Heresy: bag liner and pillow talk

[Sean Passanisi]

Hello. Does anyone use the Western Mountaineering bag liner? I've used the Sea to Summit Reactor Thermolite Mummy Bag Liner, but it's too heavy and bulky for the utility provided. I like using a liner to keep my bag clean and to use as a "protective" layer in hostel beds when traveling.

I've also used the Exped Air Pillow. I've found that it's okay, but not great and I'm wondering if the WM Cloudrest pillow would be more comfortable. Yes, I suppose I could use my down vest…

Thanks.

[And E]

Have you tried a silk liner? Not sure how much weight that would save over the Sea to Summit reactor. You could also do a MYOG ripstop liner from thruhiker M50 or 1.1 oz ripstop seconds from diygearsupply (only $3.20 per yard)

[Tom Lyons]

A silk liner is nice and light and packs small.
WM has a synthetic liner that is very light(4 oz), but I haven't tried it and I don't know how it feels, or how small it packs.

Regarding pillows, I use an inflatable travel "neck pillow" without any of the cloth covering. I cover it with whatever happens to be around at the time.

[Sean Smith]

I recently got a cloudrest pillow and think it's fantastic. It tucks nicely into my sleeping bag hood and has enough density to actually be comfortable.

I can see me taking it everywhere. It's good enough to replace a full size pillow on trips or for use travelling on planes, etc.

Before it I had a big agnes air pillow and would cover it with whatever I had handy. it slid around a lot and was not comfortable for me unless just the right amount of air was in it.

In my opinion, the cloudrest is far superior and packs down to nearly the same size. I'm not sure what the weight difference is though, but could weigh them if curious.

[Sumi Wada]

I've been on a pillow quest for a long time. I don't like the inflatables — someone described it as 'sleeping on a balloon' and I agree. I sleep on a down pillow at home, so I *invested* in a WM Cloudrest but it wasn't thick/firm enough for me as a side-sleeper. Not exactly UL at 4.6 oz either. I tried the pillow case stuffed with clothes route but that felt too hard and lumpy. My favorite was the old Thermarest foam-filled one that I have for car-camping, but it's also a whopping 7oz.

I think I've come up with a good DIY solution. I made a "hybrid" with a pillow part filled with about a 1/3 of the foam pieces out of the Thermarest pillow, with an attached sleeve that will hold my puffy jacket. I used 1.1oz nylon and lined the pillow half with a piece of Primaloft (or Climashield, I can remember which it is) so that it's not lumpy from the foam pieces. I faced one with cotton since I prefer it on my face. Pretty happy with the results. Weighs 3.3 oz.

Top pillow (silver) has my Montbell down inner stuffed in it, the bottom one is pillow only (unstuffed), showing the back pillow case part.

[EndoftheTrail]

All subjective here — but I started hiking with a silk liner, switched over to silk long johns, and never looked back:

1. I dislike (somewhat) the bag inside a bag arrangement — esp. when it's time to pee again…
2. I dislike the skin-on-skin feel when I sleep in tee shirt and shorts — or worse, nekkid…

I prefer wearing silk weight long johns. Mine weigh 6.5oz in total — versus 5.7 oz for 100% silk liner.

I never bring along a sleep sack when traveling. Washing it — and esp. drying it — would be a chore. And taking it to the laundry will cost you money. My experience is that most all hostels — budget and up — will provide clean sheets. The ones that don't? Those truly icky ones — the lack of a clean sheet won't be your only problem. Just stay away from them.

[Jan S]

I use a silk liner all the way. In general I hate having synthetic material directly on my skin and I always feel like the wicking and fast drying only means I sweat more. And because I hate wearing clothes while sleeping a silk liner is best.

I also managed to destroy the stitching on a down bag baffle with the skin of my feet, so I decided it's best to carry a bit more weight and not sending a bag in for repair once a year.

For pillows I'm actually happy to use clothes in a stuff sack because most pillows just seem too soft for a side sleeper.

[Sean Passanisi]

Thanks for all of the feedback!

[Max Dilthey]

I'm with Ben. Microweight merino wool for me. Beats a liner, I sent that waste of weight back to REI.

You get tons of extra material, a tough bag-within-bag nesting doll experience, no utility outside of sleeping, and on top of all that, it weighs half as much as a summer bag.

No thanks!

[spelt with a t]

My pillows right now are the thermarest foamies (nice but heavy) and a DIY of open cell foam from the craft store in a jersey sleeve. I did have a silk liner but the slipperyness of the bag-within-a-bag thing was too much. I ripped out the zipper on the liner and now take it with me as a travel sheet. I haven't taken it hiking for a couple years.

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