Thinking of making a sleeping bag liner

I also wanted a little extra bit of sleeping warmth for my legs. What I did was I sewed some UL pajama bottoms. I found some cheap fabric, and it is a black non-woven thing, so it is soft and not slick. You can see light through it, so it really doesn't have a lot of mass. I used a rain pants pattern from Thru-Hiker to sew it up. The finished weight is about two ounces.

Anyway, I wear those inside the sleeping bag. That keeps the sleeping bag slightly cleaner, it offers a tiny bit of warmth, and it gives me something to wear if I get up in the middle of the night.

If that didn't seem sufficient, then two layers of the same fabric might work.

–B.G.–

Pants made out of fabric might be 2 degree F

Fleece maybe 10 degrees but weighs maybe 12 ounces

2.5 ounce apex weighs about the same and gives maybe 30 degrees

If your legs are cold get some thicker long underwear and wear your hiking pants while sleeping as well (if they are dry). Even wear your rain pants if you have them.

Or spend the money and get down pants.

These are your options.

Hi Rocco

The most obvious question is what covering do you have on your head? If your head is bare, no amount of insulation will help your legs.

The next question is how tight is your long underwear? if it is tight, you are restricting the blood flow down your legs.

Old saying: 'If your feet are cold, put on a hat'. Very true.

Cheers

I love my down pants. Nice for in camp as well as in the bag.

Thanks for all the replies!

I have the zpacks down hood for my head in the winter. This helped me stay a lot warmer. Sometimes my head was even too warm. :)
My mid weight smart wool long underwear are fairly tight, but aren't they supposed to be that way?

I'm starting to think the most efficient route to warmth would be to get some down pants.

My goal is to upgrade my current Omni Heat Columbia jacket to a GoLite Bitteroot for colder winter weather and the Montbell Exlite or UL Jacket for above freezing.

You think I should wait until I upgrade my jackets to make a decision on this project?

EDIT:
Also, my feet are almost never cold. Only time I remember them being cold is because I used to have a 3/4 length pad and they hung off and touched the ground on a really cold night. I think the reason why my legs are cold is because I'm used to having my blanket rapped around my legs even in the summer time.

Snug is okay for long underwear. They shouldn't be tight. You shouldn't have to tug and stretch the material to get it up your legs. [think more traditional hose rather than nylon panty hose or dancer tights]

Pants might be a thing to consider. They would help balance things more. Wear them before you get in the quilt as well.

Are you still on the 3/4 mat? You say your feet don't get cold but maybe your legs would like something under them to keep them off the ground. If you still use the 3/4. Some people put their pack under their legs.

Yeah, I think I'll have to look into some down pants later on. Don't really have the money for them currently.

I did upgrade to the Neoair Xtherm Sleeping pad, but I was only able to use it once before it started warming up. It did help, but the test I did didn't quite match the conditions with the 3/4 length BA Insulated Aircore I used to use.

Now that I've decided down pants would be the best option, how much down do you think would work for me? I don't plan to wear them at camp much for walking around (That could change though), but if I do I'd like them to fit under my hiking pants for protection and or rain pants.

How much down would you say is adequate to extended my 10F quilt to a solid 0F and my 40F quilt to a solid 30F?

Also, when sitting around camp at ~20F-30F.

I don't know if down pants would add 10 degrees overall…

I don't have links, but had made record of some of R. Nisley's measurements for garments. He didn't test pants but he tested a Monte Bell UL Down Inner at 1.78 CLO. Putting that insulation (pants built about the same way) on your legs means 1.78 x .43 (percent of body). That gives about .75. According to his table for CLO v. Temp & Activity, that might add 5 degrees. And the table is an average. Results vary by person, of course.

So, that is the best answer I could give based on stuff you find in the forums. The only other answer is anecdotal 'this feels good for me' or 'you'll have to try them out'.

As far as amount of down, the MB pants are popular. I would take a look at those for fill weight. Maybe check pants with similar fill from other manufacturers for cost and total weight.

[since your legs are the limiting factor, the pants may "add" in that you will simply be comfortable at the temps currently uncomfortable… it sounds like you want two things from the pants: make your legs comfortable at the temps you sleep in now and further reduce the temp in which you can sleep (i presume also comfortably). i don't think getting both is likely.]

Guess I'll have to find out. Just got a lucky deal on an ExLite Jacket for $160 so I don't think I'll be getting the down pants anytime soon. Probably will order from Ben at Goosefeet gear for ~$200 when I'm ready. Knowing me that won't be long. ;)

My hope is with the down pants and the Golite Bitterroot I hope to have as well one day, I'd be able to go to 0F and not freeze and do 15F plenty warm.

Rocco, I have a down inner jacket, but I normally have enough other upper torso layers to wear while I am in the sleeping bag. So, when I think it is going to be cold and I already have my home made pajamas on, I simply wrap the down inner jacket around my hips and knees. That accomplishes a couple of things. First, it keeps parts of the legs warmer. Second, the down inner jacket absorbs some of my body heat so that when I get up in the morning (and need a warm jacket), the down inner jacket is already pre-warmed and ready. If you go crazy, you will try to figure out a way of pushing your feet through the inner jacket sleeves, but that isn't worth the hassle.

–B.G.–

You know… I've never thought about using my jacket as insulated pants. I'll have to see if that works. My legs are really small relatively.