The History of Camping Sleeping Bags

It is believed that Freydis Eiriksdottir, the brutal daughter of Fredrick the Red of Greenland, invented the first sleeping bag in 1000 A.D during her journey to North America. Since then, different variations of camping sleeping bags have been made, with notable ones such as Francis Fox Tucketts’s prototype alpine sleeping bag being first tested in 1861. In 1876, the Euklisia Rug was designed by Pryce Jones and later became the first sleeping bag to be mass produced and circulated around the world... read more at:

The History of Camping Sleeping Bags | Camping Sleeping Bags

I wonder where the image at the top of the link page was taken of the pointed peak?

I copied and pasted the article: Courtesy of bestcampingsleepingbags.com.

Gary, your link doesn't work. This is the link I think you want:

http://www.bestcampingsleepingbags.com/sleeping-bag-liner/the-history-of-camping-sleeping-bags

But you copied the first paragraph from the article verbatum - I don't think that is allowed under copyright law.

If he puts in quotation marks and gives credit to the author he should be ok. I think.

The article says down bags are more durable than synthetic and last longer. I had never thought about that; do you guys agree or disagree?

In North America the evolution of the sleeping bag may have followed a more direct route.  Large safety pins became popular around the late 1800s to secure folded wool blankets.  Down quilts were also popular.  Whats old is new again.  It wasn't long before the safety pins were replaced with snaps and finally zippers.

i think that synthetic insulation has improved a lot over the years.  good synthetic bags loft well and can last several years without suffering much loss of insulating value, if you store them properly and keep them clean.

i don't think that synthetic fill has improved to the point that it equals down, though, for sheer durability.  properly cared for, i think a quality down bag can maintain its loft for significantly longer - by that i mean twice to four times as long - as a synthetic fill bag.  (also depends to some degree on the ratio of feathers vs. down - one might argue that feathers don't always bounce back as well as down). 

my 2 cents, anyway. 

This is the link I got the info from: www.bestcampingsleepingbags.com/sleeping-bag-liner/the-history-of...

I don't see or know who's article it is.

I have a down bag that is about twenty years old. it still lofts well and I use it for summer car camping. still cozy after all those years. the down definately outlasts synthetics if properly cared for. I get mine drycleaned once a year. use nikwax down wash in between. love that bag.

I grew up camping in mostly coastal north carolina. Sleeping bags werent the main concern, bug nets were the priority. I have moved to new hampshire and that isnt the case anymore. I didnt realize down bags were so much more durable than synthetic. I cowboy camp when I can, so I bought synthetic bags. I have been happy with them and stayed pretty warm. I think I made the right decision because I have gotten wet a couple of times. Its worth the wetness from dew to me if I can see the stars. I am going to purchase a true winter bag, ive layered in the past to stay warm. I am prob going to get this bag with down, it will be well below freezing when I use the bag. I learn something on this site almost every day!!!!

A good quality down should not be dry cleaned. The process used to dry clean strips the natural oils that give down so much of the durability that we are talking about.

Good warning.Pretty much all sleeping bag manufacturers will have this line in the FAQ :

Dry cleaning is not recommended since the solvents can strip away natural oils contained in the down.

Blankets and comforters are a different story.

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