Choosing the Right Sleeping Bag
Even if you intend travelling in tropical countries a sleeping bag is essential. Geography is no guarantee of temperature - Nairobi, at 6,000 feet above sea-level, can get distinctly chilly at night in the winter. Even if you do not use a sleeping bag to sleep in all the time it can double as a ground sheet or even a pillow.
Similarly, if you intend to stay in youth hostels or hotels you may think that a sleeping bag is superfluous. But what of the times you may have to sleep on public transport, at an airport, or on the floor of a mud hut?
There are two types of sleeping bag to choose from:
- Down Expensive, but excellent for cold climates. They have the added advantage of crushing down to a very small size. Do not cope well if they get wet though.
- Synthetic Cheaper but not as warm. Worth considering for hotter climates.
The warmest type of bag is the one that is self-contained, while the ones with zips can be used as blankets or groundsheets. Sheet sleeping bags are useful for hot countries and for strange hotel beds that have dirty or insect-infested sheets. The availability of sleeping bags is as above.
