Our son is entering his third camping season this summer and his first with his own sleeping bag. Now that he’s 2 he’s wwwaaaaayyyy to be to share a bag with one of us, and too active at night to be stuffed under a pile of blankets. So we went down to REI to pick something out. We got the Big Agnes Little Red 15 degree bag. Here’s why:
Big Agnes Little Red 15
Specs:
- Use: Family/Car Camping
- Temp: 15 Degrees
- Weight: 1.3 Kilograms (albs 14oz)
- Lining: Cotton
- Size: 53 inches
Big Agnes is an outdoor gear company out of colorado that makes tents, sleeping pads and sleeping bags. I’ve never owned any of their products, but I got their bag for my son because of two of their signature design features. Integrated pad and lots of pace.
Integrated sleeping pad
Big Agnes bags have always had no insulation on the under side while maintaing a low temp rating and low weight by having a sleeve into which you cram your inflatable sleeping pad. The Little Red has this as well and it is good for kids for three reasons.
1) They can’t roll off of it. When I was a kid i spent the first 5 minutes of the night on my pad and the rest of it stuffed down in the corner of the tent. The Little Red fits a 20″ x 48″ pad in it’s slip compartment like the Big Agnes Hinman pad. I happened to already have a Therm-a-rest guide light 3/4 lying around that fit perfectly.
2) They can’t sit up. When you fill the pad with air and zip the grommet into the bag and they try to sit up, it snaps them right back down. So no sleep walking.
3) It’s warmer. Regular sleeping bag insulation either down or synthetic, is useless if you compress it under your body. Big Agnes’ theory is that if you’re going to have an inflatable sleeping pad, might as well not take along the superfluous mass of insulation on the bottom. They make it warmer by fitting the pad into the sleeve so that there is just enough overlap of insulation to make a seal.
Roomy
The Little Red has a square foot box like most Big Agnes bags due to the shape of sleeping pad it is designed to fit. This is good cause most kids writhe around when they sleep like Han Solo getting prepped for carbon freezing. It’s still a mummy bag in that it has a hood, collar and small synchable face opening, but other than that it’s huge. It should fit him for several years at least.
Other featured of the Little Red
The bag is well designed for a lot of camping situations. Often the night time temps in the mountains can get pretty chilly. This bag has a neck collar and hood so I can synch everything down and he should stay warm. At the same time, I don’t know about 15 degrees. That’s pretty cold…
The lining is cotton so it won’t feel cold to the touch and will be comfortable and easy to clean. There is also an integrated pillowcase into which you can cram clothes, a jacket or a few t-bone stakes.
Getting your kid into a sleeping bag
Whatever bag you choose for your kid, that is the easy part. The hard part is getting them into it and comfortable enough to fall asleep in it. Now I’m no expert, but I had good luck with the following techniques to get my son to sleep in the sleeping bag.
1) Take your kid with you to get the sleeping bag
Get them interested and involved. Say, “Wanna go get you a sleeping bag!” Then keep saying that and making it sound like the freaking super bowl of shopping trips. People @ REI will be looking at you like you’re some sort of freak, but the kid will be stoked.
2) Engage your kid in the selection process
What color do you want? Have him test it out, let him climb inside and pretend to take a nap.
3) Dry run
To get your kid used to the idea of sleeping in a sleeping bag, it’s best to fight the battle on home turf. My son was so stoked about the bag when we got home we had to show mom, and the grandparents. Then we had him take his nap in it. He eventually settled down and went to sleep. After doing this a few times, he was set.
The other benefit of this technique is that the sleeping bag becomes a comfortable place for your kid. A little secure piece of home turf he can take with him on sleepovers anywhere.
4) Bed time is a moving target.
When I was a kid, my dad would turn the tent into a rumpus room at bed time. We’d wrestle, play, tell stories, sing, wrestle, etc… It was a gradual wearing down. And it was fun. Point is that camping and sleeping in a tent and sleeping in a sleeping bag is novel and fun, so don’t expect it to be a drop-and-run like at home.
Go Camping
So I definitely recommend the Big Agnes Little Red sleeping bag. Though whatever bag you get for your kid I’m sure you’ll have fun, my theory is that a warmer, more comfortable kid at night means more sleeping, more time for mom and dad to sit around the fire and more energy for hiking, biking, swimming and general run-a-mucking the next day.
-Mike
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