View Full Version : Sea to Summit Reactor bag liners - Any experience?
Hi all
I'm in the planning stages for doing the AT thru hike starting the first week of March 2014. As part of that process, I am evaluating sleeping bags with the hope of only using one for the entire trip. I can afford two if I have to but would just as soon use one.
Obviously over the course of the trail there are very cold parts and very warm parts. My experiences has been that it is easier to make a colder rated bag warmer than to make a warmer rated bag cooler. With that in mind, I am currently looking at a Mont-bell UL Super Spiral Down Hugger, either a #5 ( 40 ℉) or a #3 (30 ℉). They weigh in at 1 lb. 3 oz. and 1 lb. 6 oz., respectively. My feeling is that the 30 ℉ bag would be a bit warm in the hottest part of the hike so I am leaning toward the 40 ℉. For what it is worth, I am a hot sleeper. Taking all that into consideration, I have been looking at the Sea To Summit Thermolite Reactor sleeping bag liners as a possible way to reach acceptable warmth levels with a 30 or 40 ℉ bag. They have three models that they claim increase the warmth by up to 15 ℉ (Reactor - 8.7 oz.), 20 ℉ (Reactor CompactPlus - 9.3 oz.), and 25 ℉ (Reactor Extreme - 14 oz.).
My question to you guys is, (1) have any of you had any trail experience with the Sea To Summit Reactor series of bag liners, (2) if you did, which one or ones have you used, and (3) how would you rate its effectiveness for adding additional warmth to your bag.
Any input would be appreciated.
David
Just Bill
08-11-2013, 13:12
If you are a warm sleeper- go with the #5 (although I would caution against down for the humid east), the Compact plus will give you a 10-15 degree bump (I take 5 degrees off the sea-to summit line even for warm sleepers in my experience.) With no clothes you should be comfy to 30 on the coldest parts of the trail, safe (you won't die) down to 20- you may have one or two chilly nights, but clothes and being "good" for 99% of your nights should overrule those one or two oddballs. The 40 degree will allow you to send the liner home around mid april or May. In June/July/Aug (depending on your pace) you can send home the 40 degree bag and use the liner as a sleeping bag. Switch back to your sleeping bag in Vermont, if your season is dragging on then add back in the liner for the Whites. It's technically two bags- but I'm a big fan of using a liner to stretch your shoulder season bag into colder weather- and having the bonus of having a liner for the hot weather. If you have the opportunity- try to sleep a few nights in just the liner to make sure that it is warm enough for you. They are a bit more Airy when used as a summer bag. If you have a bivy or other wind shell- no biggie, but even a breezy shelter may reduce their effectiveness- making the Extreme a better choice. Compact plus is generally fine for 60 degree nights and up for warm sleepers- again clothes help, but you may not have many in the warm months...
Hi Bill and thank you for the detailed and thoughtful answer. I like the "you won't die" part. That is always high on my list of priorities. Also thanks for the suggestions on a breakdown of what to ship and what to carry when.
As for trying out the liner, well, I'll have to wait until February when I get back to Texas. I live in northern Thailand and you don't get much cold here unless you go to a shopping mall in Bangkok. I swear they could hang meat in some of them. :)
Thanks again fur the good advice.
David
I am evaluating sleeping bags with the hope of only using one for the entire trip.
David
Don't do this, just don't.
You won't need much for a summer bag. I knew someone who used a down baby blanket and someone else who used a fleece spiderman kids blanket from goodwill. You don't need to spend a bunch of money on a summer bag.
You do need a good winter bag, I started March 10th and spent quite a few nights in the snow. Those bag liners won't add the amounts they claim. They're thin sheets, my girlfriend used one. They certainly won't take something reasonable for 40 degrees and make it reasonable for below freezing. Sure I expect that you won't die but if your March is anything like mine some nights you may wish you did.
Whew. I do stuff like this, not from wanting to go with one sleeping bag but to save wt. and volume. I think I cut a very fine line with stretching the functional extremes of my kit. However, I don't want to go into that stupid light realm. I say this so you know where I'm coming from. I live this shart.
You're juggling lots of balls. If shart happens it will happen all over you. IMHO, and dare I say knowledgeable one, that 40* down bag even with a 20* Reactor liner(take off about 7* off those acclaimed temp increases!), and sleeping in an enclosed tent(adds about 8* of sleeping warmth), and w/ sleeping clothes(thermal bottoms, merino wool beanie, gloves/mittens tops, etc), and even being a hot sleeper is pushing it to my accepted max with your NOBO start date for at least the first 4 wks of a AT NOBO thru, IMO. You'll be entering GSMNP around the third wk of March(mile 163, Fontana Hilton) where the avg night time lows are 23* and day time highs are 42*. That means it's totally possible to experience night time lows in the sub 20* range. Add some rain, sleet, wind, snow into that temp equation and the 40* would not be my choice. It's also down so if it starts losing loft you might factor that temp loss in. Big loss of down loft in that low of temps and you could have the makings for MAJOR PROBLEMS - a survival situation. That's too big of a temp deficit to make up on anything more than a few nights max. Even then it becomes a matter of survival rather than simply sleeping comfort. I would start out w/ the 30* Hugger AND doing ALL or most of what I said to increase the effective temp range of my sleep system. That will be stretching it on more than a couple of nights while doing all that I just said. Then sometime in later May/early June start rolling with the 20* in temp increase Reactor liner. Personally, even with my very good tolerance for a few night's of discomfort, AND with my hiking/ survival knowledge base, considering all the factors I've mentioned, as well as leaving out a few other considerations I will not get into here, wouldn't on a regular basis, take my NEW Western Mountaineering 35* 850 Down HighLite to the 20* temp level. At some pt it just makes more sense to go to a warmer rated sleeping bag. That's the way I roll. Hope you can take something from it
Think of your situation another way, even if you do decide on one sleeping bag. It's safer and more sensible to be a little warm and have to lay a sleeping bag or quilt over you or use all you sleeping system venting options rather than being dangerously cold and not have the means to get and stay comfortably warm to get a good night's sleep. This isn't a television show like Survivorman or Man v. Wild. You're on a thru-hike. You want to be ready for the next day's miles and the next day's miles and.....
Personally I have a sleeping bag line up with different insulations in about 10-15* temp increments so that I don't get in over my head with sleep system complexity. And, each one of my bags I've chosen to be functional in the widest range of conditions. When I tweak my temp rating on my sleep system(which DOES NOT just include deciding on a different temp rated conventional sleeping bag or quilt) I do it by viewing it in context with many other things I'm doing and gear I'm using.
Here's a good example of possibilities. This yr's AT thru-hikers experienced 3-4 ft snow drifts, buried under snow trail, and temps on a few nights in the low teens in April at GSMNP. What if you were rolling with that 40* down bag(which is a very good bag!) and a 20* Reactor this yr and hitting GSMNP at that time? And, NO, I don't carry a snake bite kit when thru-hiking in the U.S.!
stranger
08-24-2013, 05:45
1 bag 'might' work if you left Springer in early May and hiked the trail in 3.5 months...
If I were planning on starting in early March, I would start with my 25 deg, switch to my 40 in Atkins, then to my 55 in Waynesboro...yup, 3 bags.
YOU WILL PAY one way or another, might as well get it out of the way now
I added a Western Mountaineering liner to my 25 degree Mont Bell down bag. Only used it a few times but it definitely makes a significant difference. Had to cancel my NH/ME Fall hike (bulging disk, not happy), am sure that I would have used it more on really cold nights in The White Mountains in October.
Thanks for all the feedback guys. It will all be used in making the final decision.
Del Q, sorry to hear about the disk. I've had back problems off and on since the mid-1970s. There is nothing that I know of that hurts worse.
David