Down is unbeatable for a soft, luxurious, warm feel. Down sleeping bags pack small, are lightweight and will give you up to twenty years of use if properly looked after. Down needs special care: one and two season bags can be hand washed using pure soap or down wash, but bulkier bags should be cleaned professionally. If you need a high performance bag which is also lightweight, look for a down fill. All downs perform differently, with goose down being the best quality. As a general rule, the higher the fill percentage the better and warmer the bag.

Synthetic sleeping bags are much cheaper and can easily be machine washed. Whilst synthetic fibres are constantly improving, their warmth to weight ratio is still much lower than that of down. They require more fill to produce the same insulation making them bulkier and heavier. DuPont are specialists in producing high quality synthetic fills for sleeping bags.