The 4 Best Inclusive-Size Sleeping Bags of 2024: Tested

Sure, a night out under the stars means leaving certain creature comforts at home, but it doesn’t have to mean crunching into a too-tight or too-short sleeping bag. The days of narrow, mummy-only sizing are over. Brands are updating the fit of sleeping bags to accommodate a wide variety of body shapes and sleeping positions.

Still, it can still be stressful to mire through a swamp of stats and data points to make a big purchase like a sleeping bag, which is why we’ve gone ahead and done some of the boring research for you. We asked two dozen co-op members of all sizes to test the best long, wide and inclusively sized sleeping bags available at REI. Over months, our member-testers assessed the fabric, filling and zipper quality of each, and when all was said and done, these were their definitive favorites. So make sure you're up to speed on how to choose a sleeping bag, check out our buying advice for wide bags, and then scroll down to see our top picks for inclusive-size sleeping bags.

Test Results

• Best All-Around Inclusive Size Sleeping Bag: REI Co-op Magma 15 Sleeping Bag
• Best Wide Sleeping Bag for Car Camping & REI Co-op Editors' Choice Award Winner: Big Agnes Echo Park 20 Sleeping Bag
• Best Wide Sleeping Bag for Three-Season Backpacking: Mountain Hardwear Bishop Pass 15 Sleeping Bag
• Honorable Mention: Marmot Trestles Elite Eco 20 Sleeping Bag

Buying Advice

A quality sleeping bag can make or break your next camping adventure, but it may feel daunting if you don't understand what to look for before making your choice. Here are a few factors to consider when snagging yourself a sleeping bag, regardless of its price tag.

Weight and Size

When it comes to car camping, you can simply pick the warmest, roomiest sleeping bag you like because you won't be shouldering it. For a rundown on all the things to consider, read our article, "How to Choose Sleeping Bags for Camping."

For backpacking, however, you'll want the warmest, roomiest sleeping bag that fits inside your pack and doesn't weigh you down. The distinction between backpacking and camping bags is not a hard-and-fast one, but backpacking bags are generally more lightweight, pack down smaller and provide more warm for the weight. So, if you'll be car camping and backpacking, go with a backpacking bag because every ounce counts when you carry it in a pack rather than in a car. You can of course tote however much weight you'd like backpacking, but in this guide, the Marmot Trestles Elite Eco 20, Mountain Hardwear Bishop Pass 15 and REI Co-op Magma 15 are the best for backpacking. They're lighter and a bit more compact than the Big Agnes Echo Park 20, which is heavier at 4 lbs 12 oz. Learn more about How to Choose Sleeping Bags for Backpacking.

Note that some sleeping bags have a men's or unisex version and a women's version. Though this is how the brand has distinguished them, a more helpful delineation is to think of them as "warm sleeper's" and "cold sleeper's."

Warm sleeper's bags (or men's or unisex) have bigger dimensions and more forgiving temperature ratings. Cold sleeper's bags (or women's) have smaller dimensions and warmer temperature ratings thanks to added insulation. That often makes the cold sleeper's version of the bag heavier and bulkier, despite its smaller dimensions.

Width and Length

The sleeping bags in this guide are all available in wide and long sizes to fit more folks. When looking for a sleeping bag, consider three dimensions: the circumferences around the shoulders and the hips (both are posted in the specs for each review here), and the length.

In a mummy (or tapered) sleeping bag (a common shape for backpacking bags), a standard shoulder girth is between 60 and 64 inches while the hip girth is typically in the ballpark of 58 inches. The sleeping bags in this lineup are broader at each point—for instance, the Big Agnes Echo Park 20 is 80 inches at the shoulder and 74 inches at the hips. The best way to find a perfect fit for you is to go into a store and try some out, but you can always estimate your dimensions at home with a tape measure.

The third measurement—length—should be considered, particularly if you're taller than 6 feet. Most standard-size sleeping bags are 72 inches long, but many are available in longer dimensions. Of the sleeping bags in this guide, the men's long version of the Marmot Bishop Pass and the Big Agnes Eco Park fit up to 78 includes with the REI Co-op Magma 15 Sleeping Bag not too far behind at 77 inches in length. Typically called "long," these varieties often add up to an additional 6 inches. Wide sizes, which provide more girth at the shoulders and hips, also tend to be about 6 inches longer.

Type of Insulation

Sleeping bags are filled with either down insulation or synthetic insulation. In general, down insulation (made from goose or duck plumage) is lighter and more packable, offering the best warmth to weight. Down isn't inherently water-resistant, but today, most is treated to make it hydrophobic. Down insulation is also very durable and will likely hold up to years of packing and unpacking it into a stuff sack. Trade-off: It tends to cost more than synthetic.

The Mountain Hardwear Bishop Pass 15 and REI Co-op Magma 15 use down insulation.

Note: If you opt for a down sleeping bag, be sure to check out the ethical practices of the company making your sleeping bag. These days, most outdoor brands have standards that protect the welfare of the animals, but it's a good idea to be informed.

On the flipside, synthetic insulation (like polyester) retains more warmth when wet, making it a popular choice with folks who live in moist climates. It also dries faster than down and is less likely to aggravate allergies. As an added bonus, it is almost always cheaper than down, too. Synthetic insulation is bulkier than down, however, and often comes with a weight penalty.

The Big Agnes Echo Park 20 and Marmot Trestles Elite Eco 20 are made with synthetic insulation.

Shape

In this guide, you'll see two shapes of sleeping bags: mummy and semi-rectangular.

A mummy is wider in the shoulders before tapering at the knees and footbox. This eliminates extra space inside the sleeping bag, making it easier to create and maintain warmth. It also cuts down on materials and weight, which makes this style popular in the backpacking and ultralight communities.

If it fits, a mummy bag will provide the most efficient warmth. The mummies in this lineup are the Marmot Trestles Elite Eco 20 (pictured above), Mountain Hardwear Bishop Pass 15 and REI Co-op Magma 15.

A rectangular sleeping bag looks just like it sounds: a large rectangle. The bag does not taper like a mummy bag does and instead maintains its shape to give campers maximum wiggle room. However, this shape does mean there is more dead space in the bag, making it tougher to stay warm.

That's why some brands, like Big Agnes, have gravitated toward what's called a semi-rectangular shape. This style of sleeping bag cashes in on the comfort of a traditional rectangular bag while cutting some corners (literally) to save an iota of space and weight.

The Big Agnes Echo Park 20 is semi-rectangular.

Temperature Rating

We could pen a thesis on how temperature ratings are determined, but for you, dear reader, all you need to know is that the number in the name of the sleeping bag is pretty close to what its lower limit is. So our most basic advice is to purchase a sleeping bag with a number that's 10°F to 15°F lower than what you expect to encounter on your coldest trips. (Err on the side of going too warm because you can always unzip your bag or kick a leg out.) For example, if you do most of your camping in the mountains where temperatures drop into the 30s at night, go for a bag that has 20 in the name.

In general, summer-season camping calls for bags rated to 30°F or higher. Three-season camping (which includes shoulder seasons) usually requires bags with ratings closer to 20°F. You won't find anything that much warmer for less than $200 on the market (the warmer the bag, the more it costs, generally).

Of course, choosing a temperature rating is an exercise in knowing yourself, too. If you're a person who is always cold, take that into consideration.

Being able to compare one brand's 20°F bag against another's used to be a problem because outdoor brands tested them differently. Decades of work to standardize those ratings thankfully means nearly all brands play by the same rules now, though those rules are complicated.

An "ISO" or "EN" temperature rating indicates the test standard used. Either requires rigorous, standardized testing and the two standards are roughly comparable. So, as long as a bag has one of those acronyms, you can compare their temperature ratings. Read our article, "Understanding Sleeping Bag Temperature Ratings" to learn more.

Note that, while these test standards can be applied to most backpacking bags, certain sleeping bags are not covered by the standards and are assigned temperature ratings by varying tests used by the brand.

Bags are assigned two temperature ratings: limit and comfort ratings. Lower-limit rating is the lowest temperature at which the bag will keep a warm sleeper comfortable and is generally the temperature assigned to men's or unisex bags. Comfort rating is the lowest temperature at which the bag will keep the average cold sleeper comfortable and is generally the temperature assigned to women-specific bags. If a temperature rating omits the term "comfort" or "limit," then it's likely a brand's estimate, not an ISO or EN test result.

Cold sleeper's (women's) bags that use the warmer "comfort rating" as their standard will inevitably be heavier than the equivalent warm sleeper's (men's) bags. It simply requires more of a given insulation to achieve more warmth.

A temperature rating is not a guarantee of warmth. Standardized ratings are super important because you can more reliably compare bags from different brands. But metabolisms vary greatly from person to person, as do variables like the pad you pair your bag with, humidity, wind, type of shelter, ground conditions, clothing and personal preferences.

Methodology

In ongoing gear testing, we asked two dozen co-op members from around the country to put pillow to dirt in an effort to test the best inclusive-size sleeping bags available at REI Co-op. Our testers ranged in size from XL to 4X. During the testing months, they frolicked through alpine meadows, endured unseasonable snow, hunkered down in wind and picked grit from their teeth during canyon-country epics—all in an effort to bring the best feedback and testing notes.

These co-op member-testers evaluated each sleeping bag on its warmth, comfort, size, durability, packability and features, also taking sustainability attributes and price into account. We combined their ratings and took the average to find the overall scores listed here. The four sleeping bags in this guide earned the highest scores in our round-robin; the REI Co-op Magma 15 Sleeping Bag was a top overall performer. The Big Agnes Echo Park 20 Sleeping Bag was our pick for car camping, and was commemorated with an REI Co-op Editors' Choice Award.

Editors' note: We are continually testing sleepings bags as new products come on the market and will update this guide accordingly.