Opinions on vapor barrier liner for sleeping bag

[1azarus]

leaftye's advice seems to be in line with andrew skurka's -- use vapor barrier clothing which you can wear into the sleeping bag at night. i've got a stephenson vapor barrier shirt which i've used a few times and has stopped making my winter pack list. it seems to me that unless it is crazy cold or you never have a hill to climb it is just too warm to use vapor barrier clothing when walking, so i just stripped before bed, put on the vb shirt under all my other clothing, then reversed in the morning. painful. didn't seem worth the effort, and the shirt weighs too much for what i got out of it. maybe i'll reconsider and buy/try a lighter suit like the one you refer to from antigravitygear. i could also try walking slower. now, there's an idea...

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


Large trash-type bags can be purchased from many garden and farm stores.

[Tom Murphy]

VBL keep your insulating layers dry but whatever is under the VBL gets pretty damp from perspiration.

If you want to learn what VBL are like, here is a simple practice test. Wear a bread bag between a liner sock and an insulating sock for a day.

When I winter backpack in sub-zero temps, I use VBL as described above and bring multiple pairs of liners because the liners get damp. And I bring a pair of loose knit wool socks that let my feet breath a bit overnight.

The only time I would consider using a VBL in a sleeping bag is if I was trapped or immobolized and the overnight temps greatly exceeded the capacity of my sleeping bag. Plus it is pretty miserable to get out the your VBL in the middle of the night to go pee when whatever you are wearing is damp.

[mateozzz]

These are really good comments! One other concern I have is that overnight is usually when my feet get to dry out and if I have any blisters they start to heal. If everything stays clammy I would think that would slow down and the skin would stay soft. Then there is the possibility of encouraging athletes foot or jock itch, so maybe there are a lot of things to worry about. Maybe drying the bag in the sun during lunch isn't such a hassle after all.

[mamamiapdx]

some use their silnylon based clothes as vapor barrier.