Survival Kit Sleeping Bag
November 4, 2010, Submitted by: Ken Tweet
During the winter months it is especially important to have a sleeping bag with your survival kit.
The survival kit is unlimited in variety. It is made up of a personal choice and quantity of food, water, and gear. A sleeping bag fits into the gear category, and should really be part of a vehicle’s 72 hour survival kit.
At home we have our gear, but when we are out and away traveling or driving, we are vulnerable to our surroundings, the weather, and the reliability of the vehicle we are in.
A number of emergency or disaster scenarios could stop us in our tracks and we would be forced to survive with what we have with us, until the situation is resolved. A sleeping bag will prevent you from hypothermia, a condition that can kill you, quicker than you may think. Settling for just a blanket in your survival kit may not be enough to prevent hypothermia. A sleeping bag however will provide insulation and a cocoon of warmth, trapped by your own body heat.
Most of us should know that if stranded in a vehicle, especially during winter months, we should stay with the vehicle for shelter unless we absolutely know what we are doing, where we are going, and are skilled and supplied to survive the elements. Being inside of a sleeping bag while inside a vehicle, even in winter, will keep you from hypothermia.
During summer months it is also advisable to keep a sleeping bag in your vehicle. Hypothermia is still a risk even during summer under certain conditions. In many places during the summer it still gets cold enough at night to bring on hypothermia, especially if you get wet.
What is the best sleeping bag for a survival kit?
The best sleeping bag will be the one that you actually add to your kit, because any sleeping bag is better than none. Having said that, there are only a few main criteria to consider.
Sleeping bag temperature rating
Unless you plan on purposely camping or backpacking during the winter, a sleeping bag rating of 30 degrees F would be OK for most situations. However if you do live in a location where night temperatures (or day temperatures!) can, or often do, drop below 0 degrees F, a lower temperature rated bag would be advised.
Point being, if the purpose for this sleeping bag is for your vehicle survival kit, and you would likely be using it within a sheltered environment, then you shouldn’t need to go overboard with spending extra for a very cold rated bag.
Sleeping bag size, shape, and weight
Sleeping bag shapes are either the traditional shaped rectangle or the mummy shape bag. The rectangular bag allows for comfortable movement but is not as efficient at trapping your body heat. The mummy bag is very good at trapping body heat and are predominately the colder rated bags.
Be aware that sleeping bag dimensions vary, and for you big and tall folks, this is an important consideration.
Sleeping bag materials
The comfort of a sleeping bag will depend not only on temperature, but the softness of the inside shell and cushion of the insulation material. The outside material is very important if considering outdoor use because you will want it to be waterproof as best as possible.
There are a tremendous amount of sleeping bags available out there with a variety of features, quality choices, and price ranges.
Here are two choices that are reasonably priced with a good set of features and specifications. One is an ultralight mummy sleeping bag
Think it through and consider adding a sleeping bag to your survival kit.
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When I go hunting/camping in cold weather I put my boots in the sleeping bag with me. I take off my socks and put them in there as well. I have on occasion put my gloves and outer wear in as well. And when I hunt I generally put my .357 in also. You can’t do this with most mummy bags. You need to consider this when you buy a bag for cold weather camping.
Wow, I never thought of sleeping with my gun when hunting. So it does make a difference on the size sleeping bag you pick.
I agree with GoneWithTheWind that it is important to take into account that mummy bags are intended to fit close, with little room for other stuff. I like to put my middle layers of clothing and socks in the sleeping bag, wearing only a light underlayer to sleep in.
Finally, I like the idea of including a Sleeping bag as part of a Survival Kit. The Boy Scouts have their 10 Essentials, but adding a lite weight down bag and stuff sack makes perfect sense to me.
Thanks for posting this, a lot of great information here. I cannot stress enough how important a good sleeping bag is within your survival kit. “The outside material is very important if considering outdoor use because you will want it to be waterproof as best as possible.” This is very true, nothing is worse than a wet sleeping bag.
I have had the misfortune of sleeping in a wet sleeping bag and nothing seems to be more uncomfortable. I agree that a quality sleeping bag is important to have along with the rest of your gear. Sleeping bag material makes all the difference.
Don’t forget that if you choose a down filled bag it is not something that can be stored long term in the tiny stuff sac that typically comes with the purchase. It is something that would be a poor choice to throw in the back of a vehicle and forget about as it likely won’t serve you as you expect if neglected. For a survival bag there are newer types of fill available ( at a cost of course) that are man made and would be better suited for long term storage with little attention required. But a typical polyester fill bag should do the trick with the correct temperature rating.
A couple other things to consider as accessories to a sleeping bag survival system is:
1. A Bivy Sack. A Bivy Sack can be thought of as a personal tent that fits around your sleeping bag. The good ones are water proof and an extra layer of protection to the elements. Cabela’s, REI, and Outdoor Research all have good ones and on a tight budget there are cheap but serviceable ones.
2. An emergency sleeping bag made of the same material as the famous “Space Blankets”. In tight quarters it can add probably another ten degrees to an already warm bag if you are caught in a winter condition scenario. They are also small enough and light enough to fit in a fanny pack bug out kit – something everyone should have. If you go into the woods at all this should be part of your emergency gear. You can fit a couple in the glove box. You can also buy under the arm bags that have a gun compartment. In which case along with the bag and emergency rations you would include a good survival gun (.22 is the best cheap all around) and a couple extra boxes of ammo.
Staying alive in cold weather simply requires common sense and a little bit of advance preparation. Never go into back country without an emergency kit – even if it is a “short cut” to somewhere else. I saw a man die of hypothermia a couple of years ago after taking a “short cut” and when he left his family in the car to go for help. The rescue team lost his trail somewhere in the snow after he had gone into hypothermia and lost his way. He wandered off into the remote wilderness where he no doubt froze to death. I don’t know if his body was ever found.
The term to remember is “core temperature” – that is your core internal body temperature. You can lose fingers and toes to frostbite and still survive if you keep that core temperature up. Once your core temperature drops too low your judgment goes (and if it drops low enough long enough you’ll just curl up for the “long sleep”) and you are likely to wind up another sad statistic. So, that means having something on hand that will shield you and retain enough warmth so that your body never cools into the danger zone. So, short term winter survival begins with warmth followed by sufficient fluids, followed by nutrition. That should suggest what you need in a winter survival kit.
I lived in my 4-runner for over a month @ -18c to -22c. All I had was a Coleman sleeping bag and I was more than comfortable (I had long underwear as well). The only other thing I would advise is a liner you can wash often.