If you are planning a camping, backpacking or other outdoor sporting adventure that will take you out into the great outdoors, you will want to give serious consideration to your outdoor sleeping gear purchases. Be prepared.

A sleeping bag for cold weather is a lot different than one for south Florida. Prefer not to sleep on the ground? Put an air mattress under your sleeping bag. Camping cots are another option, or find you two trees and set up a hammock. Remember the blankets and pillows also.

We at the Outdoor Sports Shop offer brand name sleeping gear at discount prices including sleeping pags to -50 degrees, mummy sleeping bags, rectangular sleeping bags, kids sleeping bags, cots, air mattresses, hammocks, blankets, and pillows.

	Air Pumps Coghlans, Intex, Stansport		Blankets Coghlans, Grand Trunk, The Travel Hammock
	Cots Eureka!		Hammocks Eagles Nest Outfitters, Eureka!, Grand Trunk, Stansport, The Travel Hammock
	Kids Sleeping Bags Eureka!, Slumberjack		Mattresses, Pads Big Agnes, Eureka!, Intex, Outdoor Research, Slumberjack, Wenzel
	Mummy Sleeping Bags Eureka!, Sierra Designs, Slumberjack, Stansport, SwissGear, Wenzel		Pillows Eureka!, Grand Trunk, Slumberjack, Wenzel
	Rectangular Sleeping Bags Eureka!, Kelty, Slumberjack, Stansport, SwissGear, Wenzel
How to Choose Outdoor Sleeping Bags Sleeping gear is important. Getting a good night's sleep can make a big difference in how we see the world. There's nothing like shivering in the cold in ineffective outdoor sleeping bags to sour someone on the whole camping experience. If you know what to look for when buying outdoor sleeping bags, however, you can totally avoid these types of situations. The first consideration in buying sleeping gear is to decide how it is going to be used. Backpackers who are out hiking every weekend and vacation regardless of weather, need different outdoor sleeping bags than someone who goes camping one weekend out of the year. People who camp out every weekend even if it rains need different sleeping gear than those who only camp out in fair weather. That's because you really only have two choices in the materials that are used to manufacture outdoor sleeping bags. You can buy goose down outdoor sleeping bags or you can buy synthetic outdoor sleeping bags. Synthetic outdoor sleeping bags may come in materials with different names but they all fall into the big category of synthetics. Goose down outdoor sleeping bags are soft, light and comfy. They compress well so they take up less room when packing. Sleeping gear with down is very warm. It is also very expensive when compared to synthetic outdoor sleeping bags. Down as a material in outdoor sleeping bags has another disadvantage. It is useless when wet. Wet outdoor sleeping bags are not going to keep you warm and it is going to take a long time to dry them out. Synthetic outdoor sleeping bags are just basic outdoor gear and they are usually quite inexpensive when compared with down outdoor sleeping bags. One big advantage is that they will retain heat even when wet and they will dry out quickly. So, if you are the kind of camper or backpacker who heads out for the weekend only after receiving a fair weather forecast, whether outdoor sleeping bags are made of down or synthetic materials won't make a big difference. But if you are a diehard camper or backpacker and the forecast of a little rain means nothing, synthetic outdoor sleeping bags are probably the best way to go. The season in which you will be camping is also a big consideration when buying outdoor sleeping bags. All outdoor sleeping bags must be rated according the lowest temperature at which they will effectively keep you warm. For instance, a one-season bag is for summer and will keep you warm down to a low of around 40 degrees. Most outdoor sleeping bags are 3-season, meant for spring, summer and fall, and rated to keep you warm down to around 10 degrees. If you do winter camping, you need a 0 degree sleeping bag rated down to at least 10-20 below zero. These are the 4-season outdoor sleeping bags. If in doubt, choose the one rated for the coldest weather. The last decision you need to make is whether to purchase a mummy bag or a rectangular bag. Mummy outdoor sleeping bags give you much less room but conform to your shape more closely, keeping in warm air. They are not good for people who get claustrophobic or who kick around a lot in their sleep. Rectangular outdoor sleeping bags are roomier but more of the warm air created by your body will escape. These are the basic things you need to know when purchasing outdoor sleeping gear. Outdoor sleeping bags are not waterproof but now the majority do have a water-resistant rip stop material as the outer covering. Whatever bag you choose, don't take any chances with the weather--frostbite and hypothermia are not things you want to deal with. So, choose the bag that is right for you and get a good night's sleep the next time you camp outside.