Isle Royale Forums

My husband and I are planning our first trip to Isle Royal this June. We are shooting for June 18-22, but our dates are not set in stone yet. I have been looking into different options for gear and one thing I don’t see addresses very often is sleeping bag liners. I know the weather in June can result in some cold nights and I was wondering what everyone thought about bringing a sleeping bag liner along? I have the following sleeping bag https://www.rei.com/product/127863/marm ... bag-womens. I should note that I’m usually cold, and I don’t want to spend the entire trip freezing.

My husband on the other hand has a different sleeping bag. It is listed here. He runs warm all the time. We are like polar opposites when it comes to sleeping temps

Would you suggest we have sleeping bag liners with us? If so, what would you recommend? Thank you all for taking the time to look this over!

I am also a very cold sleeper, and I use a sleeping bag liner both for a bit of additional warmth and also to keep my sleeping bag clean. Some things to consider are how closely your sleeping bag fits around you, and what are you wearing to sleep in, because if there isn’t any extra room, a fleece liner won’t help. Also, be sure to amp up the sleeping pad you use- I almost always carry an insulated air pad AND a closed-cell foam pad and stack them to sleep on. When it’s unexpectedly cold, I also use my puffy jacket inside my sleeping bag for extra torso insulation. I also invested in top-quality sleeping bags in the right length for my height, so there is not a lot of extra space in the foot. But that was after years of managing with a good-quality bag that was too long, by using my fleece jacket at night to wrap my feet at the bottom of my sleeping bag. So, a liner can help and be sure to consider using other stuff you’re carrying. And wear a warm hat!

I’ve used a 35 deg bag and a silk liner and have been fine on IR, a bit chilly in the 30s. I also have a heavier liner that doesn’t help as much as it seems it should. I don’t use a liner with my 25 deg bag—extra weight and they’re a bit annoying to crawl in and out of. But as bobcat1 says it’s more important to have good insulation under you. I’ll also wear socks and my base layer if need be.

My husband and I went the 2nd week of June 2018, and I had a 22 degree sleeping bag. Wore all of my clothing each night (puffy jacket, hats, mitts, pants/leggings, etc) inside my sleeping bag and was still chilly. So it wouldn't be a bad idea to bring the liner. That being said, sounds like you are going 2 weeks later than I did, and thus it should be a little warmer- you never know, though!

What sleeping pad do you have to sleep on? Knowing you are a cold sleeper, I would make sure you have a full-length pad and well-insulated, probably a model recommended for winter camping to handle Isle Royale ground in June. Remember, whatever insulation you are wearing and your sleeping bag underneath you will be compressed by your body weight and the cold from the ground will conduct up into your body unless you have good insulation under you that comes from your sleeping pad.

I am a (very) cold sleeper also. I still have my 0 degree bag in early June and switch to a 20 degree in late June. I really don't like to be cold. I carry my dry suit insulation (effectively snug fitting sweats) until mid June. These are my camp clothes and sleeping clothes. I also have a silk liner. Like others, I use it for extra warmth and to keep my bag clean. when I get too warm, I open the bag and the liners acts as a sheet for just a little warmth. in August when it is mostly warm, I still have my 20 degree and open it to use it as a blanket, but I still have my liner.

So like most folks here, what I say will depend on you a lot.
What temps are you comfortable in that bag? Do you eat before you go to bed? What is your sleeping pad? What do you wear for sleeping?

Each individual is different. My wife was all sealed up and cuddled up in an optimistically rated 0 degree bag, when I was sleeping in a half open 40 degree bag on a cool night out. She was on an inflatable pad on top of a ridgerest pad, and I was on a blue foam pad.

That said I usually use most of the blankets on the bed to insulate myself from her at home (she runs close to 99f as her standard temp, I'm in the 97.5f range)

Because I'm very bad at staying warm, I've tried sleeping bag liners. But I couldn't figure out how to operate them. (As a rotisserie sleeper, I always wound up twisting them into a swivet with me trapped at the center.) I think a high quality 25* bag would normally do just fine even for me mid-June on IR. But if I were to hedge my bets, the hedge would take the form of a plusher, better insulated sleeping pad, a warm set of dedicated sleeping clothes (including socks!), and (like Chippy!) a willingness to deploy additional garments as needed.

If I'm in a shelter on a cold night, I'll sleep in my tent anyway, for the few extra degrees of warmth that provides. (It's also kind of fun to figure out how to pitch it without stakes.) And a tent shared with another mammal --- for instance, a husband -- will be warmer than tenting it alone.

I don't use a sleeping bag liner. I bring a 30 degree bag to Isle Royale no matter what time of year. I sleep in some long underwear and a hat. Good to go!

Awesome! Thanks everyone! I’m now looking into specific kinds of sleeping pads. My husband just bought the Sleepngo pad so I’m going to test it to see if I like it or not! If it seems like it’s going to do the job, I won’t go with the liner. I do sleep with lots of clothes, and nice warm wool socks and a hat!

Sleeping pad liners help to keep the inside of your bag clean (and they add a FEW extra degrees of warmth). However, if warmth, low weight, and low "volume" are your goals--a low weight sleeping bag (rated for colder weather) is usually better than a liner. Liners usually add far fewer degrees of warmth than their labels and advertisements would indicate. I would also echo what people said about having a warmer sleeping pad or TWO pads (closed cell foam AND air pad). Happy hiking!