sleeping bags vs. sleeping bag liners

[markvanoss]

This is probably a very naive question, but... walking from SJPP to Santiago from mid-May through June this year, can I get away with just a CoolMax sleeping bag liner, or will I need a true sleeping bag? If I need a sleeping bag, any recommendations on the type I should buy?

 

[grayland]

Go with the lightest weight liner you can find. Most albergues are heated in May and there are almost always blankets you could put on top of your liner.
The less weight is far more important as you will soon discover. :wink:

 

[annakappa]

I would take a sleeping bag. The weather can still be fairly cold in May, especially in the mountains. Two years ago, we started walking mid-May and didn't even walk without jackets for the first 3 weeks until well into June, not to mention how necessary a sleeping bag was. Better to be warm than miserable overnight! Make? Well I bought the only one available here in Costa Rica at the time and in a supermarket at that. No special make that see on it! In the meantime, it's done Roncevalles to Santiago twice and will be used again later in the year. I treasure it! Anne

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Take the liner. If it gets cold, there are blankets available. By June, some nights will be so hot and stuffy that you will not be able to sleep inside a sleeping bag!

 

[nidarosa]

What about fleece liners? I walked a part of the Portuguese in March last year, and even though there were blankets available, I was still very cold - plus the blankets tended to be polyester ones and slid off my silk liner anyway, so I will definitely take the fleece liner and silk bag next time. If I don't need it to sleep in, I can use it for a pillow or lie on it. It might come in handy for wrapping around myself in the evenings, sitting outside as the sun goes down as well. I think it will be worth the extra weight - specially now that I've got a lighter pack!

I was in Santiago for a weekend this March as well, because my camino has been put off by a year, and even there it was chilly when the sun wasn't out. But I got to go through the Porta Santa!

All the best to all you Holy Year pilgrims, buen camino and a happy Easter to all!

Linda

 

[Anniesantiago]

Do you tend to sleep warm or do you tend to sleep cold?

It can be downright cold in May! And as mentioned before, alburgues rarely turn on heat. Some will be frosty cold. Others will be so warm you'll want to open a window.

I would not go in May without a bag, although I WOULD go in June with only a liner. If I had to toss a coin, I'd say leave the bag at home and take a liner.

As far as make goes, I bought a Marmot Pounder Plus. It weighs 1.5 pounds and I've used it on two Caminos and I love it! It's lightweight and warm. I originally purchased the "Pounder" which only weighs 1 pound. But I tested it at home and froze all night...

If you are taking a poncho and layered clothing, you'd probably be just fine with a liner because if it WERE cold, you could layer on some clothes, and pull the poncho over you. You'd be surprised how much body heat those nylon ponchos hold in.

In the end, it's a personal choice and nobody can really predict what the weather will be. I only know that on those very cold, windy, wet days, nothing beats crawling into a warm sleeping bag after a 6 hour walk where you're chilled.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Thanks for the tip about using my poncho Annie. I hadn't thought of doing that, but am taking Trekmate lightweight longjohns (120gm) and long sleeved top (110gms) to use as cold weather undies/pyjamas. Wicking and quick drying. Planning to use just sheet liner, pyjamas and more clothes if cold, so the poncho idea is great.
Tia Valeria

 

[anniethenurse]

Bringing a sleeping bag or not that is the question...
Personally I would bring my light weight down sleeping bag that weighs 1.1 pounds = 480 grams (Halti Airlite 400 STD) if I was walking in May or the beginning of June. Feels cosy and clean to have your own sleeping bag. Under the sleeping bag I use a bed bug sheet treated with permethrin (hate those little friends). As a pillow case I use a sarong that serves in many purposes during the camino.
(this is my bed bug sheet http://www.lifesystems.co.uk/psec/mosqu ... rsheet.htm

Sorry to hear about your neck injury Mark, I hope you will be fine soon and recovering so you will be on the road in May.
annie

EDIT: CORRECTING THE INFO ABOUT THE BED BUG SHEET

 

[Portia1]

I took a silk liner and made a polarfleece blanket (smaller than a twin size)--this combo was lighter than a sleeping bag and gave me flexibility. If I didn't need the blanket, it remained in the bottom of my pack--then all I had to do was fold up my liner, ear plugs and face mask into a ziploc bag and I was off. If it was really cold (which it was several nights, especially when someone kept opening the window right over my head!!), I piled on clothing and my poncho to try to retain as much heat as I could. A good night's sleep is priceless!

 

[jeploss]

I got a 1.1 lbs down sleeping bag + a silk liner. The debate rages on this Forum about which chemical to use to keep the bedbugs out: permethrin vs non-permethrin products. But what I don't understand is if you treat the liner, don't the bedbugs get into your sleeping bag and then don't you end up transporting them with you to the next place you sleep? Do you have to treat BOTH the liner and the sleeping bag?

 

[anniethenurse]

I got a 1.1 lbs down sleeping bag + a silk liner. The debate rages on this Forum about which chemical to use to keep the bedbugs out: permethrin vs non-permethrin products. But what I don't understand is if you treat the liner, don't the bedbugs get into your sleeping bag and then don't you end up transporting them with you to the next place you sleep? Do you have to treat BOTH the liner and the sleeping bag?

I have treated both my sleeping bag and backpack (some clothes, too) with permethrin. So I don´t think I am carrying any bed bugs further, but who knows.
annie

 

[lindissima]

I would bring my light weight down sleeping bag.... Under the sleeping bag I use a bed bug sheet treated with permethrin .

(this is my bed bug sheet http://www.pickpack.se/product.asp?product=388treated)

annie

I would like to buy one of these bed bug prevention liner sheets, but the link is in Swedish or some other language I can't make out.

Could someone direct me to where I can get (or is it make?) these anti-bed bug liner sheets? Is there something else non-toxic available either here in US or possibly in Le Puy?

Many thanks.

 

[anniethenurse]

here you go - http://www.lifesystems.co.uk/psec/mosqu ... rsheet.htm
annie

 

[Portia1]

I used a piece of tyvek (house wrapping paper--you can sometimes get construction crews to give you some) available at Lowes or Home Depot. I cut a piece to fit a twin bed, crushed it up and washed it in cold water to take away the crinkling sound, and then air dried it. I then sprayed it with premetherian (outside on the deck on a calm day). Let it dry and then folded it up into a plastic ziploc bag. Carried it in my pack with no problem. Weighs about 3 oz.

 

[lindissima]

Thanks for the replies about the bed bug sheets, Portia and Annie.

I have ordered a non-toxic, odorless spray made from essential oils recommended in Miam Miam Dodo. It's called Clako punaises de lits.
It is for sale all up and down the Le Puy route, costs 12.50 euros, and can be sprayed on everything--sleeping bag, clothes etc.

Here's the link:

http://www.treia.fr/Je-ne-marche-pas-avec-la-punaise--Comment-commander-le-Spray_a179.html

Does anyone have experience using this product? Is it effective, or do I also need the permetherian sheet as a back-up?

Thanks! ( I am getting a bit paranoid about these critters. They weren't around the first time I did the camino in Spain.)

 

[Luka]

I took a silk liner and made a polarfleece blanket (smaller than a twin size)--this combo was lighter than a sleeping bag and gave me flexibility.

Brilliant idea! Thanks!

 

[vagabondette]

I took a silk liner and made a polarfleece blanket (smaller than a twin size)--this combo was lighter than a sleeping bag and gave me flexibility.

Brilliant idea! Thanks!

I will do similar, but rather than bringing the blanket, I'm going to just bring the liner and buy a length of fleece material if I find I need it. But, considering that most people are saying that most places on the CF have blankets, I doubt I'll need it.

 

[vagabondette]

That kinda depends on WHEN you are going. In the summer months, you'll likely be fine. Otherwise, you'll risk a few sleepless nights. As you recall, several members has told us that there ARE places that have no blankets available.

Yes. I'm going in September and I'm not too worried. If I have the occasional cold night I'll live. Or, if I suspect that a night will be especially cold I'll ask in advance if they have blankets and if they don't and it's an option I'll stay somewhere private that does. I suspect I'll be fine though. I tried my sleep sack with a *very* light fleece blanket while staying in my friend's drafty new york apartment in January and I was almost too warm when wearing long pants and long sleeve shirt.

Everyone should, IMO, test their sleeping equipment by trying to mimic the situation they're likely to experience on the Camino and see just how cold they can handle and still sleep ok and make their decision from there.

 

[Rosemaryk1]

This is probably a very naive question, but... walking from SJPP to Santiago from mid-May through June this year, can I get away with just a CoolMax sleeping bag liner, or will I need a true sleeping bag? If I need a sleeping bag, any recommendations on the type I should buy?

Hi!
I know it has been a while since your Camino, but what did you do? Liner or bag? I am goind mid May -June 2014.

Thanks!

 

[Urban trekker1]

This is probably a very naive question, but... walking from SJPP to Santiago from mid-May through June this year, can I get away with just a CoolMax sleeping bag liner, or will I need a true sleeping bag? If I need a sleeping bag, any recommendations on the type I should buy?

I carried both on the Camino Ingles May of this year. I used both together and separately. Liner weighs very little, takes up little space and can be a barrier between you and the Albergue blanket.. It's a matter of choice.

 

[julie]

June is my preferred month for walking. I always take a lightweight sleeping bag and sometimes have to leave the zip undone as I'm too hot yet this year I needed a blanket on top of the sleeping bag. The weather is too unpredictable so I would be inclined to veer on the side of caution and take a sleeping bag albeit a lightweight one i.e. maximum of 0.5kg