Sleeping bag liners?

[WittyUsername]

Hi, I just wondered if anyone had experience with various sleeping bag liners?

I’d just like the option to maintain my current sleeping bag but make it useable in 5-6 degrees C less than it currently goes to.

I’ve heard silk is the most comfortable but doesn’t add a great deal of warmth. Merino wool is warm but bulky and pricey. The fleece ones seem cheap and warm but I was worried about them being a little sweaty rather than breathable? I’ve had a cheap fleece blanket before and it was awful for making you sweat, very plastic-y.

Any help, recommendations, or ‘steer clear of _____’, would be much appreciated. Cheers.

 

[Woody girl]

I'm afraid I hate liners. I've had several, cotton and fleece. I just get awfully tangled up in them, as I'm a wriggly sleeper. I tend to take a small blanket, which I put over the bag for a bit more warmth, though on one very cold November camp, I took a cheap square sleeping bag, which I put my 3 season mummy bag inside, and was extremely cosy, whereas my camp mates suffered a chilly sleep in their "superior " winter bags. Which was gratifying as they had ragged my choice mercilessly. Admittedly we were car camping on a site, so I wasn't walking miles with the rather bulky load out. So it probably isn't a solution.
Nowadays,
I'd invest in a realy good r value mat if you don't already have one, and a good set of thermals hat and socks specifically for sleeping in.
A fleece blanket is added insurance. I always have one, which can be used as a pillow if you don't actualy need it over you, or as I often do, I put it over the mat, so I'm not sleeping directly on plastic.

 

[forrestdweller]

the fleece liners i used didn't feel sweaty at all -- it's getting old but the one i'm having with me was bought seventeen years ago in Australia ( "NT General Store" in Darwin iirc)... likewise i'm using a fleece blanket here in the caribbean which is nice and cozy (in addition to my toe warmer/ security guard/ little friend Biscuit ) so i guess it depends on the product...

 

[Broch]

As an alternative, have you considered an 'outer' instead? I recon my British Army Gore-Tex Bivy bag adds between 3 and 5 degrees of added cold weather comfort.

The other option is to review what you're wearing in your bag.

I've never really got on with liners; I often end up tangled in them for some reason.

 

[Dogoak]

Not used often but I use an old Meraklon liner, came from Survival Aids many moons ago. IMHO it could be just what your looking for.
I have used it a couple of times by itself for a kip on a beach on warm summer nights, for me it’s proved a handy bit of kit.

 

[SaraR]

Hi, I just wondered if anyone had experience with various sleeping bag liners?

I’d just like the option to maintain my current sleeping bag but make it useable in 5-6 degrees C less than it currently goes to.

I’ve heard silk is the most comfortable but doesn’t add a great deal of warmth. Merino wool is warm but bulky and pricey. The fleece ones seem cheap and warm but I was worried about them being a little sweaty rather than breathable? I’ve had a cheap fleece blanket before and it was awful for making you sweat, very plastic-y.

Any help, recommendations, or ‘steer clear of _____’, would be much appreciated. Cheers.

I’ve got a silk one and a ”pretend silk” one that I mainly use to keep the sleeping bag clean and because they feel nicer against bare skin than some of my (old) sleeping bags, as well as a synthetic thermo one (with little loops in squares like on some baselayers) that actually makes a noticeable difference in sleeping temperature.

The silk type ones are a hassle getting in and out of in a tent (my preferred method with these is the stand in it and pull it up around you, then lie down), but they are great for travelling, bunkhouses, hostels etc. The thermo one sticks to your baselayer and so if you move around as much as I do at night, you’ll end up with it twisted around your body, which is really annoying.

Unless I’m really concerned about the weight or volume, I tend to take a very old one-season Snugpak synthetic sleeping bag to use as a blanket (hooking the foot boxes over eachother), or even just an ordinary fleece blanket. It adds a lot warmth without being restrictive, it doesn’t affect the loft of the (inner) sleeping bag, you can easily adjust the temperature by opening up the sleeping bag to vent hot air without getting a draft etc.

I got all mine in various sales and they are useful at times, so I’m not regretting buying them, and for the other people they might be a perfect match. E.g. if you don’t struggle getting dressed lying down in a tent, don’t move a lot in your sleep and don’t wear much clothes while sleeping in your sleeping bag then they would be really useful. For added warmth, I would rather look at upgrading my sleeping mat, having a thin cellfoam mat under my regular mat, putting my downjacket/warm layer over me and so on, but that’s just me.

 

[Jared]

Cocoon make liners in just about any material available.

TravelSheets I MummyLiners

www.cocoon.at

 

[Lean'n'mean]

I made one from a cotton sheet to fit a specific sleeping bag. A lot of sewing & I wouldn't like to do it again but I like it. Both the bag & liner are quite roomy so I can turn without twisting the whole shebang. I used to have a thick fleece one in the early 80s & that thing was bigger than a sleeping bag when rolled up & uncomfortably warm, even in the dead of winter so it didn't last long.

 

[Laurence Milton]

I like a liner if only to protect and keep the bag clean.

 

[Tiley]

I always use a silk liner to keep the sleeping bag cleaner for longer. If I want to extend the temperature range of the bag, I use the silk liner with a PHD down-filled liner. The combination works really well - neither the silk nor the down liner take up much space, nor do I find that I get tangled and knotted in them. It has to be said that the down liner doesn't get many outings - if it's going to be cold or I feel chilly, I simply wear more clothing when sleeping; that, and a woolly hat, works very well for me across a wide range of temperatures.

 

[Erbswurst]

Merino or polyester fleece base layers are the more sensible option in my opinion, if not a padded army suit with extra socks or padded booties.
If it gets cold in the night it's often fresh already in the evening, isn't it?

First step is a bivvy bag anyway. If it becomes cold it often becomes moist too. I use the bivvy bag in the double wall tent as well. If you packed the tent whet you are glad to have the bivvy bag next evening, if you don't find a place for your tent or if your tent breaks you are on the secure side. It's no fault to have one and the Snugpak SF bivvy bag offers approximately the same added warmth for the weight as a usual plastic filling. A used army bivvy bag does the job too of course, it's just a bit cheaper, more durable and approximately 500 g heavier than the Snugpak SF bivvy bag.
Most people carry less sensible 500 g around.

 

[nigelp]

I’m with @Erbswurst
Wear a thermal, or in summer a light base layer top and bottoms in a sleeping bag for warmth and to keep it clean.

 

[walker]

I have a snugpak with liner which is made of light weight nylon material excellent for keeping your bag clean for extra warmth in winter I put a closed cell foam mat under my inflatable mattress keeps me very warm

 

[Nic Le Becheur]

I find an ex-Army liner inside the my ex-Army jungle bag is fine in a British spring/summer. I simply add a wool blanket and/or thermals, woolly socks and hat as Autumn and Winter come on.

 

[Woodcutter]

I use a reactor liner. Superb and definitely adds warmth. Claims 8 degrees and its not far off. Small and light too.