quilt sleeping advice…

I moved to wearing long pants when I slept when I changed to quilts 8 years ago. It makes the pads more comfortable. Another option I've tried on longer trips is bicycle leg warmers (for example http://www.buy.com/pr/product.aspx?sku=225629350&sellerid=36965265 ) These are very light, provide a bit of warmth in the morning/evening, (they come in various fabric thicknesses). If you don't want/need to bring long pants they may be a good option for you.

If you wear your long hiking pants make sure you whack off the dirt before you enter your sleeping bag.

I usually bring sleeping clothes of some sort, but on an upcoming trip, I am not. The only extra clothing I am bringing is an extra pair of socks, and a down hat just in case the temp drops a little.

I wear convertible pants when hiking. This keeps my legs relatively clean. Then at night, I will simply zip the legs off my pants and sleep in the shorts. For the most part, I should be fairly clean, except maybe my but. If this is the case, I can ditch the pants all together and sleep in my undies… :)

I use a neoair and have have always been fine when sleeping in shorts on it. The quilt's footbox usually comes up close to my knees anyway, so there is not much skin contact really. Even so, I don't mind sleeping directly on the neo…can't say for the UL7…

Of course, a good washing before bed will help too. Just take a towel and dip it in some water and wash your legs/feet off before climbing in.

Also, just curious, which quilt did you get? Down or synthetic? If it is the "RS" quilt, that is synthetic and not down. The "RS" stands for "Recycled Synthetics".

I bring clothes to sleep in. Yes, that goes against UL techniques, but I have a hard time getting into my clean, $400 quilt in the sweaty, dirty pants that I wore hiking all day. Patagonia Cap 1 silkweight bottoms (large) weigh 4 oz., wick away moisture and are super soft, clean and comfortable to sleep in. I consider them a 'luxury' item, as they certainly aren't necessary and only serve one purpose, but it's worth it, especially if I sleep better!

I bring lightweight long johns, top and bottom, for cold weather and sleeping. Personally I favor merino, but synthetic would do as well. Think about how things work as a whole clothing system.

On the other hand, if it's just the sweating at night that's a problem, perhaps a MYOG fitted sheet would indeed be the answer. A lightweight synthetic material – not cotton – might be just the ticket and still lighter than the full sleeping bag.

+1 for what tommy said

try a lightweight base layer silkweight would be ideal in summer temps

also what i do with my quilt setup is to just put the quilt over the top of your pad and do not put the pad inside the footbox end of your quilt like i have seen some people do this allows you to put your feet outside of your quilt and regulate the temp inside a bit at least for me this is what works pretty good

are you sleeping in a bivy or tent or bugnet shelter ??

kevin

The lightest solution would be a small silk sheet to cover the pad, 1 to 2 oz total depending on the size and weight of silk. Probably something like 8mm habotai silk from: http://www.dharmatrading.com/fabric/silk/habotai.html (The smaller the mm number the lighter and less durable).

Sierra trading post and Campmor carry real silk long johns, but it looks like Pata. cap 1 silkweight is really silk weight and more durable.

Common problem.
Wash (well, rinse) before going to bed – should be possible most nights, even if done with a small bandanna or similar. Very refreshing (especially down near 0 C!).
Use silk liner bag or silk pygamas. You can convert a silk liner bag into rough pygamas with a little extra silk for the sleeves.

Cheers

Thanks Roger. I'm still mulling over the whole switching to a quilt thing. It was starting to look like there would be no weight loss, but I have a silk liner anyway, so problem solved.
Duane

I use silk long underwear so that there is at least something between me and the pad underneath me. In cool/cold weather it would be merino long underwear at a minimum, often more. Quilt is just the last layer worn to sleep. Below 20 deg F I switch to a sleeping bag.

I'm also a very hot sleeper and use a quilt. I've found that a pair of shorts is all I need to wear if I use my sleeping bag liner. Currently I have a silk liner, thinking of picking up one of the Coolmax liners as well.

Edit: Just checked out the Coolmax liners, 9oz is just too much I'll stick with the 4.8oz silk liner.

I rarely go to bed without washing first and wear silk weight long tops and bottoms along with silk socks. This works even in fairly warm temps. Just got back today from a five day trip with record warm temps but still lots of snow and ice on some lakes. Makes for a very brisk but refreshing dip. As you are diving in, you pretty much turn mid dive, and head back to shore before you hit the water.

it was so brutally hot where we were during the day (99 at one point!) that we pretty much spent the whole evening in the river. I usually use my insulating base layer as my sleeping clothes but with those temps I just brought a pair of nylon running shorts and a dry shirt to sleep in. It was chilly enough at night to not be able to just sleep on top of the down quilt (yes, it is the down one – sorry about the RS part. Not sure where I got that…) but i was just quite sticky sleeping right on the pad.

I have a full tent – it's the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 for me and my 80 pound pooch. His prey drive is really high and I need to confine him in the tent at night – lest he go and bring things back to me when I'm asleep……. One of these days I'll figure out how to do a tarp and keep him locked inside securely (I'll take advice on that, too!)

I like the idea of a DIY silk sheet – that might be exactly what I'm looking for and possibly worth the minimal weight/bulk. Of course, what really needs to happen is that I need to not go hiking in the Ozarks when it's 99 outside…that was awful.

This weekend I'm off to northern Michigan where it will be cool enough at night to try long sleeves/pants to sleep in. I'll see if that does it…but my next step my be the silk sheet. That could feel quite comfortable, I think…