Best Kids Sleeping Bags of 2024 – Our Guide
Introducing kids to hiking, trekking, or camping requires suitable equipment, especially for staying warm at night. Appropriate gear ensures a comfortable and enjoyable experience, preventing negative experiences that could deter them from outdoor activities in the future.
Besides backpacks, shoes, and technical clothing, investing in a junior sleeping bag is a wise choice to ensure your child gets a restful night’s sleep after hours of walking. Similar to adult sleeping bags, kid’s sleeping bags come in various shapes and materials to suit different needs and preferences.
In this guide, we’re going to discover the best kids’ sleeping bags of 2024.
The 5 Best Kids Sleeping Bags of 2024
Comparison table of the top 5 models:
Image | Name | Weight | Size | Price |
![]() | Coleman Kids 50°F Sleeping Bag | 2.43 lbs | 60″L x 26″W | Check |
![]() | Meteor Mummy Sleeping Bag | 1.4 lbs | 51″L x 23.5″W | Check |
![]() | Coleman Dunnock Sleeping Bag | 9.2 lbs | 75″L x 33″W | Check |
![]() | Guide Gear Canvas Hunter | 14.2 lbs | 90″L x 50″W | Check |
![]() | TETON Sports Jr Sleeping Bag | 2.64 lbs | 66″L x 26″W | Check |
- 1. Coleman 50°F Sleeping Bag for Kids – High Quality and Affordable
- 2. Meteor All Season Sleeping Bag For Kids – A Premium Mummy Model
- 3. Coleman Dunnock – Best Cold Weather Sleeping Bag for Camping & Hiking
- 4. Guide Gear Canvas Hunter – High-Performance & Affordable Kids Sleeping Bag
- 5. TETON Sports Jr – Best Comfortable Sleeping Bag for Boys, Girls, and Kids
Without further ado, let’s discover why we have selected these 5 products…
1. Coleman Kids 50 Kid’s Sleeping Bag
Specs:
- Materials: Polyester
- Seasonality: All season
- Temperature Rating: 50°F.
- Dimensions: 60″L x 26″W
- Closure Type: Zipper
- Weight: 2.43 pounds
Our top pick begins with a kids’ sleeping bag from Coleman, a brand known for its quality in technical clothing, backpacks, and sleeping gear for both adults and children. The Kids 50°F sleeping bag is a rectangular model designed to keep your child warm from head to toe. It also features a practical extension system, ensuring a comfortable fit as your child grows.
It features an intelligent construction with zipped openings on both sides, making it easier for kids to get in and out. Even if your kids are already asleep, you can slip them into the bag without waking them up. The Roll Control design allows for quick rolling up when it’s time to pack up.
The filling is made of high-quality nylon. Coleman guarantees that it is PFC-free and uses a durable water-repellent coating that is safe for health and ensures high-level water and dirt repellency. This treatment enables your kids to spend nights warm and dry, even in damp or dirty conditions.
Pros
- Thermo lock draft tube
- Glow-in-the-dark fun design
- Comfortable and lightweight
- Quiet noise level
- Cheap price
Cons
- Very skinny and short
2. Meteor All Season Kid’s Sleeping Bag
Specs:
- Materials: Polyester
- Seasonality: All season
- Temperature Rating: Comfort
- Dimensions: 51″L x 23.5″W
- Closure Type: Zipper
- Weight: 650 grams
For a mummy-style sleeping bag, the Meteor all-season kids’ sleeping bag could be the best option for you. Starlight offers impeccable manufacturing quality, including features like an inside pocket where your child can keep valuable items close at hand during the night.
It features a polyester filling, specifically High-Loft Hollowfibre, a hollow fiber with high swelling power. The interior is made of polyester (75D PES), while the exterior coating is polyamide (70D PA). This composition provides excellent insulation while maintaining robustness and durability.
The materials used in this Starlight bag are free from perfluorinated or polyfluorinated chemicals (PFC), ensuring safety for your child. It is ergonomic, practical, scalable, and suitable for children from 130 to 170. With a maximum length of 155 cm, your child will always enjoy a comfortable night’s sleep. Meteor’s best kids’ mummy sleeping bag is also available in several colors.
Pros
- Interior compartment for small objects
- Suitable for all seasons
- Solid and quality build
- Insulated and ultralight
- Unique design
Cons
- Expensive, but the price is justified
- Little fill
3. Coleman Dunnock Cold Weather
Specs:
- Materials: Cotton
- Seasonality: All season
- Temperature Rating: 20°F.
- Dimensions: 75″L x 33″W
- Closure Type: Zipper
- Weight: 9.2 pounds
Coleman consistently delivers well-designed and high-quality sleeping bags at affordable prices, and the Dunnock kid’s sleeping bag is no exception. It manages to be both cleverly designed and budget-friendly, making it an excellent choice for parents looking for value without compromising on quality.
Indeed, this sleeping bag is based on a 2-in-1 system that allows you to couple a sleeping bag with an integrated ground mattress. This system maximizes the thermal insulation of the child during the bivouac by adding a layer between the ground and the kid’s sleeping bag. The 2-way ZipPlow system also avoids snagging the fabric during zipping
It is made of cotton, ensuring that your child stays warm and dry throughout the night. It boasts an ergonomic design that is easy to set up and unfold. Furthermore, the cotton-based filling and lining make it easy to maintain, adding to its practicality and convenience.
Pros
- Excellent design for more comfort
- Suitable for both kids and adults
- Fiberlock construction
- Lots of room
- Affordable
Cons
- Not very warm for extreme cold
- Only suitable for large kids
4. Guide Gear Canvas Hunter
Specs:
- Materials: Down, Cotton
- Seasonality:
- Temperature Rating: Comfort
- Dimensions: 90″L x 50″W
- Closure Type: Zipper
- Weight: 14.2 pounds
Guide Gear offers this sleeping bag that is just as qualitative as the previous model 15 Degree Fleece Lined Sleeping Bag, but more classic in its design. Indeed, here there is no integrated mattress system or extension system to follow your child’s growth curve, but “just” an extremely comfortable. It is well-designed and perfectly fits your outdoor adventures with kids.
Guide Gear Canvas Hunter sleeping bag is warm and practical and offers optimal protection for your kids’ comfort level while remaining compact. Its double slider has been designed to make it easier for kids to use, allowing them to take full part in the shelter.
The outer is made of canvas and the filling is cotton. This winter sleeping bag has a hood that effectively traps warmth and ensures your kids remain snug and cozy. It comes with a carrying bag for convenient transportation. Overall, it is an easy-care and robust sleeping bag that can withstand various terrains.
Pros
- Easily accessible option
- Good build quality
- Easy to maintain
- Large space for 2 kids
Cons
- Piled a lot after first wash
- Big and heavy
5. TETON Sports Jr Sleeping Bag
Specs:
- Materials: Taffeta
- Seasonality: Three season
- Temperature Rating: Comfort
- Dimensions: 66″L x 26″W
- Closure Type: Zipper
- Weight: 1.2 kilograms
To conclude our top 5, we introduce the TETON Sports Jr sleeping bag. This model features a rectangular shape, maximizing thermal insulation by conforming closely to the body. It is an excellent option for kids who prefer a more spacious sleeping bag and may not feel comfortable in a mummy-style bag.
The TETON Sports Jr sleeping bag is designed with Taffeta material for durability and comfort. It includes a small inside pocket where your child can keep small valuables close even while sleeping. The size is suitable for children aged between 6 and 10-12 years old.
TETON Sports offers this model at a very affordable price point. While it doesn’t feature an extension system to accommodate a child’s growth, it includes a hood to prevent heat loss from the body. The zipper system is supported by a windbreaker, providing additional protection against cold air from outside.
Pros
- Unbeatable price
- Comes with a durable stuff sack
- Small and lightweight
- Integrated small inside pocket
- Versatile and suitable for all seasons
Cons
- No extension system
- Difficult to store in your bag
Best Sleeping Bags for Kids: Your Complete Buying Guide
Here’s a complete buying guide to help you make an informed decision:
Temperature Performance
The European standard DIN EN 13537, which came into force in 2005, determines the temperature rating of the sleeping bags by carrying out laboratory tests. Three temperature standards are indicated on the sleeping bags (the indicative values differ according to the size, weight, and gender of the user). We recommend taking the comfort temperature indicated as a reference for the choice of your sleeping bag:
- The comfort temperature: this is the temperature considered ideal for a comfortable night like at home. According to this standard, the user can sleep in a relaxed position without feeling cold. However, this is a temperature indication considered low even if it remains reliable.
- The temperature limit: this is the temperature from which the user of the bag can begin to feel a sensation of cold while sleeping. According to this standard, the user sleeping in a curled-up position is not supposed to feel cold.
- Extreme temperature: this is the temperature above which the survival of the sleeping bag user will be compromised (risk of hypothermia). At this indicated temperature, the bag will only prevent its user from freezing to death.
Temperature performance must be specified by the manufacturer of a child’s sleeping bag. Some manufacturers don’t risk setting temperatures for kids’ sleeping bags to avoid liability, but a few specialty brands play along.
If you’ve spotted a kids’ sleeping bag that doesn’t mention temperature performance, skip your way: most of the time you will have in your hands a simple sleeping bag suitable for an indoor nap, but makes no sense for an outdoor activity where the comfort and safety of the children take precedence.
Seasonality
Besides the EN 13537 standard, sleeping bags are also classified by seasonality:
- Summer sleeping bags: Summer sleeping bags are recommended for nights spent at a temperature of 0°C or more.
- Three-season sleeping bags: Three-season are recommended for nights spent at temperatures between -1°C and -15°C.
- Winter sleeping bags: Winter sleeping bags are recommended for nights spent at temperatures between -15°C or less.
Type of Filling
There are two different types of filling on the sleeping bag market, and by extension on the kid’s sleeping bag market. Each filling has its advantages and disadvantages:
- Down filling: Down-filled sleeping bags, made from goose or duck down, offer excellent compressibility for easy transport in their compression bags. However, they are more challenging to maintain and store compared to synthetic bags and provide mediocre resistance to humidity. Despite being more expensive, the quality of the filling is indicated by the percentage of down, with higher percentages indicating higher quality. Fill power, measured in cubic inches (cuin), ranges from 550 to 900 cuin, with higher values indicating better quality down. Down-filled bags are preferred for demanding hikes or treks.
- Synthetic filling: Synthetic sleeping bags are increasingly popular due to their resistance to humidity, ease of maintenance, and convenient storage in compression bags at home. However, they provide lower performance comfort in very cold conditions compared to down-filled sleeping bags. They are preferred for nights spent at a campsite or in less extreme weather conditions.
The Shape and Size
Like the different types of filling, there are several forms of kids sleeping bags. It is essential to choose a sleeping bag adapted to the size of your kids.
- Rectangular bags: Rectangular bags, also known as “blanket” bags, are more comfortable due to their wider feet area but offer less thermal protection as they contain more air. They are bulkier and lack a hood.
- Mummy sleeping bags: Mummy sleeping bags are narrower at the feet to optimize thermal protection, have a hood, and are less bulky than rectangular bags. They are preferred by parents for their practicality and smaller size.
- Semi-Rectangular Sleeping Bags: Semi-rectangular sleeping bags offer a balance between space and insulation, serving as a compromise between rectangular and mummy bags.
Regardless of the type of sleeping bag chosen for your kids, it’s crucial to select one that fits their size well to ensure optimal thermal insulation. The insulation system should be tailored specifically for children’s bags, as what works for adult sleeping bags may not be effective. Additionally, for children, opting for a mummy-type bag with a hood is recommended over wearing a cap, as it provides better insulation and is more practical.
Weight and Packability
Consider their ability to carry the bag themselves, especially for backpacking trips. Lighter bags are ideal for this purpose as they reduce the overall load. However, if durability is a concern due to your child’s activities, opting for a slightly heavier model may be necessary to ensure it can withstand rough handling and frequent use.
Scalable Bags
Scalable sleeping bags, also known as “evolutive” bags, are ideal for parents planning regular hikes or camping trips with their kids. These bags feature a system of extensions that can be folded inside the bag and then unfolded as the child grows. This design ensures a proper fit, preventing the child from getting too cold or slipping to the bottom of the bag. Scalable bags offer better longevity and versatility.
FAQs
What is the ideal temperature rating for a kids’ sleeping bag?
The ideal temperature rating depends on the purpose of use and the climate you expect your child to encounter. For general camping in moderate climates, a bag rated between 30°F to 40°F (-1°C to 4°C) should suffice. If your child will be camping in colder conditions, consider a bag with a lower temperature rating.
Are there any specific safety features to look for in a kids’ sleeping bag?
Yes, safety is paramount. Look for sleeping bags with flame-resistant materials, secure zippers, and a snug fit around the neck and face to prevent suffocation hazards. Additionally, choose bags with non-allergenic fillings and materials.
How to store a kid’s sleeping bag?
A synthetic sleeping bag can be stored in its compression bag at home. On the other hand, it is not recommended to store a down sleeping bag in its compression bag at the risk of losing or reducing its swelling quality.
Can a kid’s sleeping bag be washed?
Sleeping bags can usually be machine washable if the product sheet indicates this. Synthetic sleeping bags will be easier to machine wash and dry faster.
What is the lifespan of a kid’s sleeping bag?
The lifespan of a kid’s sleeping bag will be directly linked to its growth curve and therefore reduced compared to that of an adult. A teenager will not be able to sleep in his kid’s bag like when he was 7 years old for example. To maximize longevity, you can opt for a model with extensions.
Conclusion
As we have seen, finding the best sleeping bag for kids involves considering various factors. As a dad, I tested several models with my kids (an 8-year-old boy and a 4-year-old girl). Through this experience, I was able to note what was important to have on your sleeping bag and what features matter.
Now, you’re equipped with knowledge about the best kids’ sleeping bags and the key criteria to evaluate before making a choice. Remember to consider the climate of your camping or hiking destinations for your child’s comfort and safety. Happy camping!
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