sleeping bag in April/May

[peregrinamaybe]

Hi all, my husband and I are planning to walk the Camino del Norte beginning in late-April. We're leaning toward bringing sleeping bags but I'm waffling because I've heard very strong opinions on both sides. I'm not sure if the discrepancy in opinion is due to different routes, different travel months, or just personal preference. I would love to hear advice from anyone who has walked the Northern route in late spring. What did you bring sleep-wise? Sleeping bag, sleeping sheet, down blanket, pillowcase, some combo?

 

[Tia Valeria]

Terry carried a sleeping bag and liner on his first Camino. Walking together we carried bags but no liners (to save weight). Nights can be chilly in spring and some sort of bag is needed IMO. Very personal is the weight/ warmth of the bag. Mummy type or rectangular. The bags we took (May) were 750gms each and warmth 0 to 5C and on at least one occasion we needed a blanket too. Liners add an extra warmth layer and weigh around 150gms. Our sleeping bags had a hood which made a pillowcase unnecessary. If we had had a rectangular hoodless bag then a pillow cover might have been good, but not all cases fit all pillows.

 

[jsalt]

I'm not sure if the discrepancy in opinion is due to different routes, different travel months, or just personal preference.

Hi, it’s personal preference and we’re all different. You just have to work out what’s best for you. Sadly this may mean having to walk a few caminos .

My personal preference is to carry a good quality 780g sleeping bag all year round, whatever route I am on.

If it’s a cold night, I don’t have to rely on whether there are blankets or not;
or whether the blankets are clean or not;
in summer, if there is no room at the inn, I can sleep in the church porch (try doing that with just a liner);
if the night is hot I unzip the bag and sleep half covered;
if the evening is cold I can sit outside, nice and cosy, with my sleeping bag wrapped round me.

In winter I add a thermal liner.

The total weight of my pack is still under 7kg.
That’s my sleep-wise packing list and has been for years.
Lots of other forum members will tell you differently! But I suspect that most “veterans” on this forum also carry a very lightweight sleeping bag or quilt blanket (not just a liner) all year round.
Jill

 

[Jefft]

Hi all, my husband and I are planning to walk the Camino del Norte beginning in late-April. We're leaning toward bringing sleeping bags but I'm waffling because I've heard very strong opinions on both sides. I'm not sure if the discrepancy in opinion is due to different routes, different travel months, or just personal preference. I would love to hear advice from anyone who has walked the Northern route in late spring. What did you bring sleep-wise? Sleeping bag, sleeping sheet, down blanket, pillowcase, some combo?

 

[Jefft]

I am currently on the Camino and started in Pamplona. I use an emergency bivy bag and a liner ( it ads warmth and feels nicer) the combination is under 300grams. The bivy sac is 155 grams. Individually they pack smaller than a pop can, but I use a stuff sack.
escape by SOL is the brand in Canada.
I have added my hat and socks on a cold night. It is approximately 0-2 Celsius outside at night ..... colder inside.

 

[RJM]

Any sleeping bag or bivy is great as long as it doesn't weigh more than about 680 grams (24 ounces). Any heavier and you will regret bringing it.

 

[Deleted member 67185]

Hi all, my husband and I are planning to walk the Camino del Norte beginning in late-April. We're leaning toward bringing sleeping bags but I'm waffling because I've heard very strong opinions on both sides. I'm not sure if the discrepancy in opinion is due to different routes, different travel months, or just personal preference. I would love to hear advice from anyone who has walked the Northern route in late spring. What did you bring sleep-wise? Sleeping bag, sleeping sheet, down blanket, pillowcase, some combo?

I use a 10 oz (283 grams) Enlightened Equipment sleeping quilt, my stuff sack serves as a pillow if needed. No liner, no sheets.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I always carry a lightweight sleeping bag, for all the same reasons that @jsalt posted. I've walked 3 Caminos in April/May. I will be walking all of June this year and it will still be coming with me.

 

[El Condor 2014]

April May ! I would be taking sleeping Bag !

 

[Ahhhs]

Yes I would bring a lightweight sleeping bag. There were a few completely unattended albergues on the Norte (no hospitalero or any volunteer) with no blankets or covers. I wouldn't bother with a pillowcase as the pillow sizing is very different. You can always use a scarf or fleece to cover the pillow (if there is one).

 

[Kanga]

Yes, we walked the Norte in April/May and it was cold. I would definitely take a sleeping bag or sleeping quilt. I use my microfibre towel as a pillow cover; it is usually dry by the time I go to bed.

I like a quilt rather than a sleeping bag so that I can more easily regulate the temperature, but I also use a silk liner for cleanliness (and to help prevent bedbug bites).

If you are looking for an ultralight, cheap and warm covering, consider a Costco down throw - lots of us use them with or without a silk sleeping bag liner. Less than 500grms and less than $40.

On my last camino (the Madrid) I cut off some of the width (even less weight) and sewed a couple of snaps on the throw with corresponding ones on my silk liner. The Costco throw has a slippery cover and tends to fall off. Velcro rips the silk, hence the snaps. Worked a treat.

I know others who have simply joined the Costco throw along the edge and the bottom, to make it into a sleeping bag.

 

[HedaP]

Minimal experience on anything except the CF but yet another vote for always walking with a sleeping bag. My ultralight sleeping bag, sheet combo weighs about 500g. Mind you have not walked in mid summer but for anything other than mid summer, I know from experience that the weather will not always be balmy and that albergues will not always be heated and that there will not always be a blanket available for every single bunk.
Good question, well worth asking.
Wishing you have a very buen camino

 

[tpmchugh]

Hi all, my husband and I are planning to walk the Camino del Norte beginning in late-April. We're leaning toward bringing sleeping bags but I'm waffling because I've heard very strong opinions on both sides. I'm not sure if the discrepancy in opinion is due to different routes, different travel months, or just personal preference. I would love to hear advice from anyone who has walked the Northern route in late spring. What did you bring sleep-wise? Sleeping bag, sleeping sheet, down blanket, pillowcase, some combo?

I froze in mid April, melted in late April then lay shivering fully clothed in my liner come early May. I am bringing my sleeping bag this spring, wont make the same mistake twice

 

[Terry aka Tex]

Hi all, my husband and I are planning to walk the Camino del Norte beginning in late-April. We're leaning toward bringing sleeping bags but I'm waffling because I've heard very strong opinions on both sides. I'm not sure if the discrepancy in opinion is due to different routes, different travel months, or just personal preference. I would love to hear advice from anyone who has walked the Northern route in late spring. What did you bring sleep-wise? Sleeping bag, sleeping sheet, down blanket, pillowcase, some combo?

Yes finished in December in Finisterre started in Irun October 25 as all before stated it’s your choice I just carry a liner and a inflatable pillow did me. And it did get cold outside -3 one morning Gernika. For me it’s the weight. But enjoy the Norte it’s was a great walk for me.

 

[Dr Ana]

Hi, it’s personal preference and we’re all different. You just have to work out what’s best for you. Sadly this may mean having to walk a few caminos .

My personal preference is to carry a good quality 780g sleeping bag all year round, whatever route I am on.

If it’s a cold night, I don’t have to rely on whether there are blankets or not;
or whether the blankets are clean or not;
in summer, if there is no room at the inn, I can sleep in the church porch (try doing that with just a liner);
if the night is hot I unzip the bag and sleep half covered;
if the evening is cold I can sit outside, nice and cosy, with my sleeping bag wrapped round me.

In winter I add a thermal liner.

The total weight of my pack is still under 7kg.
That’s my sleep-wise packing list and has been for years.
Lots of other forum members will tell you differently! But I suspect that most “veterans” on this forum also carry a very lightweight sleeping bag or quilt blanket (not just a liner) all year round.
Jill

I agree! Lightweight bag started after first trekking in jungle, and yes, nights are cold there, too.

 

[calmeg]

We walked el norte in May and were glad to have our lightweight sleeping bags. some albergues just had throway sheets, others had wool blankets. Have used the same bag on el primitivo and portuguese as well.

 

[domigee]

Hi, it’s personal preference and we’re all different. You just have to work out what’s best for you. Sadly this may mean having to walk a few caminos .

My personal preference is to carry a good quality 780g sleeping bag all year round, whatever route I am on.

If it’s a cold night, I don’t have to rely on whether there are blankets or not;
or whether the blankets are clean or not;
in summer, if there is no room at the inn, I can sleep in the church porch (try doing that with just a liner);
if the night is hot I unzip the bag and sleep half covered;
if the evening is cold I can sit outside, nice and cosy, with my sleeping bag wrapped round me.

In winter I add a thermal liner.

The total weight of my pack is still under 7kg.
That’s my sleep-wise packing list and has been for years.
Lots of other forum members will tell you differently! But I suspect that most “veterans” on this forum also carry a very lightweight sleeping bag or quilt blanket (not just a liner) all year round.
Jill

Same, I carry a (light) sleeping bag whatever the season, whatever the Camino....

 

[jpflavin1]

Hi all, my husband and I are planning to walk the Camino del Norte beginning in late-April. We're leaning toward bringing sleeping bags but I'm waffling because I've heard very strong opinions on both sides. I'm not sure if the discrepancy in opinion is due to different routes, different travel months, or just personal preference. I would love to hear advice from anyone who has walked the Northern route in late spring. What did you bring sleep-wise? Sleeping bag, sleeping sheet, down blanket, pillowcase, some combo?

Peregrinamaybe:

I walked the Norte April 1-29. I would not walk this route without a sleeping bag. Marmot Aspen down Ultralight bag 1lb 8oz's.

Ultreya,
Joe

 

[Deleted member 67185]

A good lightweight (15.8 ounces 448 grams) solution is the Black Diamond sleeping quilt available through Amazon, or Costco.