Choosing Quality Equipment: The Mountain Hardwear Sleeping Bag

Mountain Hardwear was started over a decade ago by a group of outdoor enthusiasts who used their own experiences to help develop outdoor gear that serious everyday hikers and campers would want to find in their own collection. The Mountain Hardwear sleeping bag is one of those items. Developed with the serious hiker and camper in mind, each bag was designed to handle below zero to just above zero temperatures.

Knowing that each temperature range wields a certain level of demand on a campers body, the insulation and bag shape are part of the design that keeps the inside of the unit dry and toasty yet compact for when its time to get up and go.

A Mountain Hardwear sleeping bag comes with both synthetic and natural down insulation. Down is typically a mixture of goose feathers and is not only known for being light but for its amazing ability to trap warm air. Synthetic insulations in Mountain Hardwear bags like Polarguard Delta, Thermolite Extra and Thermic CF offer hollow filaments that also capture warm air and compresses nicely into a stuff sack.

The materials are incredibly light; a bonus for the camper and hiker on the go. Each material provides a great level of comfort and protection as does the waterproof materials that are use to construct the shell of the Mountain Hardwear sleeping bag. Airy, breathable materials allow for a consistent level of bodyheat throughout the night.

The sarcophagus shape of a Mountain Hardwear sleeping bag is the best for cold weather as it retains body heat more efficiently than other shapes. It also uses less material than a rectangular bag and therefore takes up less room- even with the extra insulation in foot areas and across the chest. Those who choose a Mountain Hardwear sleeping bag will also find these extra features make the unit more comfortable and efficient:

* Insulated draft collar that will seal in bodyheat from the neck down
* Draw cords that can be adjusted with one hand on the hood and collar
* Insulated draft tube that runs the length of the bag to block cold breezes
* Face gaskets for sealing in warm air around the face
* Snag-proof zippers
* Womens cut that provides for female proportions in the hip and shoulder area
* Can be professionally cleaned but is machine washable (special instructions and suggestions apply)

Adding a Mountain Hardwear sleeping bag certainly makes a statement about becoming a serious camper or hiker and many find that it becomes an irreplaceable part of their camping collection.

Shoot for it! The Moonstone Sleeping Bag

From the early 70s, Moonstone has been known as an industry leader in the sleeping bag industry thanks to its innovative technology used to create both down-filled and synthetically insulated sleeping bags. The Moonstone sleeping bag is well-known for not only being warm and highly compressible for light packing but for the versatility that allows it to be used in wet and dry environments. It is quite obvious attention goes into every detail of every bag and it is for this reason that many campers and hikers gravitate toward having a Moonstone sleeping bag as part of their camping gear.

Moonstone was a company that found inspiration in the needs of a mountain rescue team in Northern California. The teams challenges brought on by a wet coastal climate spawned the very thing that has made Moonstone the industry leader it is today. Previously, campers and hikers only had a choice between either synthetic insulation or down. However, a Moonstone sleeping bag constructed of half synthetic insulation and half goose down really made an impression in the world of outdoor gear.

Goose down is well-known for losing its insulation properties when wet and therefore was not an option for those camping in those environments. With a Moonstone sleeping bag, synthetic insulation, which handled moisture well, was placed on the bottom while natural down filled the top of the sleeping bag. Now campers and hikers in wet climates could have the down filled sleeping bag they had always dreamed of. It was the best of both worlds.

A Moonstone sleeping bag sleeping bag uses state-of-the-art water and wind resistant fabrics in the construction of its shell. Inside the bag, the ultra-light fabrics provide comfort and warmth. A Moonstone sleeping bag also comes with a number of handy features such as glow-in-the-dark zippers (great for middle of the night trips to the bathroom), full length draft tubes, hoods, draft collars and much more.

Those who have experience with a Moonstone sleeping bag are more than pleased with the amount of quality and features they get with the bag and consider it money well spent and purchase very worth making.

Moonstone is very well-known for not being afraid to use many pioneering techniques and going down avenues that other outdoor gear companies could or wouldnt go. The company created sleeping bags with removable hoods and built-in sleeping pads that afforded campers and hikers to make their own adjustments and be comfortable. Creating products with the serious outdoor enthusiast in mind is how Moonstone has managed to put itself at the forefront of the outdoor industry.