Bushwalk Australia

Hi, i'm looking for a sleeping bag liner and was looking at the sea to sumit silk liner or sea to sumit Thermolite reactor liner. Can anyone tell me which is the way to go? And does anyone use any of these.
Cheers Rod

Many don't use liners at all but I do...
Silk is the way to go for me. Light , packs small, protects my bag from dirt and sweat and it is very easy to wash. dries fast too.
The Thermolite has had very mixed reviews. Many estimate the "extra warmth" to be about half of the given temp, but it is very subjective.
BTW, I believe that a clean bag and a clean body make a huge difference on comfort and warmth.
Franco

Hi Rod,

Silk liners cost about $25 or so. You need 1.8m of silk taffeta, or specialty sleeping bag liner material that costs about the same ($12 per metre)

I use one - it adds two or three degrees to the warmth of the bag in my experience, in addition to the added convenience of cleaning.

Silk sleeping bag liner / silk taffeta comes in rolls 4' wide, just fold it in half lengthwise and run it through a sewing machine to make a tube, then sew up one end.

If you have access to an overlocker, you have a professional quality liner at a third of the price.

Cheers,

eddie

edit: Use the small offcut to make a bag for it, or store it inside your sleeping bag.

i have a silk one. it give a cpl extra degrees to the bag, and it makes for a bit more modesty on the hot summer camps when in a hall full of scouts... not really kosher to sleep starkers infront of 15-18 year olds...

Apart from hot weather when it is used instead of a bag I much prefer the freedom of thermals to keep the bag clean. One of my, what are you thinking, moments, is with zips on sleeping bags and liners. A liner effectively negates the purpose of the zip so why buy a bag with a zip if you are going to use a liner? Silk sleeping gear might be the goes for me a I find a liner annoys me by getting tangled up in one. S2S make good ones in varying length though if you chose to go that path.

Cheers Brett

does S2S mean sea to sumit??

Macca81 wrote:i have a silk one. it give a cpl extra degrees to the bag, and it makes for a bit more modesty on the hot summer camps when in a hall full of scouts... not really kosher to sleep starkers infront of 15-18 year olds...

Hey Macca81,
Whats with Venturers sleeping in "halls" especialy in summer?? have they gone soft with all the new regulations
corvus

rsriddle_76 wrote:does S2S mean sea to sumit??

Yes that is what I mean.

Cheers Brett

corvus wrote:

Macca81 wrote:i have a silk one. it give a cpl extra degrees to the bag, and it makes for a bit more modesty on the hot summer camps when in a hall full of scouts... not really kosher to sleep starkers infront of 15-18 year olds...

Hey Macca81,
Whats with Venturers sleeping in "halls" especialy in summer?? have they gone soft with all the new regulations
corvus

yes mate, they are definatly going soft...

caving and rafting trips, its just easier to chuck em in a hall (for the leaders more than anything). its a good stepping stone between scouts in tents and rovers in the back of cars/swags/under car/in a patrol boat/anywhere else that looks semi flat...

My family and I all love our Thermolite Reactors. I swear by them and love them.

Macca81 wrote:

corvus wrote:

Macca81 wrote:i have a silk one. it give a cpl extra degrees to the bag, and it makes for a bit more modesty on the hot summer camps when in a hall full of scouts... not really kosher to sleep starkers infront of 15-18 year olds...

Hey Macca81,
Whats with Venturers sleeping in "halls" especialy in summer?? have they gone soft with all the new regulations
corvus

yes mate, they are definatly going soft...

caving and rafting trips, its just easier to chuck em in a hall (for the leaders more than anything). its a good stepping stone between scouts in tents and rovers in the back of cars/swags/under car/in a patrol boat/anywhere else that looks semi flat...

A bit off topic i know, but do i detect a couple of Scouts ( or ex Scouts) here?

Regards mark

A bit off topic i know, but do i detect a couple of Scouts ( or ex Scouts) here?

Regards mark

Who would have guessed

I was invested in 1957 and ended up a leader of Adults after a stint as CL,SL,VGL, I am still an invested Scout because I have not been expelled and "once a Scout always a Scout"
I think you will find that many forum members were involved in the Scouting/Guiding movement.

Here's my 2 cents worth.
For the feel of fabric I prefer the S2S cotton/silk blend liner. Does feel better than 100% silk, which I find a little slippery.
Don't have a problem with the feel of the reactor, although I don't think they add as much warmth as advertised and they are a bit weighty. I use the reactor alone in QLD when it's too hot for a +7 bag.
I am also a poor sleeper who tosses and turns and gets twisted in a liner, so I do prefer wearing a layer of thermals to bed when its cold enough. Icebreaker (merino)feels awesome, but a bit heavier than synthetics. Next week I will be on the OT and will give my new Patagonia cap4 thermals(synthetic) a whirl as my night clothes. Light for their warmth and actually a really nice feeling fabric.
Cheers,
Juney

The discussion on One Piece Bushwalking Sleepwear has been split off to its own topic.

I have a Cocoon and an early S2S tube thing with the bottom sewn up. The latter was far too short for me and finished at my chest.

The Cocoon is excellent and has a hoody with a tie. The hoody keeps the head area of the bag very clean, this area IMHO is the most likely area to get quite stinky and oily from human oils etc. Cocoons very light and with the $30 or so I paid for it.

rsriddle_76 wrote:Hi, i'm looking for a sleeping bag liner and was looking at the sea to sumit silk liner or sea to sumit Thermolite reactor liner. Can anyone tell me which is the way to go? And does anyone use any of these.
Cheers Rod

I have a thermolite liner. I have never used a silk liner but suspect it would let you slide around in the bag much better than the thermolite does. The thermolite seems very warm, not sure about the claimed 8 deg. Perceived temperature does not seem to relate to the thermometer that well so I think it would be hard to do a meaningful field comparison. My son likes his thermolite liner too.

I bought around a grands worth of gear and presented my researched best prices so got a good job lot deal. The liner wasn't so pricy that way.

Maybe just buy and try for a while then flog on ebay if not happy.


Regards,
Ken

I have a StS Silk liner and find it very good. Keeps my bag clean so that I dont have to wash it very often(down) and the silkliner I just bung in the wash with the other hiking clothes. I looked at buying the thermolite, however in researching it I found too many people said the extra degrees advertised were not true and it was maybe a slightly better than a silk liner but for the weight not worth it.
Hope that helps.

I've got a Sea to Summit silk liner. Hate it, and don't believe the temperature claims. Basically, I think it's too narrow and I end up tangled in it. Only reason I use it is for the sleeping bag cleaning advantages.

Recently bought some terramar light silk top and long johns - will try these as an alternative.

Just looked into the Silk Liner market again. At Scout Outdoor, they have two brands for $60 and at Kathmandu, their own brand at $65, when it's discounted by the habitual 50%.
The advantage with their's is they have two sizes for the same price, each with ripstop fabric, and the Large is spacious at 205cm long and 90cm wide, adding to the weight just a little. Much hardier than the s2s I bought years ago.
It's a dear bit of gear. It's certainly lighter than the Polypro and no doubt breaths a lot better.
"A filament of silk is stronger than a similar filament of steel, with an incredible breaking strength of over 65,000 pounds per square inch. It is a good insulator, is not injured by temperatures as high as 284deg.F and can soak up 30% of it's weight in water, and still feel dry." Bellamy's Europe(1976)

I have 2 sleeping bag liners
- StS Rectangular long cotton (210 x 92cm)
- StS Reactor Extreme. 15C (210 x 90cm)

First thing to decide is if to get a rectangular or mummy liner. I use a semi rectangular sleeping bag and noted that the foot width of a mummy liner was a bit narrower than my sleeping bag. There is no point of having a more spacious sleeping bag if you are then just limited in movement by the liner so bought the rectangular liner. The standard liners for StS are 185cm long but i opted for the long 210cm liner, remember when lying flat with toes pointed down it adds several inches to your overall length plus the oils/dirt from your head/face/hair are likely to get onto your sleeping bag if the liner is too short so dont underestimate the length liner you will need.

The StS Reactor Extreme is mummy shaped but would not be as rectrictive as the cotton mummy liners because they are quite stretchy. The extreme version is claimed to add 15C to your bag but on reading most reviews on the product its probably best to view it as half that claim (7C)

I make my own silk liner( well my wife does). On my second one, it cost $28 for the silk and it is longer than a normal one and cut specifically for my sleeping bag( semi -rectangular).
Roger

Norts, if you're able to make liners at $28 plus labour, you may have some customers here (Marketplace section). Cheap to post and less than half the retail price. Silk leaves the others for dead.

I would have to pay she who must be obeyed, and her pay rate is exorbitant.

Not sure about the quality of the silk, its a bit thick. Got it on special at Spotlight.

Roger