Every ounce counts when camping or backpacking for extended periods, and ultralight sleeping bags help cut weight by offering high-quality insulation with reduced design and materials.

Take note of a bag’s compressed volume specification–this indicates how much room its insulation and fabric take up when packed together.

Ultralight

Ultralight sleeping bags strike a delicate balance between warmth, weight, and comfort to maximize backpacking adventures without feeling exhausted. Their construction utilizes light materials or techniques such as narrow dimensions, minimal fill, half zippers and thin shell fabrics – saving pounds!

Our ultralight testing proved most impressive with Therm-a-Rest’s Vesper 32 quilt, boasting just nine ounces of 850+ down fill making up 15% of its overall weight. While its low temperature rating makes it more suitable for summer backpacking trips than our coldest conditions testing conditions, its lightweight design and outstanding durability more than make up for its drawbacks.

Feathered Friends Flicker 40 UL is an outstanding ultralight bag, weighing significantly less than a fully enclosed mummy sleeping bag while providing more protection against the elements. It can be used either as an open quilt on hot nights, or with tightening its drawstring at one end and zipping partway through.

Mid-Range

Feathered Friends understands this need and offers two women’s Egret bags (5’3″ and 5’9″) along with men’s Swallow models to meet any warmth-to-weight ratio needs.

Both bags utilize premium 850-fill down and lightweight shell fabric, featuring tapered mummy shapes with wider shoulders and narrower feet to eliminate dead space and enhance thermal efficiency.

The Egret and Swallow bags feature full draft tubes with wraparound hoods to retain heat on cold nights, and use traceable, ethically sourced down that helps support sustainability in outdoor industry. Together these features contribute to their impressive warmth-to-weight ratio that make these ideal choices for backcountry hut trips or snow camping adventures.

Mid-Light

Therm-a-Rest’s Parsec 20 four-season bag is specifically designed for backpackers trekking across various environments. This four-season sleeping bag utilizes heat-mapped insulation technology to target only where warmth is necessary while decreasing weight without compromising warmth. Furthermore, this four-season sleeping bag boasts no-snag zippers, an avalanche-proof hood, extra hip and foot padding, no snag zippers and anti-snag buckles to help withstand harsh climates at high altitudes.

As with our other picks, the Parsec employs Responsible Down Standard (RDS)-certified down, which guarantees that its down originates from animals which were humanely killed. RDS certification is especially crucial in ultralight sleeping bags as companies use this certification to guarantee that no down migrated out of their bags during use.

Feathered Friends Tanager scored well in our fastpacking test, making it a solid option for multi-day backcountry treks or mountaineering expeditions. Zpacks Classic also provides highly versatile solutions allowing users to open the bag nearly all the way and use it as a quilt on warmer nights.

Mid-Heavy

Ultralight sleeping bags offer maximum warmth in a lightweight package for hikers who wish to reduce pack weight. Our top selections use premium down and ultra-thin shell materials that offer 30-degree temperatures or less, and feature “compressed volume” ratings – how much air a piece of insulation or fabric takes up when compressed under standard force.

Some of our lightweight options include semi-rectangular bags that offer the ideal balance between shape and roominess, enabling users to fit a sleeping pad into the footbox without having to curl around the edges of their bag.

Feathered Friends Flicker 40 UL is an ideal option for thru-hikers, as its full zipper enables it to convert from an ultralight sleeping bag into a quilt for flexibility in changing conditions and temperatures. Furthermore, its impressive 20-degree rating stands out among lightweight packs weighing only 1 pound 2.6 ounces total.