Outwell Campion Lux Double Sleeping Bag review: A fantastic packed size

A stalwart of the camping scene, Danish brand Outwell produces good quality, highly functional and understated outdoor gear, from tents, vehicle awnings and sleeping gear to camping furniture and other accessories. Its Campion Lux Double is one of its entry level double sleeping bags, a 3-season offering that brings a little of the luxurious feel of your home duvet to the gear outdoors.

The Campion is either named after the family of carnations, a type of moth, a type of mantis, or a series of mystery novels written by Margery Allingham and adapted for TV by the Beeb in the late 80s, though this last possibility seems as unlikely as the series’ plotlines.

Given campion carnations are found up in the Scandinavian wilds, I’m gonna suggests it’s the former, though I’d like to think it’s actually named as a merge between camper and champion. Maybe it’s a clever play on words?

I digress. It's a product of subtle quality, despite its uninspiring shades of grey. Its unfussy rectangular shape can be opened up into a blanket thanks to an L-shaped zipper that runs along the left side and along the bottom of the bag.

Between the soft polyesters used in the shell and lining are two layers of offset, recycled polyester insulation, providing decent warmth to weight. Its Comfort rating is 5oC, making it well suited to all but winter camping.

For those couples wanting to haul the bag into wilder realms, the Campion Lux is also notably light and compact for a double bag. Weighing 2.76kg and compressing into a 49 x 28 x 27cm unit, it certainly has backpacking potential.

It represents good value too – you can find it for around 50 quid if you shop around. Not bad considering you might be splitting the cost between two, or at least putting it on the joint account.

A couple of qualms: I took issue with the stuff sack’s durability, while I’d like a little more colour next time please. Nevertheless, this is the best double sleeping bag I’ve tested this year.

Shape

As is usual for big, double bags, the Campion Lux comes in a large rectangular shape with an extended, curved hood. This shape isn’t the most thermally efficient, which is why so many backpacking sleeping bags that have to desperately cling to heat on summit wild camps have a mummy shape.

Nevertheless, a double sleeping bag is designed for comfort first and thermal accolades second. It assumes you’ll be sharing a fair bit of body heat with your better half.

So, despite its insulating qualities, the Campion Lux is a 3-season bag, warm enough for the main camping season plus a little shoulder season action but certainly not equipped for winter camping.

If you and your partner are eyeing up colder camps, Outwell’s Camper Lux Double and premium Constellation Lux Double bags are much warmer options and they’re both modular too, meaning they can be split into two single sleeping bags.

The Campion Lux measures 225 x 140cm, making it long enough for just about anyone and it’ll nicely fill any 2-person tent or 2-person blackout pod in a family tent.

Materials and warmth

There’s a little tag towards the top left of the Campion Lux that declares that it’s a ‘Caring Choice’. Indeed, there are a couple of factors that nod to sustainability here. Firstly, it’s PFC free and, secondly, the polyester used for the fill is recycled.

Its insulating qualities come thanks to its two-layer offset design, whereby the seams of each layer are covered by the other. T

he insulation itself is what Outwell calls Isofill, comprising ‘siliconised hollow fibre’ for capturing warm air and providing the bag with its decent warmth to weight ratio. The proof is in the pudding. Considering its rectangular shape and its weight, the Campion Lux manages to achieve a commendable Comfort rating of 5oC.

Its Limit rating is -1oC and its Extreme rating is -16oC. For the uninitiated, the Comfort rating implies the minimum temperature at which a sleeper won’t feel cold while in a relaxed position, such as lying on their back. Limit represents the temperature at which a camper could curl up in the bag and still not feel cold.

The Extreme rating is the minimum temperature before the camper would be exposed to suffering frostbite. It’s very much a survival rating and should be given a wide berth if you value comfort and, more important, your fingers and toes.

What sets it apart from some double bags is that it has the soft, luxurious feel of a home duvet. This is thanks to the brushed polyester used in the lining and shell, which is pleasant to touch and less plasticky feeling than most. I say less plasticky feeling because it’s obviously still made of plastic, it just doesn’t feel like it is.

It’s machine washable, though Outwell suggests only to run it through a cold cycle once it’s ‘extremely dirty’ – think Glastonbury 1997.

Design features

The Campion Lux Double has a range of subtle and useful features, from a little interior pocket to anti-snag zippers. The interior pocket is large enough to take a phone or a trio of Tunnock’s Caramel Wafer Biscuits for systematic snacking at one, three and five in the morning. Everyone does this right?

The pocket is secured with a little Velcro tab, which is fine to a point but it does mean that there’s room for smaller items to slip out either side of the tab during the night.

The large, L-shaped, 2-way zipper runs along the entire left side and bottom of the bag, which allowed me to open the whole thing out if required.

There’s a relatively chunky, looped pull on the main zip, which makes it easier to grab while half asleep. Why Outwell hasn’t included this on the second zipper, I don’t know.

However, I like that it’s a 2-way system, as it meant I could open the bottom of the bag for added ventilation during muggier nights. The zips run along the tracks smoothly too – and their anti-snag design means fabric doesn’t get caught up in them either.

Its particularly pleasing the way the zips glide around the bottom left corner of the bag. I was testing the Vango Stellar Double during the same period and found that manoeuvring the zip around the corner was maddening.

So, well done Outwell on this score. This all might have something to do with the full-length zip baffle, the bright yellow of which is the closest this sleeping bag gets to any form of colour.

The hood of the bag features an adjustable drawstring, just in case you and your partner find yourself in Baltic conditions and need to batten down the hatches.

I very much approve of the liner attachment loops, which allow the user to easily attach a sleeping bag liner, holding it in place during the night.

A liner’s a good idea as it’ll extend the lifespan of the product by protecting it from grime, it’s soft, it’s easy to clean and, when the increasingly frequent heatwaves hit your camping trip, you can do away with the bag and snuggle up under just the liner.

Unlike some, such as Vango’s harissa orange Stellar Double, it’s not a sleeping bag that’s ideal for flagging down a rescue helicopter at night. Some people won’t care but it’s not the most vibrant outdoor product I’ve ever seen, especially considering it appears to be named after a wildflower.

Granted, the zippers are a bright and eye-catching yellow but the rest of the bag is a bit of a dull dark grey. It’s the polar opposite of Mr Bean’s classic Thunderbirds bedsheets in any case and hardly screams fun.

Packability and weight

For a double sleeping bag, I found that the Campion Lux packs down impressively small, though in the process of doing this I discovered a flaw…

The stuff bag is a classic sack with a drawstring closure and a fabric cap with buckles and compression straps. This design makes stuffing the bag away a breeze and, once I’d pulled the drawstring tight and popped the cap over the top, it should have enabled me to compress everything down into a tight unit.

Outwell states a packed size of 49 x 25 x 25cm, while I measured it at 50 x 28 x 27cm with the compression straps relaxed and I was able to compress its length by a few more centimetres when the straps were pulled in tight. In the process of ratcheting the straps as far as I could go, one of them tore through the stitching where it was attached to the sack and is now permanently broken.

I’d noticed a similar lack of durability on an Outwell tent stuff sack previously, so it’s something that I’d assert the brand need to address. While I’m not a particularly weedy individual, neither am I the Incredible Hulk.

A stuff sack with compression straps should be able to put up with some heavy handling. The stitching where the straps meet the fabric of the sack should be reinforced at the least.

It's not too heavy for a double bag either, weighing in at 2.76kg. This is what my scales weighed it as anyway – Outwell plays down the weight on its website, cheekily quoting 2.5kg.

If we’re rounding to the nearest 500g, 2.76kg rounds up guys! Nevertheless, 2.5 or 2.76kg, it’s a relatively light double bag. It’s an option for wild camping couples. Yes, it still takes up a large portion of a backpack but if one partner carries the tent and the other shoulders the bag, it just about works.

Value for money

The Campion Lux has an RRP of £71.99, though you can currently find it for around 50 quid if you shop around. For me, this represents solid value considering the good quality you’re getting here. Sure, you can buy cheaper double bags but, as the old adage goes – buy cheap, buy twice.

It’s worth acquiring Outwell’s Cotton Liner Double too, which has an RRP of £38.99 (though you can get it cheaper). Pairing the bag with this will, among other things, extend its lifespan.

Verdict

This is a very cosy, soft and warm 3-season sleeping bag that closer mimics the feel of a duvet than a standard bag. Useful features, like an interior pocket and the attachment points for sleeping bag liners are very welcome, while it’s also relatively light and compact for a double bag.

I’ve got concerns about the durability of it stuff sack and the dull grey colour is a little uninspiring. These gripes aside, a good product.

If you're upgrading your sleep setup, check out our list of the best sleeping mats.

About the author

As a qualified Mountain Leader, avid wild camper and a family man, Alex Foxfield enjoys camping in all its forms. An expert on all things outdoor gear, he’s been testing and reviewing backpacking can car camping kit for many years.