At what temp do you forego sleeping-specific insulation entirely?

[spelt with a t]

For those of you who experience summertime lows in the 70s and sometimes 80s or more (so, NOT Sierra folks!), how hot does it have to be before you skip the bag or quilt and just sleep in your clothes?

[HkNewman]

For me, about 62 F. Overnight temps camping in Hawaii woke me up at about 60, so I wrapped up in a Patagonia R1, put on my pants, went back to sleep.

[Tipi Walter]

I always keep something to sleep under on a trip as you just never know. I was out on May 25 last month and got frost on an open bald over 5,000 feet. My summer thing is an old down bag w/o much loft but it's a throw-away and works for the 3 seasons. I have not gone on any intentional backpacking trips and just slept in my clothes but I've gone from a simple bivy to a wool blanket and lightweight polarguard.

[Randy Martin]

Good question. I have been thinking about the same thing recently for an SUL setup for summer. It's pretty easy to experiment at home which is exactly what I have done. Presumably your home temp is around the low 70s. What I found was that my Cocoon Bag liner (100% silk) was adequate with just a base layer on (pants and shirt). You would get the same effect with a UL bivy. Basically just need something to avoid convective heat loss from wind.

[Pete Staehling]

I don't think I have ever been on a trip of any length where there wasn't a reasonable chance for a cold night. I have slept without anything over me for a night here or there, but even when it was 115 F on one trip within 48 hours we had frost overnight at higher altitude. So I have never been on a trip that I didn't use my sleeping bag at all.

On a very hot trip, I did once use a piece of bed sheet to sleep under, but still at least partially covered up most nights at some point before morning.

[spelt with a t]

>>What I found was that my Cocoon Bag liner (100% silk) was adequate with just a base layer on (pants and shirt).

That's what I've been doing at home in the summer, too. I can remember a couple summers ago when there was a string of nights in the 90s with no wind and even my in hammock with no insulation top or bottom and only tshirt and shorts on it was hot and sticky. This was in the backyard. Depending on the weather later in the summer, I may try a couple overnights without a bag.

[Randy Martin]

Might want to check out this thread as well

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=78398

As I mentioned there, a 100% silk bag liner like the Cocoon Mummy bag liner is ideal.

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