Valentine’s Day Suggestion: Eureka! Sandstone 30F Double Sleeping Bag

Snow falls quietly, turning the landscape into an other-wordly white devoid of hard angles, and bathed in the soft glow of moonlight. Inside, the warm glow of the fireplace lights up the cabin, as the gently flickering flames throw soft shadows on the far walls.  A wine bottle that not long ago contained an outstanding 2000 Bordeaux lies on its side, between two nearly empty wine glasses. Barry White’s voice emanates from a tiny pair of  speakers, too small to reproduce his seductively low bass, yet the message is clear: It’s time for a little romance.

Ok, the reality is that you’re probably going to be squeezed into a tent with barely enough room to move around. You might even be sharing it with children, a dog, or both. But if you’ve got the Eureka Sandstone 30°F Double sleeping bag, at least you and your significant other can snuggle up close in the same bag, rather than being kept apart. When we mentioned it in one of our holiday buying guides last year, we referred to it as “couples therapy”. After being given the opportunity to test one, we’re sticking with that description.

This bag is not for backpacking. With a carry weight of just under eight pounds (Seven pounds, fifteen ounces, to be exact), it’s not something you’d want to haul too far. Especially given the size – 12.5″ x 25″ in the included stuff sack. That’s roughly the size of a backpack for some folks. But for car camping, a stay at the cabin, or crashing on a friend’s floor, it’s perfect. Dimensions are 82″ x 68″, making it just slightly larger than a pair of single Sandstone sleeping bags. (Note that there are two zippers, just in case someone starts to snore too loud, or couldn’t resist a second serving of camp chili) While I suspect that most people interested in the Sandstone aren’t going to be too concerned about the technical details, the shell is a mix of 68D/190T polyester taffeta, and 75D/210T polyester ripstop. More importantly, the lining is a 68D/190T peached polyester. Eureka describes this as “warm to the touch”, and that’s a pretty accurate description, since it feels more like a soft cotton than typical polyester. Each occupant gets their own small pocket inside, and there’s a larger one outside (on the blue stripe) to share.

Assessing a sleeping bag is never as easy at it sounds, since being comfortable while sleeping on the ground in a bag can be fairly subjective, and temperature ratings allow for a bit of interpretation, depending on whether you are a warm or cold person. Like most couples, I give off a lot of heat, and Mrs. Outsider is frequently a bit chilled, so our individual sleeping bags have quite different ratings. But put us in the Sandstone Double together, and we’re a pretty good match. And for someone that finds a typical sleeping bag somewhat confining, the Sandstone Double may be the solution. We definitely felt that sharing one big bag provided more room for both of us than two individual bags could. (Even if one of us hogged more than their fair share of it…) The only downside noted was that getting it in and out of the stuff sack takes a bit more patience, or maybe practice, than a single sleeping bag does.

Eureka continues to meet the needs of recreational campers with the Sandstone Double, providing an affordable bag that’s designed for couples, but splits into two when necessary. Performance, versatility, and value in one package. Find it at eurekatent.com.

– Brian (with assistance from Mrs. Outsider)