Jones patented a type of sleeping bag and subsequently sold it in larger numbers as the "Euklisia Rug".
Types of sleeping bags
Youth hostel sleeping bag
The youth hostel sleeping bag or hut sleeping bag is an unlined, mostly rectangular sleeping bag made of simple fabric that is used exclusively for hygienic purposes; it often replaces sheets and covers in youth hostels , mountain huts and nature lovers' houses as items brought along personally.
Mummy sleeping bag
The mummy sleeping bag owes its name to the body-hugging cut with a framed head, like a mummy, which promises a particularly high heat retention capacity with a comparatively low mass . It is therefore mainly used for sleeping in tents or outdoors; high-quality designs with complex, highly insulating filling material enable comfortable sleep even in extreme frost . To spend the night outdoors (without a tent), mummy sleeping bags are often combined with a bivouac sack , which, as an outer cover, provides additional warmth and prevents possible precipitation and wind.
A variant of the mummy shape is the egg shape. These are much wider than mummy sleeping bags, especially in the chest and hip area, and thus represent a good compromise between heat retention and sleeping comfort. An egg sleeping bag is the best choice, especially for people who move around or turn around frequently while sleeping, or those who are overweight.
Sleeping bag with arms and legs
The sleeping bag with arms and legs has a body shape, i.e. arms and legs, which gives advantages in terms of mobility in the tent or at the campsite. The sleeping bag with arms and legs is particularly suitable for very nocturnal sleepers.
Expedition sleeping bag
An expedition sleeping bag is designed for the needs of expeditions and high-altitude mountaineering . The sleeping bag must protect its user from temperatures down to −40 ° C. In addition, this has an extreme insulation. A distinction is made between synthetic fiber and down sleeping bags.
Synthetic sleeping bag
Synthetic fiber sleeping bags now cover extreme temperatures as low as −40 ° C. They use complex synthetic fibers that have a very high level of thermal insulation. The main advantage of synthetic fiber sleeping bags is their insensitivity to water and moisture. However, they are usually a little heavier than down sleeping bags.
Down sleeping bag
Down sleeping bags are suitable in extreme areas at temperatures down to −50 ° C. The sleeping bags use goose down as thermal insulation . The mixing ratio describes the ratio of down to normal feathers in the filling; the higher the down percentage, the better the sleeping bag's insulation. The down also makes the sleeping bag sensitive to pressure and moisture. Mixing ratios of 90/10 to 97/3 (down / feathers) are used in the expedition area. There are quality differences when it comes to down filling; it is specified as loft or fill power . The higher the loft, the better the sleeping bag insulates.
Inner sleeping bag
An inner sleeping bag, also known as an inlet (after the English word “inlet”), is a kind of thin sleeping bag made of cotton, fleece, silk, synthetic fibers or combinations of these materials, which is used in addition to the sleeping bag to keep the temperature within the sleeping bag increase the ability to wick moisture away from the body during sleep and to protect the sleeping bag and, like bed linen, to keep it clean so that it does not have to be cleaned as often. In addition, an inlet is flexible enough to be used on its own in warm temperatures.
Sleeping bags in space travel
In the weightlessness of space, an ordinary bed would not work, as the duvet, pillows and ultimately the sleeper would simply lift off the mattress and float away. Since, due to the lack of gravity, neither a thick mattress nor a slatted frame are required, space travelers sleep in mostly mummy-shaped, thinly lined sleeping bags that are fixed on the floor or on the wall of the sleeping cabin.
Baby sleepingbag
A baby sleeping bag is a special type of sleeping bag that is not intended for use outdoors, but rather serves as a regular bed for babies.
Performance data
The temperature specifications for the area of application of sleeping bags in Germany were previously based on DIN 7943. In 2005, the European standard EN 13537 replaced this DIN standard with a more differentiated standard for the temperature specifications for the application area of sleeping bags. The EN is based on a laboratory evaluation procedure, and the different temperature sensations of men and women are now taken into account and are shown separately for both sexes in their own comfort areas.
The comfort range describes the temperature range within which an inexperienced user feels comfortable at all times. When interpreting the standard values, it should be noted that the lower limit of the comfort range is lower for men than for women.
A strong sensation of cold is to be expected within the risk area or survival area , up to and including the risk of damage to health. This information should not be the basis for the decision to use it. Sleep can often be interrupted here by the strong feeling of cold and is not as restful. Frostbite is to be expected below the risk area.
The EN standard relates to civilian sleeping bags in which medium-weight, long functional underwear is worn.
According to European standard EN 13537:
The comfort range ( TCom ) based on the "standard woman" (25 years, 60 kg, 160 cm).
The lower limit range ( TLim ), based on the comfort range of the "norm man" (25 years, 70 kg, 173 cm). It describes the lower temperature value at which the male test subject can sleep comfortably for one night.
The survival range ( TExt ). It carries the risk of hypothermia and should not be viewed as a practically usable area for the "normal consumer" and should not be used when making a purchase decision .
Representation of the areas
These values are graphically summarized in a bar chart. The diagram shows the upper end of the comfort range first, followed by the woman's lowest comfort temperature - this range is highlighted in red.
The man's lowest comfort temperature is indicated next - this area is highlighted in yellow.
Finally, the extreme temperature is specified, it indicates the lower end of the survival range - this range is highlighted in blue.
Criticism of this norm, the values of which are determined with a doll, is that sweating and movement of a person during sleep are not taken into account.
Evaluation of the different performance data
The cold resistance of people depends heavily on the physical habituation and the current physical and psychological state of the person. Anyone who has been exposed to physical exertion, hunger, wet, etc. during the day - which can be the case regularly when hiking, mountaineering, etc., for example - will be less resistant to cold at night. Here the sleeping bag should be used or selected within the red area - the comfort area (TCom).
Under the more practical verification procedure of the EU standard, the majority of sleeping bags no longer achieve the excessive performance values specified under the old DIN standard.
The US standard ASTM F1720 represents the performance of a sleeping bag even more positively than the other two standards.
Performance data of military sleeping bags are made outside the EU standard and also in combination with other specific equipment of the soldier. Therefore, they also give far too positive performance values for civil users. In addition, the military figures are based on very young men, which is why - because of the significantly different metabolic performance - the assumed user is based on an even higher resistance to cold.
But the new laboratory-oriented EN is also being discussed critically, as very good results can be achieved in the laboratory, for example by optimizing the airtightness of the outer shell in the laboratory. However, the behavior of the sleeping bag when sweat is absorbed or the influence of restless sleep, which is also relevant for practice, has not been taken into account in the test setup of the standard on the performance of the sleeping bag.
Compressibility
The fill power of the down in down sleeping bags is measured in cuin .
Alternatives
In the field of ultra- light hiking, lighter-weight alternatives are often used, the weight savings of which, in addition to the choice of material, are mainly based on the fact that material that is not absolutely necessary is left out. Ray Jardine suggested leaving out the bottom part of the sleeping bag in order to save weight, as this would be compressed by the body weight of the sleeper and could hardly be insulated. He designed a lightweight quilt with a closed foot box so that the lower end couldn't slip. In his books, Jardine disseminated building instructions for self-sewing, several manufacturers took up the principle, and different variants developed. With top bags , the underside is just a piece of fabric into which the sleeping mat can be pushed. In Quilts these back eliminated so that a quilt a quilt with foot comes close. There are also models that combine sleeping bags and sleeping pads.
When camping in hammocks, underquilts are used to insulate the hammock downwards. Since they would be compressed by the weight of the sleeper when placed in the hammock and would therefore lose a large part of the thermal insulation effect, they would be hung from the bottom of the hammock. So-called half-length underquilts are only half as long as full-length underquilts and insulate from the shoulders to the buttocks. A short sleeping mat or clothing is placed under the legs.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ 90 years of the Bad Tölz Pioneer folding boat yard , museum catalog, p. 49.
- ↑ Pryce Pryce-Jones Euklisia Rug , accessed on September 29, 2019 (English).
- ↑ A youth hostel sleeping bag is a sleeping bag made of light cloth without any noteworthy thermal insulation that is mainly used for hygienic reasons.
- ↑ Andrew Skurka: The ultimate hiker's gear guide: tools & techniques to hit the trail . National Geographic, Washington, DC 2012, ISBN 978-1-4262-0920-8 , pp. 84-85.