View Full Version : Best Bag Liner?
I'm starting my thru hike in early to mid march next year with a hammock, ccf pad, and a 30 degree bag. I want to get a bag liner to make my bag warmer. Any suggestions on liners that work best. I heard fleece is good, anything better?
Check out Shug's 9 part video series on Hammocking. Lot's of info including how to stay warm........ Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/user/shugemery#p/u/83/d7NZVqpBUV0
Long underwear and a hat. Next question. Bag liners aren't worth their weight in underwear (literally).
I use a silk liner with my Mont Bell bags.
It's about 100x easier to wash a liner than it is to wash and dry a dirty down bag. And it's better for the bag.
Cookerhiker
11-20-2011, 12:30
I've used this Sea-to-Summit liner (http://www.seatosummit.com/products/display/24) for 4 years now and am very pleased with it. This liner wicks as well as provides warmth. I've used it to supplement my 45 degree down bag on 3-season hikes and overnight bike camping trips.
bmwsmity
11-20-2011, 13:54
I also use a Sea to Summit liner, mine is silk. It's about the size of a small burrito and weighs 5oz when rolled up. I actually use it in summer as my bag it's so warm.
I also have a hammock (Hennessy), and have used it more for winter than summer.
Coldest I got to was zero degrees... I use a car windshield sun deflector (those shiny metallic ones), a half-inflated Thermarest NeoAir mattress, and an extra large rainfly that goes all the way to the ground on both sides. Then I use my 15 degree down bag, silk liner, a Capalene 3 baselayer, fleece hat, gloves, and thick wool socks. Then, a fleece vest, fleece pants, and a wind proof shell.
This setup is what I got to zero degrees with and I was warm (until I had to get out to pee!) lol...
I use that same setup and just adjust my clothing for the temp.
bmwsmity
11-20-2011, 14:01
Forgot to mention, nice thing about using the NeoAir is you can also use it in the shelters which is great.
Also, I did 135 miles from Springer a couple years ago starting the second week of march. It snowed for 10 days of it, and I stayed warm with my hammock when I used it.
Another trick is to pile up leaves or snow on either side of the bottom of hammock to keep air from passing under it.
Hope this helps!
Camping Dave
11-20-2011, 14:09
Silk. Available at campmor.
I'm starting my thru hike in early to mid march next year with a hammock, ccf pad, and a 30 degree bag. I want to get a bag liner to make my bag warmer. Any suggestions on liners that work best. I heard fleece is good, anything better?
I apologise! I should have been more emphatic on my previous post. I had not read your original post thoroughly. It's probably even more important that you use extra clothing (could be down, artificial fill, fleece, wool, polyester, etc.) rather than a liner when using a hammock. It's tough enough getting into a bag inside a hammock. Getting into a bag inside a bag is even tougher. I've used liners before and found them (with the exception of a vapor barrier liner) to be more frustrating to use than their warmth is worth.
Liner - no.
Extra clothing - yes.
Don't expect liner owners to a) Admit that they made a wrong choice, or b) To suggest extra clothing instead (because, like me and most everyone else, it's hard to not justify money already spent).
That's why I have a closet full of junk. Giving it away would make it someone else's problem, and selling it would be patently dishonest. I just hope I can use it once in a while to justify keeping it out of a landfill. ;)
Silk. Available at campmor.
Silk pajamas. Less weight, more uses (and you'll look very chic by the campfire). Be the first one on your street to wear them outdoors. :D
bmwsmity
11-20-2011, 14:25
Getting into a liner, then a bag, while Inside a hammock is definitely a PITA, but nonetheless, I ALWAYS carry mine. Anyone that actually uses a hammock in the winter frequently knows that every little bit helps.
Not only do I not regret buying my silk liner, I think it's one of the best pieces of gear I own, because I can use it year-round and it saves weight and space, not to mention it was only $60.
bmwsmity
11-20-2011, 14:26
Silk pajamas. Less weight, more uses (and you'll look very chic by the campfire). Be the first one on your street to wear them outdoors. :D
terramar makes a nice silk baselayer... Warm and super comfy
terramar makes a nice silk baselayer... Warm and super comfy
..............and lighter than a liner.
I'll admit that a liner might be useful instead of a bag, like when it's 80 degrees in the middle of a muggy summer night, but you can also sleep in silk underwear alone, unless you're someone like my wife, who, for some reason, always needs at least a sheet over her or she can't sleep. :confused: If she would hike, I would get her a summer liner.
I should add that, in my earlier quest to go stupid light, I found it quite possible to sleep in a hammock with nothing on but long underwear on a warm summer's night, supplemented with a pair of fleece pants and a down vest, as well as a polyester knit cap, when the occasional summer night got extra cool. A thruhiker should probably not hike this way unless he/she is sure of the nighttime temperatures for a given section of the trail and bounces his/her sleeping bag ahead to the next resupply point.
Heck, John Muir did most of his warm weather hiking carrying nothing but his "great coat" which was heavy wool. Granted, he sometimes had horses carrying his load, but, in a sense he was one of the early minimalist hiker/camper/adventurers (and one of my favorite writers, too).
bmwsmity
11-20-2011, 14:50
Well, a bag liner is lighter than a silk baselayer... But I'd say it is easier to get into a bag with for sure. But if it's really cold out, a silk baselayer is way too light. Capalene 4 is more like it... Or even better, the Merino baselayer I just got made by I/O Bio... Doesn't seem possible the warmth you get for the weight and thickness.
kayak karl
11-20-2011, 15:22
bag liner a awkward in a hammock, but if you cut a head hole and arm holes and wear it like a night shirt it will work better.
Camping Dave
11-20-2011, 15:42
Silk pajamas. Less weight. :D
You are wrong.
Cocoon silk liner: 130 grams. Size mini to extra vente.
Terramar thermasilk top and bottom: 150 grams. Size small.
Getting into a liner, then a bag, while Inside a hammock is definitely a PITA, but nonetheless, I ALWAYS carry mine. Anyone that actually uses a hammock in the winter frequently knows that every little bit helps.
Not only do I not regret buying my silk liner, I think it's one of the best pieces of gear I own, because I can use it year-round and it saves weight and space, not to mention it was only $60.
Every word is true. So it takes 60 extra seconds to get into your liner. Big deal. What else do you have scheduled at bedtime when you're hanging from a tree?
Every word is true. So it takes 60 extra seconds to get into your liner. Big deal. What else do you have scheduled at bedtime when you're hanging from a tree?
If you are hanging from a tree you probably have no earthly worries. When I hang from two trees I don't want the unnecessary bother of using a bag liner.
\
Don't expect liner owners to a) Admit that they made a wrong choice, or b) To suggest extra clothing instead (because, like me and most everyone else, it's hard to not justify money already spent).
I'd be the first to admit if I made a bad choice buying a liner - I have no problem being human.
As I said, I like a liner because it's part of caring for my bag. Believe me, I've pulled the liner out and been very happy more than once that all that dirt and grime was on the liner instead of globbed on to my bag.
I will also wear extra clothes in my bag if necessary.