A park ranger in Yosemite told me my 'all-season' sleeping bag was a bad idea for fall, and he was right.

I was up there last October, bragging about my 20-degree bag that I use year-round. He just shook his head and said, 'That rating is for survival, not comfort. You're gonna have a cold, miserable night.' I argued, but it dropped to 28 that night and I was shivering by 2 AM. He explained that the comfort rating is usually 10-15 degrees higher than the survival rating, which I never really thought about. I always just looked at the big number on the tag. Now I'm looking at a proper 10-degree bag for anything below 40. Has anyone else had a similar wake-up call about gear ratings?

3 comments

3 Comments

thomas53120d ago

Learned that the hard way with a cheap rain jacket. Label said waterproof, but I was soaked through in twenty minutes during a light drizzle. Those marketing terms don't mean much.

umac7120d ago

Check the tag for a waterproof rating like 5k or 10k mm. That cheap jacket probably had a basic coating that fails fast. Did it feel stiff and plasticky when it was new?

michaelross6d ago

Yeah and the seams are never sealed on those cheap ones. Water just comes right through the stitching no matter what the fabric does.