Kid's Sleeping Bags

We ordered the girls their own sleeping bags this week. We primarily wanted something warm and relatively cheap. We ended up going with the Eureka Lady Bug Sleeping Bag for both of them. We also looked at the Eureka Lightning Bug. We chose the Lady Bug over the Lightning Bug because it's rated down to 30 degrees, whereas the Lightning Bug is only 45 degrees. Since 40 degree nights (or colder) are not at all unheard of up here, even in the summer, we figured we needed the extra warmth. Also, the Lightning Bug would have only saved us $4, which wasn't worth it. The reviews hint that there may be problems with how the bag holds up. I'll have to check back in after we use them a while, but frankly, at $30, I wouldn't mind buying a new one in a year or two anyway. Compared to what mine and Josh's bags are worth, these are a steal and I don't expect them to last forever.
So the bags came today and I got them out to look them over. The specs from the box:

• Length: 66"
• Width: 26" chest/ 18" feet
• Carry Weight: 2lbs 8oz (I double checked this on my baby scale...exactly right, includes the stuff sack the bag comes with)
• Fill: ThermaShield (polyester)
• Cover and Liner Fabric: 68D 190T polyester taffeta
• Zipper: 2 way (will unzip from the neck or the feet)

Another thing I read in a review was that when the hood is cinched down, the cord could get wrapped around the child's neck. This is definitely concerning, but I'm not sure of a way to definitely remedy it without losing the ability to cinch down the hood (which is important in cold weather to keep their head warm). I'm thinking of a way I could modify it to get the cord out of the way, but leave it usable---maybe a patch of velcro added to the underside of the bag and the end of the cord so it's not just lose, or maybe running elastic cord through there would cut down on the excess that was sticking out when the hood is cinched. At two and a half pounds, it's also definitely NOT light. But again, we're only car camping at this point in time. If we got serious about doing a lot of backpacking, I would probably go look for light weight down bags for them (and probably also pay dearly for the added benefit).

For reference, this is the bag I have (I don't think they make it anymore, I got it about 8 years ago), which I like because I can just pack the part I need for the weather I'll be in. Josh has something similar to this (that's not the exact one, his is even older and definitely not on the market anymore). When Sedona was just over a year old, we were camping in November and we used a down jacket as a sleeping bag for her....works great for itty-bitties. I can't remember specifically now, but I want to say we put Sierra (in a regular sleeping bag) between Josh and I (so our down bags were on either side of her). Also important to put a decent cold weather hat on them when it's really cold and there's no sleeping bag hood for them.

If you're interested in the Lady Bug or Lightening Bug but don't like the purple/pink combination, there are also more boyish versions available...they're called the Grasshopper (green, same as the Lady Bug) and the Minnow (yellow, same as the Lightening Bug).

Should the blog disclosure police get after me.....Eureka has no idea who I am and I was not provided a single thing for writing about this. Purchased the bags with my own money and thought I'd share the information ;-) All links to Amazon from this blog are now affiliate links and will provide me with a small commission if you make any purchases through them.