The problem with sleeping bags is that they keep you warm, but there's thermostat. If you are too hot, you can unzip the bag, and similarly if you're too cold you can start wearing your clothes, but this only works up to a point. And buying a new sleeping for every different temperature that you go camping or backpacking in just is not very practical. Sleeping bag liners, however, go a long ways towards solving the problem.
Sleeping Bag Liners
Features to look out for when shopping for sleeping bag liners.- Fabric - There are a wide variety of materials to choose from when shopping for a sleeping bag liner. Various materials like cotton, silk, fleece and thermolite all have positives and negatives, and the right fabric will depend on what you want your sleeping bag liner to do.
- Warmth Added - Another thing to pay close attention to is the warmth that you can expect to get from your sleeping bag liner. Most liners will tell you, but many will not.
- Hood - Some liners come with hoods, and some don't. Your head is one of the main areas that you lose heat from, and so having a liner that extends up to your sleeping bag hood can be helpful for keeping your body heat in.
Best Sleeping Bag Liners
A few of the very best sleeping bag liners.- Cocoon Silk Mummy Liner - Silk makes a great sleeping bag liner material. It adds a small amount of warmth, doesn't weigh much and feels great to sleep in. This particular liner made by Cocoon adds about 9.5 degrees of warmth, weighs 4.7 ounces, or 130 grams, and has a hood with a drawstring on it to keep your head nice and warm too. And who doesn't enjoy sleeping with silk against their skin after a long day on the trail.
- Sea to Summit Toaster Microfleece - Fleece is another popular sleeping bag liner material. It adds a good amount of warmth and feels nice against the skin. The Toaster weighs in at 20.8 ounces, or 560 grams, and has a drawstring hood for your head. There are no details available about how much additional warmth you can expect, but at 560 grams I would expect at least a few degrees.
- Sea to Summit Reactor Extreme Thermolite - Thermolite is an ideal material for turning a summer sleeping bag in to a winter sleeping bag. This particular model from Sea to Summit adds about 25 degrees of warmth to your sleeping bag, which is a very significant amount. What's even more impressive is that you get that 25 degrees for just 14 ounces, or 399 grams, and that includes a drawcord hood. If you are buying a sleeping bag liner primarily for warmth, thermolite is the way to go.
