European Norm 13537

It is a little sad but I was just recently made aware of EN 13537, an international rating standard for sleeping bags.  Apparently it’s been around for some time.  The standard was published in  2002 and tested bags began appearing in European shops in 2005.

Apparently they stick a dummy with a bunch of sensors on it in the sleeping bag, put it in a controlled environment, and see how the bag performs.

Mammut
Wow, those dolls have more uses then I thought they did…

Here are the basics of the standard:

• EN13537 produces four temperature results – upper limit, comfort, lower limit and extreme. These give ratings for a standard man weighing 80kg and for a standard woman weighing 60kg.
• The EN 13537 Upper Limit or Maximum Temperature is the highest temperature at which a ‘standard’ adult male is able to have a comfortable night’s sleep without excess sweating. (noticed this was ∞ on a few bags I have seen in person.)
• The EN 13537 Comfort rating is based on a ‘standard’ woman having a comfortable night’s sleep.
• The EN 13537 Lower Limit is based on the lowest temperature at which as ‘standard’ adult male is deemed to be able to have a comfortable night’s sleep.
• The EN13537 Extreme rating is a survival only rating for a ‘standard’ adult woman. “In the risk range a strong sensation of cold has to be expected and there is a risk of health damage due to hypothermia.” This is an extreme survival rating only and it is not advisable for consumers to rely on this rating for general use. The best guideline temperatures for purchase decisions are the TComfort and TLimit ratings.

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