Its like sleeping in a bag

Everyone's got that one sleeping bag that they've had since they were a little kid. You know, the one that has traveled everywhere with you, had the crap beat out of it, been washed so many times that its lumpy, the zipper sticks, and there's a hole in it where the stuffing is falling out. But its YOUR bag, and you know when its going to keep you warm, and you know exactly how much room it takes to pack it, and you love that thing - God help the person who decides to throw it away on you!

My dad had one that was ancient. It was this bright robins egg blue on the outside, and a putrid orange on the inside. Down-filled, he said it was the best sleeping bag in the world! My mother hated it because it left a trail of feathers everywhere it went. ...Now that I think about it, maybe her throwing out that sleeping bag actually had something to do with him cutting down her lilac tree. huh...

Anyway, I got my sleeping bag when I was in the 12, 13, 14 age range - I don't really remember. It was a Christmas gift. Big and warm. Blue on the outside, classic plaid flannel inside. That thing has been to Albert twice, Nova Scotia twice, and everywhere in between. The thing is a beast! It spends most of its time these days riding around in the trunk of my car, and has definitely picked up a car perma-smell. Its lumpy from being washed too many times. Its lost most of its 'loft' (ability to keep me warm at night) from being washed too many times. Some of the seams are starting to give out and show off the stuffing. And its just big, huge really; one of the bulkiest sleeping bags I've ever seen in my life. But its mine. And I'm having trouble replacing it.

I want to go light, and efficient. I worry about a new bag keeping me warm, so I tend to look for the -5 and colder rated ones. I don't really trust that rating system... When it says -5, does it really mean -5? Or does it mean that you have to be used to sleeping outside naked in a snowstorm for this bag to keep you warm at -5?

Price is a bit of an issue too. Sure, there are the $30 Canadian Tire sleeping bags. But then there are the $300 MEC sleeping bags. How much is a good night's sleep worth to me? Does the price difference really make that big a difference in how comfy I'll be?

And then there's the shape. You've got the regular rectangular bag. The one that most people are used to; the one that gives you plenty of room to shift around at night. The one that is basically nothing more than a heavy blanket with a zipper around it. You're all comfy, but honestly, halfway through the night when you accidentally kick it off of yourself, you freeze to death. And then you've got your mummy bag. That one where you crawl into it like some sort of Houdini, you have to get someone else to zip you in because its so tight you can't move, then you wrap the little hood over your head - you look like a giant human cocoon, but you stay warm! (Hopefully you don't wake up in the middle of the night having to pee...)

*Sigh* I thought I found the perfect compromise. I went to Crappy Tire (I know, I know, that was my first mistake) and I bought a 'Barrel' bag. The perfect mesh of the two sleeping bag worlds! All the roomy goodness of a rectangular bag, all of the squishy hooded warmth of a mummy bag. Plus, its about a third of the size of my current sleeping bag, making it much more convenient for that backpacking I hope to do this summer. I brought it home, yanked it out of the stuff sack, unzipped it, and jumped in to test it out. Comfy? Very. Warm? Well, I was inside, so yes. Good fit? No. I'm 5'10", not some sort of massive giant; this bag barely covered my chest! Its a good 6 inches too short to be of any use to me. So disappointing.

I guess those extra $$ do make a difference. Anyone wanna go to MEC?