Sleeping bag cover

The green color on the outside is the sleeping bag cover

   One of gears which is not very popular in the United States is “Sleeping bag cover”.   I can still find it on Amazon, but I do not see it in major outdoor stores in the United States.   This is popular in Japan and we can find it in major outdoor stores in Japan.

   This gear is a cover for a sleeping bag.  The primary purpose of it is trying to avoid a sleeping bag gets wet, especially camping in snow in winter time.  Due to condensation, a sleeping bag is easy to get wet in snow camping.  Once it gets wet, it won’t warm any more.  The insulation is getting worse especially a sleeping bag with dawn.  Nowadays, a breathable material such as GoreTex is getting popular and it helps to avoid such situation.  So I usually use a GoreTex sleeping bag cover for winter climbing.  It is also useful for summer camping as well.  However if the material is not a breathable, it might not help a lot.   I think the original purpose of the cover is to get some extra insulation because it might create extra layer of air between a sleeping bag and the cover.   I guess it was originally not for wet-protection. The price difference between one with Gore Tex and one with non-breathable material is huge.   Typically one with Gore Tex is more than US $200, while non-breathable one is probably less than US $80.  If people really want to use it, I would strongly recommend one with breathable material.  Otherwise, it won’t help.

   I think this is one of really nice gear for comfortable camping.  However, I am not sure why it is not popular in the United States.  Probably, not many people do winter camping in snow.  This is probably true.  The second thing, I am not sure the other states in the United States.  But at least California, the weather in summer time is pretty stable and dry.  It might be not much chance to get some rain during night.   It might be possible people get shower in the afternoon, but it can be all right if people pack their sleeping back in waterproof bag.  Since it is not easy to get it in the United States.  I have not used this in summer time for a while.  Recently, I only stay a few nights during my hiking, it is not a big deal anymore.

   Anyway, this is one of example I can see some difference for outdoor gear between Japan and the United States.