I’m doing an expedition in Baja on the Sea of Cortez in April (Mulege to Loreto). I’d like to take my Mystic, which gives me a mere 14’ with a skeg box for packing gear, and I’ll need to carry about 5 gallons of water and food for about 7 days. I’m taking the tent (the hubby will carry it) because I am scorpion phobic, but I’m thinking of not taking my sleeping bag. I wonder if I could get by with a Sea to Summit Thermolite Reactor Sleeping Bag Liner by itself. I’m thinking it might get as low as 60 degrees at night and if it gets cold I will sleep in my fleece. I’d love to hear from someone who’s used this bag in warm weather. Thanks.
I’m curious ,too!
I got one of the liners this year, and took it on a campout at high elevation in New Mexico in August. It got chilly at night and I was surprised how much of the night I spent in the liner and not totally in my sleeping bag…I wish I knew the temps. I am going to the boundary waters canoe area next august and wonder if the liner would be enough…though I do intend to take the bag as well I suppose…
I dont buy that marketing phooey
that the Thermolite Reactor will make a great standalone summer bag.
It does extend the comfort rating of your bag by about five degrees F. 15 I think is overstating it.
I think 60 is pushing it for a stand alone bag.
We do carry one with our emergency bivvy though.
I think a bag is still called for. I am headed for the Everglades. Its not always hot there. I spent four nights a few years ago with temps just at freezing and the highs were historic lows.
Sea to Summit liner
– Last Updated: Dec-21-07 12:46 AM EST –
I've used the sea to summit liner inside my bivy at temperatures approaching fifty and have been OK. I think you could do it with a tarp or tent as long as you wear warm clothing. You may also want to look at one of the 55 degree bags -- I use an REI travel bag for most of the summer here in southeast Alaska, but make sure I am wearing a hat at night.
Glad to see others are thinking about saving weight and volume in kayaks.
Save your money
I took one with me to Northern Ontario with a 50 degree sleeping bag. Temperatures dropped into the low 40’s. I froze my butt off. Totally disappointed in it’s performance.
One or the other
Not both.
Generally August in the BWCA will be quite warm in the 80’s-90’s daytime, with nites in the 70’s-80’s. A couple of years ago of course we hit some kind of a record near Ely, about 30 deg. overnite.
warmer
Anyone try one of these in a cold situation?
http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=7903&memberId=12500226
hand warmers
We’ve slept with the little handwarmers in our pockets during early- or late-season car camping trips in colder temps.
Heck, I kept them in my pockets last week when the temps were below zero. They add a little bit of “coziness”.
I have one and…
used it a couple of times when the temps got really low and I was worried about getting cold. I used it to augment my sleeping bag. I think it adds 5-10 degrees to your sleeping bags rating, but I don’t think I would use it as a stand alone bag.
Desert nights
Dry air loses a lot of heat after dark. Rather than risk ruining your trip, why not buy (or rent) a Primaloft summer-weight sleeping bag? Somebody on pnet posted that they bought an EMS model rated to 35 degrees (which means it’d be good for me to 50 degrees), and that it stuffed into a 1-liter Nalgene bottle. You can’t get much smaller than that for sleeping bags.
If you still want to take just a bag liner, make sure you also bring mittens or gloves, fleece socks, and a full-head hat (balaclava or HeadSokz kind of hat). I’ve used those for winter camping and they really help.
Don’t get chilled before bedtime
On a trip last year, I froze the first night and sleep warmly the second in the same sleeping bag, same nighttime temp. The only difference was that I got chilled the first night and never completely warmed up in my bag (even with hat and socks). I had gone out for a short paddle after dark with bare feet and no arm covering. A slight breeze came up and that is all it took to make me cold and ruin my night. As far as your light liner bag - can you try it at home before you go in temperatures you expect to encounter?
-Nancy
Hot water bottle
You can always put boiling water in a nalgene or lexan type container (whatever that isn’t going to melt) and sleep with that. Works wonders in winter. at 60degs, it’ll probably be super hot but it does work.
Jay