Big Agnes - Echo Park 20°

Okay, let's talk car camping comfort for side sleepers like me! The Exped MegaMat is like, the Cadillac of camping mattresses. People swear by it. The regular one is a solid 4 inches thick, which is already pretty plush. But then they have the MegaMat Max, which is a whopping 6 inches thick! It's definitely pricey, but I figure it like this: First, a good night's sleep is priceless. Second, think of it as an investment. A nice mattress costs about the same as a few nights in a hotel. But with the mattress, you own it forever! Hotel rooms are just gone. Now, I'm a big fan of sleeping bags or quilts that attach directly to the mattress. It's a game-changer for comfort. Here's why: regular sleeping bags have insulation on the bottom, but that's basically useless. Insulation works by trapping air – your body heats the air, and the insulation keeps it there. But when you lie on it, you squish the air out of the insulation, so it doesn't do much. You're basically just relying on your mattress for warmth underneath you. So, these bags that attach to the mattress with something more like a sheet tend to feel more like your bed at home. Especially the ones with a hood or extra loft at the top that keeps your pillow in place and keeps your head warm. The key thing is making sure your bag and mattress are compatible. For example, the Big Agnes Echo Park 20 Long Wide is super roomy – 80 inches around the shoulders and 74 around the hips. It says it fits mattresses up to 78 inches long and 25-30 inches wide. But here's the catch: it doesn't say anything about thickness. So, if you have a MegaMat Max Long X-Wide—which is 77.5 x 30.5 x 6 inches thick—the sheet part of the Big Agnes bag might not stretch over the corners of that thick mattress. You'd have a tight fit, and it might not work. [https://www.rei.com/product/168194/big-agnes-echo-park-20-sleeping-bag](https://www.rei.com/product/168194/big-agnes-echo-park-20-sleeping-bag) [https://www.rei.com/product/245980/big-agnes-echo-park-20-sleeping-bag](https://www.rei.com/product/245980/big-agnes-echo-park-20-sleeping-bag) [https://www.rei.com/product/244272/exped-megamat-max-sleeping-pad-long-x-wide](https://www.rei.com/product/244272/exped-megamat-max-sleeping-pad-long-x-wide)

you're the perfect candidate for a sleep system. changed my life in the back country. I have a Big Agnes bag with a full length pad sleeve. find a pad that fits the sleeve and be amazed. the only downside is these bags don't have any insulation on the bottom, but not a big deal. I just unzip the bag and use it as a blanket when I don't need the full setup.

I highly recommend a big agnes echo park(synthetic) or diamond park(down). They are extremely roomy and comfortable. My husband and I both love them.

I just think $400 per item is a solid budget for really nice, comfy, quality stuff and people are recommending you essentially raid the camping aisle at Walmart. I’d check out Big Agnes Spicer 4 or 6 for a tent. I love the 6 but it can be a little large depending on where you’re putting it. I’d check out Hest for sleeping pads. That’s what I’d have if they were in my budget. So comfortable! I also love the Nemo roamer XL and some exped pads too. I’d stay away from air mattresses (cold, bulky, less comfortable) and backpacking pads (thinner, sometimes noisier, less comfy) too. For sleeping bags I’d consider going back to big Agnes. I don’t think you need to spend the $400 per item here since it’s just car camping but I honestly love my big Agnes echo park sleeping bag and use it a ton car camping. I can’t stand mummy bags so that’s a backpacking only thing for me. North face makes some other good options and so does Kelty in terms of car camping. I’d probably recommend a cotton liner so it’s really easy to take out and wash. These can be bought seperate from the sleeping bag. If I had a $400 budget to cook I’d totally get some sort of nice flat grill, probably a blackstone. Something that disassembles well and fits in the car would be sweet. I’ve also seen a couple of recommendations for jackery and that’s another good example of a budget brand where you probably don’t need to be buying the budget brand. Anker is far superior in quality and there are plenty of batter options in your budget. I’ve had TONS of camp chairs and really can’t find a better chair than the Kelty lowdown. Kelty isn’t necessarily known for their quality but they’ve got chairs figured out. I’ve had good luck with quite a few lanterns so it might be worth shopping around for features you like, but I liked the black diamond Apollo probably the best of any I’ve had.

Huge fan of the Big Agnes "park" series, Diamond Park is the down version, Echo Park is the Synthetic one. They are quilt like systems that attach to a warm pad with a thin "sheet" on the bottom that has the hood attached to it and nice fluffy top with a foot box. The whole system is great for tall broad men and women. that want to be able to move around a little. It's awesome. It will convert to a bag with a special zipper in material sold separatelyx but really the key thing is the top quilt to bottom pad combo check it out, they sell them at REI.

I use the Big Agnes Echo Park bags as a side sleeper. They are probably what you're looking for. Lots of room to move around, switch sides, etc.; you can even unzip the top off and use it as a quilt. I also agree that side sleeping is rough just on pads. I try to sleep on my back when camping but just end up sore and tossing around from side to side. A nice cot may be what you need. 

Buy a thick 30” wide mattress, and a big Agnes echo park bag to attach it to. It’s very comfortable and not tight fitting like a mummy bag. Pick the temperature you want and supplement with blankets as needed. Can put the whole setup on a nice cot if needed. Bonus points for putting some memory foam in between the mat and bag.

We have Teton cots + Teton pads. Total game changer for me. Backpacking I use an insulated inflatable Big Agnes pad. Their Park series bags are square and very roomy.

I went big Agnes - wide bags with pad sleeves

Have a Big Agnes 20 and a Magma 20. Both down both compress well. A few years ago, I switched to those liners in the summer and love them. Warm enough in July. Pack extremely small.

We have one of these from Big Agnes. Works pretty well, although when my daughter got big enough, she could roll the whole mat over. I think it's this one: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InhGM1Y2ksM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InhGM1Y2ksM)

I went rei big Agnes, but I also have 2 (20 year old) down bags that I put inside each other that can keep me just as warm and combined they are as small and light as big Agnes but with down moisture is the enemy and in winter there is plenty so there is that

A Big Agnes sleeping bag with down that fit me correctly. I was iffy on the price at first, but it turns out I had basically used ill fitting, non insulated sleeping bags for years of wilderness camping. Getting a good nights sleep anywhere, especially away from home, makes a huge difference.

I got a big Agnes bag that has an extra zipper kind of like carry-on luggage. Makes it somewhat adjustable - roomy most of the time but when I really need the warmth it’s more snug.

Budget is a factor, as well as intended use (backpacking vs ultralight speed hiking) Down will be lighter (and more expensive) than synthetic fill I have a Nemo bag and a few different thermarest pads depending on the season I also have a couple Big Agnes (they are great for bigger people) bags, but they do not have any fill on the bottom, instead they rely on the sleeping pad. There's a whole interesting theory about this design if you care to research it! You can talk to the folks at Hiker Direct and they are big supporters of scouting. We've got folks that have really good luck with Nemo, Kelty, Hyke and Byke (online sales only), and some others, too. GearLabs reviews is pretty thorough if you want to really dive into the numbers and test process before you buy.

Big Agnes bags have a pocket on the bottom for the pad to slide into and stay in place.

The first question is always which fill material, down or synthetic? But the answer to that question also depends on the use case(s). This is BsA scouting, so backpacking is a thing. And in backpacking weight and space are always the biggest concerns, and the fill material of your bag will have a big impact on both. General rule of thumb: - down pros: warmer, lighter, packs smaller; cons ineffective when wet, expensive - synthetic pros less expensive, stays warm when wet; cons heavier, bulkier, So it’s all a tradeoff. For my scout kids, until they legit start backpacking, I went with budget synthetic from Hikers Direct which, if you don’t know, is a special scout branded portal for Alps Mountaineering - a middle of the road but respected gear company for the good price/quality value. WHEN they are ready for backpacking, I will prob get one good 0 degree down bag they can trade off using. For myself, I am almost as tall as your son, it’s all about light weight, warmth, comfort, and moderate price. I mean there are bags that tick all the boxes but they are $500. My personal sweet spot is Big Agnes. They have extra large bags, both down and synthetic. But they have innovative pockets to hold the ground mat. By sweet spot I mean buy used on eBay or rei resale. I bought a lightly used BA bag on eBay for a big discount. Used “tech wash” followed the directions and threw it in the drier with tennis balls and it came out beautiful, good as new, tons of loft. Full disclosure I have not tried most of the other brands, including REI but I would trust that brand. Oh, important. Does he sleep on his side or back? Would a mummy style work for him, because I require the rectangular foot box to give me some room to move around. Edit: more info on Hiker Direct. Create an account to access the site. For role or position it’s ok to put “troop parent” if you don’t hold an actual leader position. Basically, HD is almost the entire Alps Mountaineering website offered to scout families at about 40% discount! Edit 2: more on HD. They have sales often, with even steeper discounts. I’m talking like decent sleeping bags for $30-50! And I really like their tents. Their Lynx 2 is almost the perfect youth scout tent. Good quality, pretty durable, and costs about $100 on sale (or maybe less?).