Bushwalk Australia

Hi all,
When ordering a new sleeping bag, I need to choose for the zipper to be on the left or right side of the sleeping bag. What would be best?! I don't intend to connect the bag to another bag at this point in time. My tent is a Mont Moondance 1 and when I sleep in my tent, the door is on my right side, if that makes a difference!
Cheers and thanks from a Newbie!

If your door is on the right, then I would say right hand zip. Makes it easier to roll out of your bag and out the door.

I'm right handed. I always get a LH zip. Just seems kind of natural to me to reach across and unzip with my dominant hand. Matagi's answer does kind of make sense though too.

If you don't have a sleeping bag of any sort now, wrap yourself inside a blanket , lay down flat and pretend you have a zipper on a side. Try to open that pretend zipper on either side and see wich one is easier for you.

If you're right handed, select right side zipper.
Left handed? Then left side.

Thanks everyone! I think I'll go for the right side zip!
Cheerio

Biggles wrote:If you're right handed, select right side zipper.
Left handed? Then left side.

That doesn't work at all for me, I have two bags with RH zips and I find them awkward in the extreme. Personal preference is for a centre zip or no zip at all. If the temperatures are so warm that ventilation is needed then I'm in quilt territory

Moondog55 wrote:

Biggles wrote:If you're right handed, select right side zipper.
Left handed? Then left side.

That doesn't work at all for me, I have two bags with RH zips and I find them awkward in the extreme. Personal preference is for a centre zip or no zip at all. If the temperatures are so warm that ventilation is needed then I'm in quilt territory

That is why I suggested to try it , however most often, and I don't know why, people prefer to get opinions rateher than do a qiuck FREE test for themselves ...
anyway I don't see how ,if one is right handed , the right hand zipper would work better than a left one.

Maybe it depends on whether you operate the zip from inside the bag or outside?

Note I have no dog in this fight as I use a quilt

I sleep on my right side so mine are RHS.

ChrisJHC wrote:Maybe it depends on whether you operate the zip from inside the bag or outside?

Note I have no dog in this fight as I use a quilt

You need to unzip first to operate the zip from the outside...
This is how people sleep inside a sleeping bag :

now I'd like to know how that woman is going to use her right hand to undo the zipper on the same right side...

I know I'm almost-but-not-quite-ambidextrous so have trouble understanding the amount of debate over this issue but ... is operating a zipper really so difficult a task that it must be done with the dominant hand (assuming you have one)?

north-north-west wrote:I know I'm almost-but-not-quite-ambidextrous so have trouble understanding the amount of debate over this issue but ... is operating a zipper really so difficult a task that it must be done with the dominant hand (assuming you have one)?

No it isn't , the point I am trying to make is that I don't see why you would want not to use your dominant hand if you have the choice.

JohnnoMcJohnno wrote:I'm right handed. I always get a LH zip. Just seems kind of natural to me to reach across and unzip with my dominant hand. Matagi's answer does kind of make sense though too.

I'm with Johnno on this one and has nothing to do with sleeping.

Even setup with a quilt, my bedding is on my right of the tent, and all my crap is on the left, so I can lean over and have my right arm and hand free to sort things out.

Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk

Well it's getting to the stage where my dominant hand is my most usable hand more and more; nerve damage adds up.
That said it simply seems more natural to me to use the dominant hand if you can't use both at once.

OK, fair enough.

Well, it depends on the tent door, doesn't it? I only have one tent where it can make a difference - First Arrow is front entrance with double-ended zips each side, and the XMid and Scarp both have two doors. It's only the Akto where it might be relevant, and that door is usually on the left, so left (when lying on back) SB zip. Not that I've ever given it any thought; that's just where all my SB zips are.

Come to think of it , yes it depends on the tend door particularly those non symmetrical tent that you have to sleep pointing the same way all the time. So for that the slightly more difficult un-zipping would be second to the practical use of space around you and in particular door access.
So probably depends most on the exact set up one has.

Thank you very much to everyone for chiming in! When I first posted, I was in the process of understanding all the various specs of bags and quilts. In the end, I found a bag which I think will suit me in regard to various specs. It happens to have a centre zip! (Z-Packs Classic 30º). I am yet to go camping with it, but trying it at home, I am liking the way it can be a quilt and also a mummy bag. As a quilt, it is quite ample in coverage and its sown-footbox is comfortable. When not used as a quilt, the mummy configuration feels spacious enough in width and length and warms me up quickly. Anyway, I'll let you know how it goes for real when I get the chance to take it camping.
Cheers and thanks again
WM.