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squeezebox
12-16-2013, 16:15
What's your opinion of sleeping bag liners ? I'm thinking of starting about Apr. 1, with a 20* bag. I'll wear silk longies as pajamas, or heavier fleece. I don't want to sweat up my bag in the warmer summer months. Liners are not cheap, and not light.

slbirdnerd
12-16-2013, 16:24
I have a CoolMax liner. I'm kind of a noob, but I'll say it's probably worth the weight for me (8 oz). I hate the way the inside of a sleeping bag feels. Whether it truly adds warmth I can't say, but it 'feels' cozier. You can use it by itself as a bag or just over you if it's too hot for your bag.

daddytwosticks
12-16-2013, 16:52
If you move a lot in your sleep like me, sleeping bag liners will tie you up like a straight jacket. Major frustration. Bring a puffy layer/more wearable insulation in colder weather. In the summer, switch to a lightweight quilt or poncho liner for warmth. Just my opinion. :)

squeezebox
12-16-2013, 16:53
Funny I can't sleep unless I'm covered with something. and then there's the clammy air mattress.

bfayer
12-16-2013, 16:58
If you are using it for comfort and it is worth the weight to you, then there is nothing wrong with that.

If you are planning on using it for increasing the warmth of your sleeping bag, then they are not worth it. They do not add anywhere near the warmth the MFG claims and the weight is better spent on your clothing layering system. An extra set of base layers can increase the warmth of your sleeping system just as much as a liner, and can also be used for other than sleeping. A sleeping bag liner is kind of a one trick pony.

They do keep your sleeping bag cleaner, but so do base layers. They do add a little warmth, but so do base layers. etc, ect...

One good use I have found is they make a good light weigh alternative to a sleeping bag when you know (for certain) it's going to be a hot humid night. The problem with long distance hiking is that it can go from 90 degrees to 50 degrees in 24 hours in the mountains. This means you need to carry a sleeping bag or quilt anyway, so the liner is still extra unneeded weight.

FarmerChef
12-16-2013, 17:09
I love my sleeping bag liner. Why? Because it IS my sleeping bag. I use a nice cheap flannel/fleece (50 degree - yeah right) liner from Amazon that costs something like $20. Would I take it solo with temps down in the 40s and no extra clothes? No. But I would definitely take it in the 50s with some good base layers. In all of my hikes in the summer I have been warm enough in my bag. In the winter, I add a top quilt that really doesn't need the bag but with the bag and my base layers let's me get comfortably down to the single digits which we've needed on occasion.

Now, that's what it would be if I traveled solo. But I also hike with my wife and kids who also have the same setup. If a night in the summer is going to dip down into the 50s or 40s and all we've got are lightweight camp pants and maybe a long-sleeve shirt, we'll zip a couple of them together and pack all 3 kids in one and my wife and I in the other. The extra bag can get unzipped and added as a blanket for the kiddos if it's going to get into the low 40s. They'll be comfy. My wife and I will be coldish but still ok. This works fabulously when we pull the bags over our heads. The flannel still "breathes" so we get air but it traps a good bit of the warmth of our breath and we can really crank the temps inside, especially if we're in our tarp (+10 degrees in my experience) and not in a shelter.

The key here is that it's part of our sleep system. I wouldn't recommend a liner by itself to anyone who wasn't also planning to augment it with extra layers or another bag to satisfy the temperature range they anticipated. And I flat out wouldn't recommend it at all if temps are going to get much below 50 degrees when traveling solo. All that said, I love mine. It weighs slightly more than a pound and is dirt cheap.

Dogwood
12-16-2013, 17:17
I like the Cocoon Silk/Silk ripstop or Sea to Summit 100% silk mummy liners. Weigh about 4.5 oz and add about 5*-8* of warmth(although S2S will tell you this model adds 10* which IMHO is a couple degrees over rated in real life). Quilt/sleeping bag liners made from slippery feel materials such as silk tend not to bind as much as say the Cool Max or cotton fabric bag liners.

http://www.cocoon.at/eng/show.php?doc=frameset&page=cocoon_ckat1&kat=3&prod=10&fab=0

http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/22

The two 100% Silk liners I have I've used extensively for the past 6-7 yrs. They are easy to wash while on trail and take up so little volume in the pack for what they CAN provide. I'm into extending the temp rating of all of my quilts/sleeping bags 10*+ lower than their accurate temp ratings.

winger
12-16-2013, 18:24
I like the Cocoon Silk/Silk ripstop or Sea to Summit 100% silk mummy liners. Weigh about 4.5 oz and add about 5*-8* of warmth(although S2S will tell you this model adds 10* which IMHO is a couple degrees over rated in real life). Quilt/sleeping bag liners made from slippery feel materials such as silk tend not to bind as much as say the Cool Max or cotton fabric bag liners.

http://www.cocoon.at/eng/show.php?doc=frameset&page=cocoon_ckat1&kat=3&prod=10&fab=0

http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/22

The two 100% Silk liners I have I've used extensively for the past 6-7 yrs. They are easy to wash while on trail and take up so little volume in the pack for what they CAN provide. I'm into extending the temp rating of all of my quilts/sleeping bags 10*+ lower than their accurate temp ratings.


+1. I use either the silk or fleece liners with both sleeping bags and quilts. When using with a quilt its nice to be inside the liner on top of the pad, or when in the hammock it makes sleeping more comfortable instead of laying next to the silnylon. Plus the added benefit of keeping bags, quilts and hammock free of body oils.

Teacher & Snacktime
12-16-2013, 20:18
The key here is that it's part of our sleep system. I wouldn't recommend a liner by itself to anyone who wasn't also planning to augment it with extra layers or another bag to satisfy the temperature range they anticipated. And I flat out wouldn't recommend it at all if temps are going to get much below 50 degrees when traveling solo. All that said, I love mine. It weighs slightly more than a pound and is dirt cheap.

And kids....there have got to be kids in the system....the little furnaces will keep you warm to the low single-digits!

Leanthree
12-16-2013, 20:58
My "+15 deg" liner adds 7-10 deg in my totally non-scientific opinion. Good for filling the gaps between my 10 deg bag and my 40 deg bag. Sure, having a 25 deg bag would be better, but the liner costs ~$200 less.

jimmyjam
12-16-2013, 21:14
I use a silk liner. Keeps the quilt clean , adds warmth and helps protect you from bedbugs in those questionable hotels and hostels .

Tipi Walter
12-16-2013, 21:33
If you move a lot in your sleep like me, sleeping bag liners will tie you up like a straight jacket. Major frustration. Bring a puffy layer/more wearable insulation in colder weather. In the summer, switch to a lightweight quilt or poncho liner for warmth. Just my opinion. :)

Agree. My sleeping bag "liner" are my merino leggings and my silk long sleeve turtleneck or my merino zip neck tops. Wearing a dry baselayer helps to keep the bag clean. Going with an overkill bag allows me to sleep down to 15F with the bag unzipped making for a more comfortable sleep. In addition, when the temps dip low (like they did on Thanksgiving Eve) my bag can be zipped up tight and get me thru the single digits or worse, something a quilt cannot do.

As Daddytwosticks says, the constriction of a liner can be miserable. It's bad enough to sleep inside a zipped up mummy bag---gotta get out fast, where is the zipper?? Now cocoon yourself inside a liner and inside a mummy and you may wake up in a panic. God forbid if you add a bivy sac. The bag zipper will be behind your neck, the liner zipper will be somewhere over your left shoulder, the bivy zip will be digging right into your adam's apple. Have fun.

Dogwood
12-16-2013, 21:59
"The bag zipper will be behind your neck, the liner zipper will be somewhere over your left shoulder, the bivy zip will be digging right into your adam's apple. Have fun." Both the silk liners I mentioned have NO zips and create a nice silky barrier between a sleeping bag zip and your neck. And, if a sleeping bag zip is causing a problem on your neck I question the sleeping bag zip design. Most of the sleeping bags I own account in the design(zipper pocket, zipper locks, two zips, etc) that the zips aren't in your face/rubbing on your neck, etc. Also, the bivy designs I've used(MLD, Titanium Goat, Montbell, Borah, REI) all are designed so the zip(s) can be be locked or placed in places where they aren't in your face/rubbing on your neck. AGAIN, the silk mummy shaped bag liners I listed, or a couple of the high polyester % smooth fabric ones I've demoed, all were less clingy and as result were less prone to getting wrapped up in than the Cool Max and cotton versions. Getting twisted up in a bag liner also is a factor of how one sleeps. I turn from side to side all night so I would think if anyone had a tendency to get twisted up in a liner it would be someone with my sleeping habits. I don't find that happening with the silk mummy liners.

Dogwood
12-16-2013, 22:06
This is one way of thinking about ONE of the functions of an alternate bag liner: "My sleeping bag "liner" are my merino leggings and my silk long sleeve turtleneck or my merino zip neck tops. Wearing a dry baselayer helps to keep the bag clean." However, SOME will wear ALL those sleeping layers IN ADDITION to a bag liner to achieve an even lower comfortable temp rated sleep system. You Tipi achieve that not with a bag liner but by using a heavier wt perhaps bulkier lower temp rated sleeping bag. You have found a way that works for you. I have found a way that works for me. Just throwing this stuff out there to add to the optional ways to sleep comfortably. :D

Dogwood
12-16-2013, 22:09
I can understand your concern about getting twisted up in a liner though. Those chinny chin chins must get snagged up in a liner. :D

Slo-go'en
12-16-2013, 23:56
I use my silk liner here at home every night. With my bedroom running 45-50 degrees most of the time, what a difference! And that's with three layers of blankets! It seems that warming up the bedding is a lot faster using the liner. I was going to buy an electric blanket until I thought to use my liner :)

I also find it a worth while addition on the trail. It allows me to get away with a 40* bag for an early April start.

daddytwosticks
12-17-2013, 08:23
I use my silk liner here at home every night. With my bedroom running 45-50 degrees most of the time, what a difference! And that's with three layers of blankets! It seems that warming up the bedding is a lot faster using the liner. I was going to buy an electric blanket until I thought to use my liner :)

I also find it a worth while addition on the trail. It allows me to get away with a 40* bag for an early April start. I obviously have "sleep issues". In addition to being a restless sleeper and never trying to use a liner in my sleeping bag, I couldn't sleep under three layers of blankets. All that weight of the blankets would feel like I'm being crushed. Give me my light as a feather down comforter on my bed at home and I'm a happy man. :)