• Remove ads on the forum by becoming a donating member. More here.
This is a mobile optimized page that loads fast, if you want to load the real page, click this text.

which sleeping bag for a camino in winter?

C

Carli

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Past : Léon to Santiago de Compostela
Future : ?
Dear caminere,
I need your previous advice, I am planning to do the Camino in winter. Which sleeping bag do you recommend, the one I have is not warm enough.
 
Download free today.
Holoholo automatically captures your footpaths, places, photos, and journals.
I like to be warm and some albergues are not well heated in winter. Occasionally not at all on some of the quieter Caminos. So in winter I carry a four season down sleeping bag. Quite heavy and bulky but I think it is worthwhile. This is the model I bring.

Oex Leviathan EV 900 Sleeping Bag | GO Outdoors

A very warm, lightweight and protective 4-season down sleeping bag, packable to a compact size.
www.gooutdoors.co.uk
 
You will need a winter rated sleeping bag in order to be warm enough to get a good night's sleep. There's a lot of them on the market. Of course they will be bulkier and heavier but there's some out there that weigh less than 4 pounds.
 
Promote your Camino Project on the forum
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
I would carry something like this.
 
Remember when buying a bag that although they may give a ‘low end rating’ that is generally at ‘extreme‘ and assumes that you will also be wearing all your clothes. In essence a bag with a -3 to -5 rating will ensure a comfortable non clothes wearing night!
try ALPKIT who sell good bags and do mail order.
 
Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
Chibou said:
I need your previous advice, I am planning to do the Camino in winter. Which sleeping bag do you recommend, the one I have is not warm enough.
Click to expand...
This is a great question -- and the only one-size-fits-all answer to it is : you need a sleeping bag on a Winter Camino.

From there, it's variables.

If you're sure to sleep indoors along the whole of the Way, then a relatively light one plus Albergue blankets and duvets may be sufficient ; the weasel word here being "relatively", as people's susceptibility to the cold is a variable.

I use a French military one -- but that's because my own circumstances lead me to sleep outdoors with some frequency. So that is NOT a recommendation !!

Having said that, it does need to be one that's warm enough relative to your own needs, as there are some Albergues with little heating and few blankets.

Some people have suggested down sleeping bags, which might work when you can keep them opened and aerated in the warmer places to sleep, and zipped up and cozy in the cooler ones.
 
I concur what was said before.
I have a Thermarest quilt and is rated 20 -6°C, but it is written in the specs comfort 0°C.
Read the small letters
A quilt is lighter when you are sure to have a mattress.
 
willydp said:
I concur what was said before.
I have a Thermarest quilt and is rated 20 -6°C, but it is written in the specs comfort 0°C.
Read the small letters
A quilt is lighter when you are sure to have a mattress.
Click to expand...
Spot on. I have a down jacket rated to -5. On reading the small print it is -5 with 3 thermal layers on underneath it.
 
Get a Spanish mobil number + data while on the Camino
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
During earlier years when I walked in winter I stayed in municipal albergues and used a lightweight sleeping bag ecumenically named Little Buddha and separate polyester liner.

There was no norm in the fittings of albergues; some had heat, others heat partially and some no heat at all.
.
In cold weather I never chose a bunk placed against an exterior wall since old walls are often uninsulated and thus frigid. Since all night heating is not a standard I made a cozy 'sandwich' for sleeping by folding a blanket in half the long way, placed the sleeping bag on top of the bottom half and pulled the top half over all. If there were no blankets a dry poncho beneath the bag blocked the cold air from rising.

Runner's winter tights, a long sleeve runner's shirt and loose socks were great to wear to sleep topped with a wooly hat when it was really cold.
 
Last edited:
I use a 40 F down bag (which I think is about a 5 C degree bag). It is fine for me a and I am toasty warm. My husband has the same bag and he is usually freezing and very uncomfortable. He also wears a wool hat on his bald head and wool clothes in his bag. I might wear a pair of wool socks but otherwise I am in a short sleeve shirt and maybe some tights.

My point is that we are both really different and you will be different from either of us so if you have time to experiment with what helps you be comfortable take the time to do it.
 
Download free today.
Holoholo automatically captures your footpaths, places, photos, and journals.
Chibou said:
Dear caminere,
I need your previous advice, I am planning to do the Camino in winter. Which sleeping bag do you recommend, the one I have is not warm enough.
Click to expand...
I haven’t walked the entire Camino in a while. But I wonder what the situation is with blankets. You could carry a lighter bag and hope. The few albergues I stayed in on my short Camino last year had them. Of course you don’t want to be caught out. But I bet the Hospitaleros have some blankets hidden away. I know that as a hospitalera we have a few tricks up our sleeves we don’t always pull out.
Also, looks like you’re from Switzerland. What some people (not to mention people from mediterranean countries) think is cold…..
 
Anything rated beyond 0°C is probably unnecessary on the Francès, Portugues, and other Iberian routes.

Mine is rated ~ +5°C IIRC, and I did have two more unpleasant nights outdoors on my last Camino ; one in January 2019 near Cannes when it was about 0°C and wet, one in November last year near Burgos just under 0°C and wet (there was a fair amount of frost in the morning).

But then , both times it was because I was unable to find a well-covered spot. On other occasions with similar conditions, but I was able to find somewhere covered and protected, I've been fine, even if still outside.

I *do* though also have my woollen pilgrim cape which doubles as a blanket, so it's not just the sleeping bag ... but then there are usually blankets in the Albergues open in Winter, so it's the same more or less.
 
More 2024 Camino Guides available
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Camino Photo

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Most read last week in this forum

Similar threads

Sleeping bag OR just a liner??
Replies
47
Views
3K
JillGat
  • Tags sleeping bag
    • Sleeping bag for shorties recommendation
    Replies
    9
    Views
    774
    Chiquito
    C
  • Tags sleeping bag
    • Sleeping bag or Sleeping bag liner
    Replies
    22
    Views
    3K
    Mikey - camino
  • Tags sleeping bag
    • My perfect ultralight sleep setup
    Replies
    22
    Views
    4K
    Kathy F.
  • Tags clothing
    • Leg warmth - pants & layers for very cold days
    Replies
    14
    Views
    1K
    caminka
    Menu
    Log in
    Register