Camping with a toddler is a ton of fun, but it can also be a lot of work, especially if your child is tired. Having a good quality toddler sleeping bag is a key element in helping your toddler get a good night sleep while camping. In this Morrison Outdoors Big Mo 20 sleeping bag review, we’ll share with you what we loved about it and what could be improved.
Why Do I Need a Toddler Sleeping Bag?
Aside from blankets not always being the safest option, the last thing tired parents need when camping with toddlers is to spend the night continually placing blankets back on a wiggly toddler.
For parents who plan on camping frequently, a good quality toddler travel bed and a warm sleeping bag are both essential camping equipment for toddlers. You’ll find a toddler sleeping bag that is appropriate for the overnight temperatures while tent camping is well worth the expense.
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Camping with a toddler is a ton of fun, but there’s a lot to think about when preparing. Don’t miss my guide to camping with a toddler.
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Morrison Outdoors Baby and Toddler Sleeping Bags – An Overview
Before we get into our detailed Big Mo 20 review, here’s some information about Morrison Outdoors and their line of baby and toddler sleeping bags.
Morrison Outdoors has both baby sleeping bags and kids sleeping bags. The baby sleeping bags are good for babies 6 to 18 months old, the kids sleeping bags are good for 18 – 36 months or 3 -5 years old.
Morrison Outdoors Little Mo Baby Sleeping Bags
The Little Mo sleeping bags are for babies as young as 6 months old and are ideal baby sleeping bags for camping.
The Little Mo 20° baby camping sleeping bag is a down insulated sleep sack with a temperature range of 20°F to 60°F (-6°C to 15°C). It has closed sleeves and comes in 4 fun colors. This sleeping bag is compact at 9 oz and can be compressed into the size of a water bottle (into its own carry bag).
The Little Mo 40° baby sleeping bag has a synthetic fill and is better for camping in more moderate temperatures of 40°F to 60°F (4°C to 15°C). This baby sleeping bag has fold over cuffs, so your little one can have hands out or in – your choice. This baby sleeping bag doesn’t compress quite so small given it’s synthetic fill and weights around 14 oz. The Little Mo 40 comes in red or blue.
For both the above sleeping bags for babies, they have no hoods or drawstrings and the collar prevents baby from slipping down into the sleeping bag.
Use code BABYCANTRAVEL for 10% off when you purchase directly from Morrison Outdoors.
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If you are camping with a baby, you may wish to check out all my recommended camping sleeping bags for babies.
Morrison Outdoors Big Mo Toddler Sleeping Bags
For toddler sleeping bags (and kids sleeping bags), the Morrison Outdoors Big Mo 20° and Big Mo 40° are suited for children 18 to 36 months old. The features and temperature ratings of the Big Mo sleeping bags are the same as the Little Mo sleeping bags.
The Big Mo 20° kids sleeping bag is down-filled and is rated for a temperature range of 20°F to 60°F (-6°C to 15°C). The Big Mo 20 comes in four fun colors and weighs just 12 oz.
The Big Mo 40° kids sleeping bag has a synthetic fill and is rated for temperatures of 40°F to 60°F (4°C to 15°C). It comes in blue or orange and weighs just over 1 lb. As with the Little Mo 40, the Big Mo 40 also has fold-over cuffs.
Additional features of the Morrison Outdoors line of sleeping bags for babies, toddlers and kids include a two-way zipper, a draft tube to keep warm air in and an enclosed footbox.
Morrison Outdoors also has a trade-in program where you can get cash back for your used kids’ sleeping bags, and support great causes. It makes it much easier to consider purchasing a premium toddler sleeping bag for camping if you know you’ll be able to get some money back when you are done with it.
Use code BABYCANTRAVEL for 10% off!!
Morrison Outdoors Big Mo 20 Toddler Sleeping Bag Review
This Big Mo 20 toddler sleeping bag review was written by real parents who tested the Morrison Outdoors down-filled toddler sleeping bag while backcountry camping with their toddler in the wilderness of the Canadian Rockies.
Last year when we went backcountry camping with our then 1 year old baby, we were surprised by just how cold it got overnight in the Canadian Rockies. We tried to keep our baby warm by using a merino base layer, fleece mid layer and down jacket with a toque, mitts plus giant wool socks but it wasn’t enough to keep our little wiggling, rolling bundle of joy warm.
Our sleep sack we used at home was too bulky to hike with and was not warm enough for tent camping. Our sleep sack was rated as 2.5 TOG and best used for 61-69°F or 15-20°C.
Despite all the other layers we used when camping with our toddler, I spent most of the night trying to cover and recover my toddler with the extra bits of my mummy bag. We were cold.
After scouring the internet for a better option, I saw that Morrison Outdoors makes highly compressible, lightweight, impeccably made, cuffed sleeve sleeping bags for up to 4 years old. I knew I had to have one!
Our family of 5 loves to go camping with our kids. We enjoy a wide variety of camping styles, from car camping in our Provincial and National Parks, to random camping on Canada’s beautiful Crown land, to backcountry camping where we either hike or canoe in all of our gear. With 3 little kids, who carry very little weight, my husband and I needed to cut down on weight and size without compromising on quality and warmth.
In addition, summer days in Alberta get very warm and the nights can get downright frigid, even at the peak of summertime. Having a sleep system that is versatile is very important.
When we car camp, we bring two tents. Myself and our now 2 year old sleep in one tent, while Dad and our two older children sleep in another tent. This allows us to fit the Peapod Plus toddler travel bed into the tent and our toddler can have his own space (and I get mine!). Sidenote, the Peapod Plus provides extra warmth so that’s something to take into consideration as well.
When we backcountry camp, we all cram into a 4 person tent. There’s no room for a Peapod bed and so we sleep side-by-side sharing four sleeping pads between the five of us.
Best Features of the Morrison Outdoors Big Mo 20
We were impressed with the Big Mo 20 as soon as we opened the bag. We were excited to get to use it for our next family camping trip.
While we expect warm days in the summer, the temperatures this summer were record-breaking hot! Despite our challenges in trying to use this toddler sleeping bag for camping, we can see the value in having a warm down-filled toddler sleeping bag like the Morrison Outdoors.
Here’s what we loved about the Morrison Big Mo 20:
Big Mo 20 is lightweight! At a whopping 370g it’s perfect for backpacking with kids.
A luxurious feel for a toddler sleeping bag. It’s so nice to have proper camping gear for all members of the family.
Less to pack! The down filling keeps them warm, so they only need a pair of merino long underwear underneath – no extra clothes required!
Thoughtful and high quality features. The soft fabric around the neck is comfortable for our toddler.
Two-way zipper. Zips from both the top and the bottom to allow for some minor adjustments of temperature.
Packs extremely small. The Big Mo 20 comes with a stuff sack that packs the sleeping bag loosely to about the size of a water bottle – though I threw it in my compression sack with my sleeping bag for backcountry trips to get it even smaller.
Safe sleeping. No hood or drawstrings. Many families use bunting type snowsuits for sleeping in while camping. We love that there is no hood for safe sleep.
Machine washable. We love that we can wash the Big Mo 20 at home, closely following the washing directions from Morrison Outdoors to keep it in good condition.
Size. Our toddler will fit in this kids sleeping bag for a couple of camping seasons! Something else to consider is that if the sleeping bag is too long, a lot of baby’s warmth will be lost. A simple hack for this is to use an elastic band to gather the sleeping bag just below your child’s feet.
Things That Could Be Improved about the Big Mo 20
As we mentioned, it was an incredibly hot summer and this had it’s challenges when sleeping in a tent with a toddler. Because it was so hot during the day, the tent heats up and it’s WAY too hot to wear the sleeping bag at the beginning of the night. This bag was made for cold nights.
The Big Mo 20 is a fantastic product for those cold nights, but unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?) we had such a hot summer that our son was sweating.
We tried many combinations of zipping from the bottom and the top so that it was just cinched in the middle, unzipping all the way, zipping to the belly button and taking the arms out but to no avail, this bag was just too warm for this summer’s climate.
The list of things that could be improved with the Morrison Big Mo 20 are few, but I did want to mention the price. Don’t get me wrong – you get what you pay for and this is no exception. The Big Mo 20 is a really nice toddler sleeping bag and perfect for cold night camping with a toddler.
However, it’s a lot to spend if you’re only going to it for approximately 3 years. That being said, we expect this high quality down sleeping bag for toddlers will hold its value when it comes time to pass it along to another family. We also like that Morrison Outdoors has a trade-in program.
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If you’d like to see some alternatives to the Morrison sleeping bags, check out my recommended camping sleeping bags for toddlers.
Morrison Outdoors Big Mo 20 Sleeping Bag Review – Final Thoughts
The Morrison Outdoors Big Mo 20 is a super soft, super lightweight, highly compressible, high quality sleeping bag for your child. It is made for cold weather camping.
We wish that there was an option for a down sleeping bag that had fold over cuffs, much like their synthetic alternative the Big Mo 40, but for cold-weather camping, the quality and warmth of this toddler sleeping bag can’t be beat.
Where to Buy Morrison Outdoors Kids Sleeping Bags
The two best places to buy Morrison Outdoors sleeping bags are from Morrison Outdoors and from Amazon.
Use code BABYCANTRAVEL for 10% off!!
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This post was written & edited by:
Celine Brewer is the owner of Baby Can Travel. Not only does she have years of experience traveling with babies & toddlers, but she's helped millions of new parents travel with their babies and toddlers for over a decade. In addition to writing on her baby travel blog, she has shared her expertise on traveling with a baby or toddler by contributing to articles about traveling with a baby with the Washington Post, USA Today, the Lonely Planet magazine and Pregnancy & Newborn magazine.
Celine also writes about family travel on the site FamilyCanTravel.com, which she co-owns with her husband. Being from the Canadian Rockies, she shares her passion about her home and travel to Banff National Park and area on their site TravelBanffCanada.com.