Best children’s sleeping bags in 2025: Keep your kids warm and cosy when camping this summer

The Vango Nitestar Alpha Junior and Eurohike Adventurer Youth sleeping bags look very similar in their design and construction, mimicking the more traditional adults three-season sleeping bags that we’re used to seeing. The two similar bags do have a few differences, though, which we’ll get to in a bit.

As you can see, the Nitestar comes in a mummy shape that tapers toward the bottom. It comes with a classic mummy-style hood that sits around the head, with an elastic hem to help keep the heat in.

There’s no insulated flap sitting across the chest, but that elasticated hem goes some way to counteracting its absence.

You’ll find an insulated baffle running behind the zip to help avoid heat loss, while the Alpha insulation feels substantial and lofts well.

Vango classes this as a 2-3 season bag and suggests it only be used in temperatures between 4°C and 20°C.

Whether or not you’d want to push it to that lower range depends on you and how warm your child runs, but I’d certainly be comfortable with this bag being used in conditions dipping down below 10°C, though I’d always make sure I had additional layers as a backup.

Unfortunately, there’s no large toggle on the zip, though that may be less of an issue for older kids, which is probably who this sleeping bag is best suited for. Both Annabelle (153cm) and Charlotte (131cm) fit in fine, and Vango’s max user height of 155cm feels accurate.

However, the bag can become restrictive as kids reach the top end of that range, depending on their frame.

You get an internal pocket with Velcro-style closure, while the 100% polyester Polair fabric lining feels nice against the skin (and better than the Eurohike).

The outer fabric feels tough enough to handle a few seasons of camping and the stuff sack is fairly standard, but comes with compression straps. When packed down, the size isn’t bad, but isn’t the smallest here, while a weight of 1,284g is the second heaviest here, but not too bad in the grand scheme of things.

An RRP of £42 feels like very good value, yet you can normally find it cheaper online, too. This is a great buy, and it's a solid option for backpacking, too, if a little heavy.

The Quechua MH100 Junior offers remarkable value at £17.99 and is the cheapest option in this test.
It comes with a comfort temperature of 10°C and lofts well, with a decent amount of insulation in play. Despite this, it’s still the second lightest sleeping bag in test (801g).

What feels warm to one person doesn’t always match up with another, so you may want to add a couple of degrees to the comfort rating to be on the safe side, but this did prove to offer some decent warmth, so the two-season rating feels appropriate.

While there are no baffles along the zip or around the chest/neck area, you do get an adjustable length. There are two pairs of loops on the front of the sleeping bag that you can hook a toggle through to shorten it to two lengths.

This is great, as it means younger children don’t have to suffer cold spots when their body heat struggles to warm up all the spare space in the sleeping bag.

Decathlon recommends a max user height of 155cm, which proved about right, but beyond 152cm your child’s head may not fit completely onto the square hooded part of the bag.

The sleeping bag packs into an integrated stuff sack, which also doubles up as a large exterior pocket when in use. Another feature we liked was the big toggle on the zip, making it easy for kids to get unzipped if they’re desperate for the loo.

Plus, the rectangular shape is good for bigger kids or those that don’t like to feel restricted when sleeping. However, it can't be fully unzipped to act as a quilt or blanket.

Outwell produces a fine range of camping kit to suit all budgets, but no matter the price, you normally always get great attention to detail.

That’s largely the case here, with the Contour Junior children’s sleeping bag borrowing a lot of the same features you’ll find on the adult versions.

Before even unfurling this sleeping bag there’s an immediate sign of quality in the form of the stuff sack, which is made of a tougher, higher denier material than many competitors. It comes with heavy-duty compression straps, too, which really allow you to cinch down the pack size.

Outwell doesn’t outline any specific temperature ratings, but the sleeping bag is recommended for two seasons, meaning summer and the warmer parts of spring and autumn.

I’d be confident agreeing with that. There’s a high volume of insulation (made from 100% recycled polyester), which lofts well, while the inclusion of insulated baffles along the zip both down the side and along the bottom help eliminate cold spots.

You get a strong feature set, too, with an integrated pillow sitting within a patch of sleeping bag that sits underneath the head – though this can be zipped off if preferred.

There’s also an internal pocket (secured with a Velcro-style closure) and large zip pulls with high-vis cord.

The sleeping bag comes in a rectangular shape (and can be opened up like a quilt), which will please kids that don’t like being restricted. Outwell quotes a ‘body length’ of 140cm and, while Charlotte (9, 131cm tall) fit in fine, 11-year-old Annabelle (153cm) was too tall.

Pack size was decent enough and a weight of 1,092g was fairly average. My only qualms really are that the price is steeper than many competitors (RRP of £56) and that the internal lining can bunch up and catch when someone is sliding inside of it. Not a deal-breaker, but a bit annoying nonetheless.

As mentioned in the Vango review, this sleeping bag’s design is akin to technical adult’s options, so it comes in a mummy shape that tapers toward the bottom. There’s an insulated hood (which, thankfully, does not have drawcords for your child to strangle themselves on), plus an insulated baffle along the zip.

Happily, you also get an insulated flap that sits across the top of the chest. All of this means the Adventurer Youth is ready and able to keep hot air in without it escaping out of the zip or opening at the top.

Given the more technical nature of this 2-3 season sleeping bag, you also get temperature ratings. In this case, it’s a comfort rating of 7°C and a limit of 2°C.

Personally, I wouldn’t be trusting this sleeping bag down to the limit rating unless I had additional layers with me. While the design lends itself to decent thermal efficiency, the quantity of insulation feels quite low and the lack of loft makes me wonder how much heat this sleeping bag will trap.

Admittedly, every person have different levels of warmth, so what’s comfortable can differ between kids anyway. I’d stick to around 10°C to be safe, but by all means experiment if you’re comfortable to.

Additional features here include handy large pull loops on the zip, plus a zipped internal pocket for essentials like a head torch or favourite toy.

Annabelle (153cm) just about fit in this one, but found it a bit restrictive, so it wouldn’t work for a whole weekend of camping at that height.

This isn’t a surprise, though, as Eurohike recommends a max user height of 140cm. You could probably go beyond this by around 5cm, as long as the kid in question doesn’t have a stocky frame.

The stuff sack is pretty standard and similar to the Vango one, though it doesn’t feel as durable. Pack size is slightly smaller than the Vango, though it’s reasonably lighter at 923g.

An RRP of £50 is undercut by the Vango, though you can normally find this option available with a heavy discount.

The Berghaus Indulge Jr is both the heaviest (1,719g) and the bulkiest kids sleeping bag in this test. It’s also one of the more expensive options (RRP of £60), though it still feels like good value.

That’s largely because it’s got a great set of features and offers a very reasonable amount of warmth. It comes without temperature ratings but is recommended for 2-3 season use.

As you might expect with the large pack size, there’s a substantial amount of insulation in play here, making this one of the warmest options here. You also get a hood and an insulated baffle running down the length of the zip.

Unlike most other options listed here, the internal lining is made of cotton, so it feels much softer and cosy, but bear in mind it won’t wick moisture as well and will take longer to dry if your child gets sweaty in the night.

Additional features include an integrated hood (it’s comfy, but may not be enough for bigger kids), hanging loops and an internal pocket with a Velcro-style closure.

The Indulge Jr comes in a rectangular shape, though the hood is rounded off, but it can also be unzipped to form a quilt, which is handy for summer as I can see this proving too warm in hot weather.

Size-wise, the sleeping bag worked for both of our child testers (153cm and 131cm tall respectively) and it didn’t feel restrictive at all.

As mentioned, the pack size is big, almost twice the size of a couple of other options here, even when compressed via the straps. It also comes with backpack style straps, which a child may like, but it feels rather pointless to me unless you have to park a long way away from your family tent.

If the pack size isn’t an issue for you, then this is a fine option that’ll take you into colder climes than many others reviewed here.

This sleeping bag is not only one of the cheapest options on test, but it’s also the lightest and has the smallest pack size. That’s handy when you need to cram it into an already packed car boot, but you do have to make a sacrifice.

As you’d expect, that sacrifice is warmth. The Maui’s comfort temperature rating is 15°C, making it one of the least warm options on test.

The insulation doesn’t loft very well and nor is it that thick, while there’s no insulated baffle covering the zip, which runs right down the side and along the bottom. This means it’s easier for warm air to escape and cold air to seep in.

It comes in a rectangular shape and the zip design means it can be opened up into a camping blanket or to be used as a quilt. There’s no hood or extension of the sleeping bag under the head, nor any baffles around the neck, which can also increase warmth when present.

You get a stuff sack included, but it’s rather flimsy and is likely to be the first thing to break if used regularly.

Both of our young testers found the interior fabric comfortable against the skin, while there’s also an interior pocket with Velcro-style fastening.

We estimate a maximum user height of 150cm, with Annabelle (11, 153cm tall) finding it too small.

With all things considered, this such an affordable option that it has to be considered by those on a budget, but we'd suggest using it in only warm weather or around the house. There are two colours to choose from.