There's nothing like snuggling up in a sleeping bag at the end of a long day's hiking. Seattle-based designer Andy Storms is extending that pleasure to man's best friend with the BarkerBag. It's an insulated sleeping bag for dogs that connects to mummy-style sleeping bags via the zipper, allowing both dog and master to share body heat while sleeping in the great outdoors.
Designed in a teardrop shape, the BarkerBag zips to either side of a standard mummy-style sleeping bag. It can also be attached between two sleeping bags that already mate together. A reinforced cinchable collar keeps the furry friend secure inside the bag and prevents not only heat escaping, but the dog from wandering off by themselves into the night.
The designer says that because sleeping bag zippers are more uniform that we would imagine, the two zipper sizes he has chosen will match most of the bags currently available. He adds that as long as the zipper on the side does not go all the way around the foot to spread the bag into a comforter, the BarkerBag will fit. Storm has also designed a double version for those people camping with two dogs.
As a dog lover and camper, Andy says his idea was inspired by personal experience. “I was tired of crowding my sleeping bag and actually making my feet colder since over-stuffing the bag compresses the insulation,” he says in his Kickstarter video.
BarkerBag comes in three different sizes ranging from US$69 to $89. The small version has a 5-in (13-cm) hole, is 16 in (41 cm) at the broader end of the teardrop and 32 in (81 cm) in length. In the medium option, the hole grows to 8 in (20 cm), while the broader end of the drop expands to 22 in (56 cm) and the length goes up to 40 in (102 cm). Finally, the large version has a 10-in (25 cm) hole, is 28 (71 cm) in width and 60 in (152 cm) in length.
Storms has got a patent for his design and successfully raised funds on Kickstarter. BarkerBag is now in the production stage and the designer estimates deliveries will begin in July.
Source: BarkerBag