When going on an outdoor adventure, you want to achieve the most out of your camping trip by being well-prepared with proper essential camping gear. One such essential piece of gear is a sleeping bag liner. It is interesting how such a simple piece of cloth can have multiple benefits on a camping trip.
A sleeping bag liner is a cloth that you wear over your body inside a sleeping bag. A sleeping bag liner protects from dirt, insects and gives extra warmth and hygiene. A sleeping bag liner is inserted inside your sleeping bag, keeping the sleeping bag clean.
A sleeping bag liner is often an underestimated camping accessory. Read on to find out more about this useful piece of camping gear.
What is a Sleeping Bag Liner?
Campers can have a full-filling experience in cold weather or hot and humid weather. With proper essentials like a sleeping liner, campers should have a comfortable trip. Sleeping bag liners come in different materials and shapes to fit your needs.
From light-weight silky material to bulky cotton material, you can choose the right kind of material which suits your needs or according to the particular weather conditions during your camping trip.
There are two types of shapes sleeping liners that help you have a comfortable snooze during your camping trip. The mummy-shaped liners are shaped narrower at the bottom and are more fitting around your body. You can also choose a rectangular-shaped liner, which gives you more room to move around.
With this said, it is helpful to know the benefits a sleeping liner gives. First of all, a sleeping bag liner keeps your expensive, high-quality sleeping bag clean from the inside. Hence, you’ll soon be ready for the next camping trip simply by washing the liner in the washing machine.
Another benefit of using a sleeping bag liner is that it gives extra warmth inside your sleeping bag. This can give you extra comfort, especially if you are camping in cold weather.
Not only do sleeping liners have multiple benefits, but they also have many uses. You can sleep inside the sleeping liner solely. For instance, you are camping in a humid place, and a sleeping bag would make you sweat like crazy. The proper solution would be to sleep inside a sleeping bag liner. As a matter of fact, not only will a sleeping liner keep you cool or warm throughout the night, some sleeping bag liners are bug repellent.
On the other hand, you can use a sleeping bag liner in a hotel or a hostel as well. You can never be sure about the hygiene conditions at these places. It is recommended to bring your own sleeping gear to wave off possible hygiene issues.
What is the Best Material for a Sleeping Bag Liner?
The best material for a sleeping bag liner depends on your requirements and your camping location. Maybe you are camping where there are a lot of bugs with hot and humid weather conditions. Other times, it could be freezing, and your backpack is already heavy with extra luggage. There is a suitable sleeping liner available for every situation.
An overview of different types of material sleeping bag liners available:
- Silk material liner: The silk material liner’s texture and feel are amazingly soft and smooth. Also, the material is breathable, and it absorbs the moisture off your body. Although the silk material liner weighs little, it is not suitable for winter weather conditions.
- Cotton material liner: Although cotton material liners are budget-friendly, they are not high-quality. They tend to be a little bit bulkier and do not wick away moisture. However, they are strong and durable.
- Microfiber fleece liner: Microfiber fleece sleeping bag liner is soft and tends to keep a camper warm. The downside of this material is that. However, it is excellent to maintain warmth inside the sleeping bag; it is a little heavier comparatively.
- Synthetic material liner: There are two options among this type of material. One is more friendly towards summer weather conditions, which means it will keep you cool throughout the night. The other one leans towards the winter weather conditions. In other words, it will keep you comfortable during warm nights as well as warm during freezing nights.
Can You Sleep in a Sleeping Bag Liner?
Every camper should have a sleeping liner. Not only do they come in different materials, but sleeping bag liners are also available in different shapes, sizes, and accessories. Each one is perfect to meet the needs of any camper.
Generally speaking, sleeping liners come in two types of shapes. The mummy shape is narrower towards the feet, while the rectangular shape allows having more room to move around. In these two shapes, you have the choice of having a hood, pillow extension, or extra long size.
What kind of shape and accessories you need depend on the location of your camping. If it’s a cold climate, it is recommended to select a mummy-shaped liner with a hood. It will be easy for you to snuggle inside the sleeping bag, and the hood will increase some degrees to make you cozy and comfortable throughout the night.
On the other hand, if your camping spot’s location is hot and humid and you don’t plan to use the sleeping bag, then it is better to use the rectangular shaped liner to have more room to move around. However, if you prefer a close-fitting sleeping liner even without a sleeping bag, then the mummy-shaped liner will work just as well.
Overall, campers can use any sleeping bag liner with or without a sleeping bag.
How Do You Attach a Sleeping Bag Liner?
Sleeping bag liners are generally used as a separate item to snuggle in for a goodnight’s sleep. It is possible to either use a sleeping liner as a stand-alone for sleeping, or you can use it together with a sleeping bag to add some extra warmth.
However, it is also feasible to attach the liner inside your sleeping bag to combine it. When you want to attach the sleeping liner to your sleeping bag by sewing, it is recommended to sew it in such a way that it is detachable because otherwise, you would have to wash the entire sleeping bag instead of just the liner. One of the reasons for using a sleeping bag liner is to avoid the sleeping bag’s washing.
It is possible to create a sleeping bag liner yourself by using fleece material, for example, and sew the liner material to your sleeping bag by following these simple steps:
- To begin with, turn your sleeping bag inside-out. With the bag fully zipped, trace the shape of it on a packing paper or a newspaper. Then cut out along the traced line of the sleeping bag.
- Next, fold the sleeping bag liner, cut in half. Put the paper cut-out shape of the clot. Make sure to put one side of the paper exactly on top of the folded side of the cloth. Now pin the sleeping bag shaped cut-out on to the fleece to keep it in place. Cut along the edges. Make sure not to cut along the folded edge.
- Following, sew the piece of the ribbons on the folded side of the sleeping bag. Next, sew the other ribbon pieces to the folded side of the fleece. Now tie the ribbon of the sleeping bag to the ribbon of the sleeping liner. Do the following for all the ribbons. Lastly, neatly, turn your sleeping bag back the proper way around with the attached sleeping bag liner.
It is important to follow exact steps, especially attaching the ribbon pieces on both the sleeping bag and the liner.
How to Wash a Sleeping Bag Liner?
The best thing about a sleeping bag liner is that they are super easy to clean. All you have to do is throw it in the washing machine, and you are good to go. The only thing to watch out for is not to use bleach when washing. Moreover, a sleeping liner is dryer friendly.
What is a Sleeping Bag Liner? – Now you know!
A sleeping bag liner is an extremely helpful accessory while going on a camping trip, you will avoid dirt and insects coming into the sleeping bag and you will get additional warmth and hygiene. Easy to use and easy to clean!