Sleeping bag liners seem to be the best keep secret for beginning campers. Over the years I’ve talked to a lot of campers that buy one sleeping bag and that’s all they use. Although, having a sleeping bag liner is as important if not more important than your sleeping bag.
What are Sleeping Bag Liners for?
When you are at home most people sleep with a sheet, blanket, and comforter. However, when camping they grab one sleeping bag and call it good. Most of the time this is to keep weight down and make life easier. The thing is that it’s not always the most comfortable.
Added Warmth
The best advantage of a sleeping bag liner is that you gain 5-25 degrees temperature rating to your normal sleeping bag. This can mean the difference between being chilled and being perfect when the temps drop close to the low end of your sleeping bag temp range.
Flexibility of Comfort Year-Round
I personally keep a liner in my sleeping bag year-round. It’s not just Nebraska that has unpredictable weather. You never know if the overnight temps will be lower than expected or higher than expected. A sleeping bag liner gives you the option of using just the liner, just the sleeping bag, or both at the same time. This means you don’t have to have multiple bags for each season and temperature range.
Summer Comfort
Another great thing about having a bag liner is using it in the summer. It’s really hard to find a sleeping bag thin enough to be comfortable in the summer and still warm enough to keep warm if the temps drop. With a bag liner, you can skip the extremely lightweight bag and use your sleeping bag liner. Then if it does get cool at night you have a sleeping bag to keep you warm.
Ease of Better Hygiene
Most sleeping bags are a pain to wash, not to mention many wear out quickly if you wash them every few weeks or months. However, a bag liner is easily washable. You can throw just about any bag liner in the washing machine without problems. This means you can skip washing your sleeping bag so often and still sleep in a clean bag. Since you are going to be doing all your sweating and getting all the dirt in your bag liner and not your sleeping bag.
Things to Consider
There are things to consider as you look to get yourself a liner. You’ll have material it’s made of, shape, and even temp rating. All of these can make a huge difference in your comfort use.
Materials
The common materials used in liners are cotton, fleece, merino wool, and synthetic materials. Cotton will, of course, feel nicer on your skin and lighter weight. Not to mention, it will soak up sweat and be cooler. However, soaking up sweat and holding it can be a huge problem is you are using this to add warmth to your normal sleeping bag in cold weather.
Fleece, on the other hand, is going to be a little thicker and much warmer in cold weather. It will still keep you warm even when wet and is fairly cheap. Honestly, fleece is my go-to for bag liners. The nice thing is that it’s still lightweight enough to be good in the summer, but adds warmth in the winter.
Merino Wool is defiantly a liner designed for use in cooler temperatures. Like fleece, it will keep you warm even when wet. Although the downside is that it costs more and is heavier.
Synthetic materials are pretty specialized. They can be designed solely to add warmth in the cold or keep you cooler in the summer. It’s really a matter of what you want and what you need. With synthetic materials, you have to read what the bag is designed for.
Shape
There are two basic shapes to any sleeping bag and bag liners are not exceptions. You have the standard rectangle-shaped bag, and then what’s called the mummy bag shape. A mummy bag is tapered at the feet and widest at your shoulders. This limits the air space your body has to heat up to keep you warm.
While a mummy bag liner is great for added warmth in your mummy bag, it’s not perfect for summer sleeping. Just a little note you can put a rectangular bag liner in a winter weight mummy bag.
Weight and Temp Rating
While there are some bag liners that are temp rated most are not. Expect them to add close to 10 degrees (F) to your sleeping bag rating. For stand-alone use, most will be at best rated to 50-60 degrees (F).
The honest weight is dependant on the materials. Silk, cotton, or synthetic materials will be lightest. Whereas the fleece will be heavier. If you are backpacking them, by all means, buy the lightest liner you can afford. Otherwise, look for something inexpensive. A bag liner is going to be something you wash a lot and treat pretty rough. So you don’t want to have to worry about how much it cost you. When it wears out you just replace it.
The Best Sleeping Bag Liner
While there are lots of options for sleeping bag liners I’ve found the Coleman Stratus Adult Fleece Sleeping Bag Liner is perfect for all my needs. It has worked great for hot summer camping, and cold weather camping where temps feel below freezing.
I’ve washed it more times than I can remember and never had a problem. It’s still soft and keeps me warm when needed and cooler when needed. Plus when rolled up it’s smaller than my pillow. So if I don’t leave it in my sleeping bag, it still doesn’t take much room to pack. Not to mention priced at under $20 it’s one of the cheapest bag liners I’ve found for as much use as I’ve gotten out of it.
Conclusion
No matter what kind of camping you do, be it summer, or winter a sleeping bag liner can add to your comfort and enjoyment. It gives you options for staying warm in cold weather and cooler in warm weather. All while keeping your expensive sleeping bag from getting dirty.