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View Full Version : Bag Liner or not?



hikergirl1120
04-08-2009, 15:05
Is it worth it to bring one on a thru or just forget it and loose the extra weight??

Tipi Walter
04-08-2009, 15:18
Do this test: Get in your sleeping bag and zip it up totally. How does it feel? Can you stretch out and still sleep or do you feel confined and constricted? Now imagine an even smaller bag liner wrapped about you like a long nylon stuff sack, and put all this including yourself inside your zipped up bag.

I'd forego the liner and take a warmer bag.

BUT if you're talking about JUST a bag liner and no bag, well, this is a different subject and one only applicable for warm summer nights.

garlic08
04-08-2009, 15:23
I tried one and didn't like it.

mountain squid
04-08-2009, 15:29
While a bag liner might add some extra warmth that is not the only thing to consider. A liner will also help to keep your sleeping bag clean and is easier to wash than a sleeping bag.

I carry a liner.

See you on the trail,
mt squid

Jack Tarlin
04-08-2009, 15:32
It depends where you're going and what time of year.

I can think of a lot of folks this week in North Carolina who sure wish they had a way to add 7-15 degrees to their sleeping bag.......which is exactly what a good bag liner will do.

hikergirl1120
04-08-2009, 15:48
I think I will start without one considering I am starting in July...I was thinking it would be nice to keep my bag cleaner but point taken about feeling confined....I can always get one along the way.

Thanks!

-SEEKER-
04-08-2009, 15:50
I highly suggest a liner. Last year I used my flannel mummy liner when it was too warm to be in the sleeping bag. I also used it in the shelters for protection against mosquitoes. The flap works well over your face.

sleeveless
04-08-2009, 15:53
I used a bag liner for my whole '05 thru hike for the reasons Mt. Squid and Jack stated above. Also in the summer it gives a light covering while you lay on top of your bag. The washing thing is the most important, do you know how thru hikers smell even when they are clean they can't get away from that sweaty pack...nice to wash your bedding with your clothes.

Sleeveless AT'05
http://www.trailjournals.com/sleeveless

YoungMoose
04-08-2009, 15:55
its your prefrence i think i would bring one

The Will
04-08-2009, 20:20
I am a big advocate of keeping the sleeping bag clean. I was a long-time liner user for that purpose, but I've found what I believe to be a better way of doing it.

I use silk weight long johns to sleep in. Not only do I keep my bag cleaner but I feel cleaner by eliminating skin-to-skin contact (salt residue from sweat = sticky, uncomfortable for me). The long johns also serve as a back up set of clothes should I need something dry. They also have a similar warmth additive as the liner would.

Tipi Walter
04-08-2009, 20:36
I am a big advocate of keeping the sleeping bag clean. I was a long-time liner user for that purpose, but I've found what I believe to be a better way of doing it.

I use silk weight long johns to sleep in. Not only do I keep my bag cleaner but I feel cleaner by eliminating skin-to-skin contact (salt residue from sweat = sticky, uncomfortable for me). The long johns also serve as a back up set of clothes should I need something dry. They also have a similar warmth additive as the liner would.

Exactly and well put. I always sleep in a light silk top and a thin bottom for this very reason, to increase the longevity of my bag and so go w/o washing for longer periods, etc.

Blissful
04-08-2009, 21:25
Yes, bring a liner. I had mine the entire hike and never regretted it. Extra insurance too on a colder night.

Wags
04-08-2009, 21:26
agreed w/ tipi and will. i'd rather have the weight tied up in clothing. i can wear that out of the bag

hikergirl1120
04-09-2009, 07:18
Ok here's a question then. I was going to bring a mid weight base layer....could I bring the silk set and for go the mid weights or bring both?

Tipi Walter
04-09-2009, 08:04
Ok here's a question then. I was going to bring a mid weight base layer....could I bring the silk set and for go the mid weights or bring both?

This is mostly a personal and subjective decision. I always carry a thin silk long-sleeve top, summer and winter, and it usually goes underneath my backpacking t-shirt every day unless it's super hot. It dries out quick and I sleep in it.

For bottoms I don't have thin silk but instead carry a pair of merino long johns, summer and winter. Since I don't carry trail pants(rain pants only), the merinos serve as "pants" under shorts and offer a little protection from the cold in the summer. And I also sleep in these. But most of the time I hike in bare legs and shorts.

I used to own a pair of silk bottoms and a silk top combo, both white, and while they lasted they were sweet. Not much good on longevity though, they tend to abrade poorly.

You can also get a thicker style silk(Wintersilks.com)top, heavyweight, which can easily become a baselayer or a midlayer and replace polypro/capilene or merino midlayers. The thin usual silk tops are too lightweight to be considered reliable insulating layers. But in the morning in the summer when you're starting out, a light silk top under a poly t-shirt can cut the early cold just enough w/o having to resort to the beefier midlayers.

The Will
04-09-2009, 18:42
The silk weight long johns that I bring are used for sleeping with occasional camp wear. But again, they are there in case I should encounter a hypothermic situation, I'm just plain uncomfortable wearing what is wet, or the backup set of clothes. Keeping the bag clean is primary reason I pack them but the secondary reasons are of themselves reason enough--gotta love multi-use! So I choose the silk weight because the are the lightest and most similar in weight to the item they are replacing--the bag liner.

Personally, I am not a fan of trying to save weight by choosing a sleeping bag that barely covers the temps I'll be encountering and then try to pump it up with a liner to keep me warm. (Quasi exception: My warmest bag is rated to 10 but I've taken it down to -10 with hot water bottles, VBL, jong johns, but that was necessity and not a weight saving effort by taking an inadequate bag).

So my opinion would be first, don't slack on your bag/quilt to save weight and hope that long johns of some weight will save you, BUT if it's cold outside, then don't try and save weight on the long-johns side. I don't think you would need BOTH weights of thermals.

I've rambled--something I prefer to do with my feet rather than my lips. I hope this mans' opinion has gotten close to the question you were asking.


Ok here's a question then. I was going to bring a mid weight base layer....could I bring the silk set and for go the mid weights or bring both?

Spock
04-09-2009, 18:50
Silk long underwear also works as emergency clothing. A liner does not. Silk undies keep the bag as clean as the liner will and will not tangle you up. They are usually lighter. When the bag is too hot, you can fold it back and be comfortable in the undies.

Alli
04-09-2009, 22:15
Do those of you who wear the silk long johns to keep the bag clean also wear socks? do you bring a pair of silk socks, or how does that work?

The Will
04-10-2009, 01:18
I bring a pair of socks for sleeping in. I go with the same thickness of wool sock I wear when hiking so that the socks are able to pull double duty if need be.

hikergirl1120
04-10-2009, 07:47
I guess I just feel like I am going to be bringing too much clothing.

Worldwide
04-10-2009, 09:08
I always carry a bag liner. It keeps my bags from smelling like feet and arse.

Worldwide

kanga
04-10-2009, 09:24
i've never used a liner but i've considered it at times. i didn't bc of extra weight and being confined. i choose to carry a fleece bag i made in the summer and some lightweight capilenes. fall and spring, i take the lightweights and my 0* bag. winter i take my lightweights, my capilene 4's, and my 0* bag and i've always been confortable, down to about 0*F or a little less. but we don't usually winter camp above the mason dixon and you're on a thru, so ??

kanga
04-10-2009, 09:28
I always carry a bag liner. It keeps my bags from smelling like feet and arse.

Worldwide

i mainly use my heavyweights to sleep in so they don't smell from hiking, but i'm somewhat cold-blooded. also, i have a small cloth that i use to take a ho-bath with at night so i've never had the smell problem even without the liner.

vonfrick
04-10-2009, 09:46
i sleep in silk long underwear and have a designated pair of socks for nighttime. i have a silk liner but never used it, i figured that it would get all twisted up and make it damned near impossible to escape from my bag quickly for that inevitable 2am pee.

vonfrick
04-10-2009, 09:49
Do those of you who wear the silk long johns to keep the bag clean also wear socks? do you bring a pair of silk socks, or how does that work?


i mainly use my heavyweights to sleep in so they don't smell from hiking, but i'm somewhat cold-blooded. also, i have a small cloth that i use to take a ho-bath with at night so i've never had the smell problem even without the liner.

does that wash the ho off?

kanga
04-10-2009, 09:57
will you post correctly for pete's sake! your quotes are all over the place! jeez!

kanga
04-10-2009, 09:58
does that wash the ho off?

takes that ho stank right off, i tell you what.

vonfrick
04-10-2009, 10:03
will you post correctly for pete's sake! your quotes are all over the place! jeez!

yeah i know. can't seem to bring myself to donate again so i can edit :confused:

been spending all my money on beer and loose women

btw...thanks for the tip about the ho stank sistah

kanga
04-10-2009, 10:06
yeah i know. can't seem to bring myself to donate again so i can edit :confused:

been spending all my money on beer and loose women

btw...thanks for the tip about the ho stank sistah

you're welcome. us hoochies gotta look out for each other. :banana

The Will
04-10-2009, 21:17
I guess I just feel like I am going to be bringing too much clothing.

It is easy to over pack on clothes at first.

Under most circumstances I wear a single set of clothing that I hike in everyday, carrying only my sleep wear as an additional set. This sounds gross on first blush but here is something to consider: How long into your next days hike until the new, clean clothes are in a similar state as yesterdays? Half a day? One long up-hill?

hikergirl1120
04-11-2009, 06:53
Thats exactly what I was thinking....which makes me wonder how nice those silk weights are going to say. I mean I know i wont be hiking in them but I am really queationing bring BOTH silks and mid weights

The Will
04-11-2009, 15:59
Thats exactly what I was thinking....which makes me wonder how nice those silk weights are going to say. I mean I know i wont be hiking in them but I am really queationing bring BOTH silks and mid weights

By the time I change into my silks I'm usually dry--so maybe less transfer of the grime? I don't know. Often there is a pond/lake/stream to go for a swim in at your campsite. If that raises backcountry ethical issues with you then it's not difficult to get a good rinse by taking a liter or two of water away from the source and using it judiciously.

I sleep comfortably, eat very good, and stay warm and dry in the backcountry. Staying clean, or at least maintaining the feeling of clean, is a more challenging aspect of backcountry comfort for me; made more challenging by trying to keep weight to a minimum.

vonfrick
04-11-2009, 21:06
Thats exactly what I was thinking....which makes me wonder how nice those silk weights are going to say. I mean I know i wont be hiking in them but I am really queationing bring BOTH silks and mid weights

mine are really lightweight and i am usually so glad to get them on. i bring super soft chenille socks to sleep in too, which end up impregnated with lotion. after a long day its nice to have a few comforts. i then wear them to do my wash when i get to town (bc face it, you just look silly in raingear!) and they're easily handwashed in a sink. i've had them two years now and they hold up very well.

Kanati
04-11-2009, 22:56
Thats exactly what I was thinking....which makes me wonder how nice those silk weights are going to say. I mean I know i wont be hiking in them but I am really queationing bring BOTH silks and mid weights

You shouldn't need both the silk weight and mid-weights. Personally, I didn't carry a liner, not because of the weight but because I didn't want to be twisted up in it all night. With silk weights, they snug against your body and you can turn over in your bag with no problem. My sleeping attire consisted of the silk weights and a dedicated pair of mid-weight poly sleeping socks. When I stripped these off in the morning I put them inside my sleeping bag which i kept double protected from moisture so that when I ended the day soaked from rain, which I did on a number of days, I put on my very dry sleeping clothes immediately got a immediate moral lift. On warm nights, I would lay on top of the bag and some time in the wee hours of the morning I got inside and zipped up. Very comfy. On laundry day, I washed my sleeping attire along with everything else and my sleeping bag never took on much odor.

Happy hiking. :sun