You can use a sleeping bag liner with a quilt for a shelter arrangement when camping.
This combination has a lot of advantages such as thermal insulation and an additional layer of protection for your quilt. It also comes with a few challenges you’ll need to overcome when relying on quilts and liners in specific conditions, especially in cold weather.
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What Are Sleeping Bag Liners?
Liners are pieces of gear that you put inside your sleeping bag. There are numerous reasons why people use liners. Sleeping bag liners are a great way to improve your sleeping bag’s thermal efficiency and longevity. They protect the inside of the bag from dirt and your body’s oils.
In addition to this, sleeping bag liners can be useful in a number of situations. You can use them to reinforce your bivvy bag when bivvying in the rain to improve your shelter’s strength.
You can use a liner by itself when sleeping in warmer climates. This will prevent you from having to wash the sleeping bag too many times, thus extending its lifespan.
Finally, if you like ultralight camping and hiking, you can use a sleeping bag liner with nothing but a quilt or a sleeping bag. If the weather allows it, and you prefer to not carry a large and bulky sleeping arrangement, you can use a sleeping bag liner with a quilt.
How to Choose a Sleeping Bag Liner?
When you’re looking for the perfect liner, you’ll want to keep a couple of things in mind. First off, you need to know for which situations you’ll be picking the liner. If you’ll be using the liner to complement your sleeping bag, you won’t need to focus on thermal efficiency. Just make sure you’ve got a durable and tear-resistant liner.
On the other hand, if you’re looking to camp in freezing conditions, you’ll want a thermally insulated sleeping bag liner that will preserve your body heat.
Other things you should consider when picking a sleeping bag liner are:
- weight – the weight of your liner will probably depend on whether you car camp or hike to your campsite.
- shape – while this may not be the most crucial factor, choosing the right shape for your liner is still important. You can get a rectangle liner or one that’s shaped like a sleeping bag.
- fabric – the type of fabric is the most crucial factor when it comes to durability and thermal resistance. The most common ones are made from polyester, nylon, silnylon, or cotton.
Ideal Situations for Quilts
People have been using quilts when camping for ages. They are pretty good for keeping you warm at night, easy to carry, and you can use them in various ways. This is precisely why they have been so popular in the camping community.
Quilts are popular for camping in high humidity and hot weather because they are easy to ventilate. They also allow for great thermal regulation, since you can cover yourself enough to keep warm but allow air circulation as well.
Even though they are primarily used for camping in hot conditions, you can combine them with various other pieces of camping gear for additional versatility. In cold environments, you can pair up a quilt and a tent to keep warm. Add a sleeping bag into the mix and you’ll be comfortable even in freezing temperatures.
All in all, quilts are extremely versatile and allow you to have layers in your sleeping arrangement. Layered equipment will allow you to have a more adaptable set up which will enable you to tackle a greater variety of conditions.
Advantages of a Sleeping Liner and Quilt Combo
Believe it or not, the quilt and sleeping bag liner combination is very popular with outdoor enthusiasts all around the globe, especially if they’re into ultralight camping. It’s easy to see why this is the case. This type of shelter is durable, versatile, and carries a lot more useful perks with it.
The Liner Provides Additional Protection for Your Quilt
Using a sleeping bag liner with a quilt is very similar to using a liner with a sleeping bag. The liner will prevent any sticks, rocks, or dirt from your clothes from damaging the quilt. This will allow your gear to last longer and give you more interesting adventures without having to worry about your gear.
In addition to this, a sleeping bag liner will prevent any damage to the integrity of your camping quilt. When we sleep in the wild, as well as at home, we tend to sweat, drool, and our skin releases some of its oils. This is a completely natural process that takes place wherever we sleep.
Unfortunately, natural body oils and sweat can ruin a camping quilt. Using a liner will remove the need to constantly clean and ventilate your quilt. This will save you some time when on the trail and will make your quilt last longer in a better condition.
The Quilt and Sleeping Bag Liner Combo Has Better Insulation
If you’re camping in colder conditions, pairing your quilt with a sleeping bag liner will provide you with extra insulation to keep you warm. It will work basically the same as with a sleeping bag. The only difference is that you can use a quilt to make different types of shelter setups.
Even though the quilt and liner combo gives a lot of insulation, it is still not meant for camping or hiking in extremely cold weather. If you’re planning a trip that will require you to sleep in below 30-degree weather, you should bring a different type of sleeping arrangement.
This Combination of Gear Is Light and Versatile
When you have a quilt, you can use it for more than just wrapping yourself in it when going to sleep. You can sit or rest your gear on it, or use it to carry firewood. In some extreme cases, you can even use it as a makeshift tarp to keep your head dry. It is very much like having a multitool when backpacking.
When you add a sleeping bag liner to the mix, you get even more versatility and utility. Your imagination is the limit!
However, even when you use them solely as a sleeping arrangement, you will have lightweight gear that you’ll be able to carry with you everywhere you go. So, no need to set up camp and return there every night of the trip. With the quilt and liner, you’re carrying your camp with you.
Quilts and Sleeping Bag Liners Are Easy to Set Up
The most basic advantage of using a sleeping liner with a quilt would be that it’s so easy to set up for the night. It will take almost no time! And, provided that you scanned your surroundings beforehand, you can set this combo up in the dark.
Taking it down in the morning is just as easy. You’ll just need to make sure that both the liner and the quilt are clean and you’ll be good to go.
Sleeping Liner and Quilt Cons
While it is a pretty good type of shelter, there are still some drawbacks when using it. You’ll just have to figure out a way around them or decide on a different type of shelter for your next trip. Additionally, if you research the conditions you’ll be facing on your adventure, you can compensate for many of the drawbacks we’ll mention here.
- Ventilation might be a challenge – in humid conditions, you’ll want to ventilate both pieces of gear regularly to prevent mold from forming. Just as bivvy sacks can get suffocatingly hot in some temperatures, you’re bound to perspire a lot in a liner and quilt setup.
- You’re still sleeping on the ground – No matter how cozy you feel inside your quilt and liner setup, if your shelter isn’t lifted up from the ground, you’ll leak heat. When camping in colder conditions, you might want to place your sleeping setup on a bed of logs or moss.
- Might be unnecessary in some cases – in some cases, you will need just a quilt and your liner will be redundant. You can find ways to repurpose a good liner, but in the end, you’re just carrying two pieces of gear when you need only one. If you’re camping in mild and stable weather that doesn’t change a lot, you can consider ditching the liner.
Try Out Your Gear Before Taking It on a Serious Trip
Finally, the universal rule of camping gear still applies – your gear is only as good as you are.
No matter what kind of equipment you have, it ultimately comes down to how well you know how to use it. Before using a sleeping bag liner with a quilt on your next journey, take the time to try it out somewhere closer to home. If you can, test this shelter setup in various conditions to see whether it works for you.
Also, think about why you’re choosing this particular shelter combination in the first place. Are you camping in dry or humid weather? Do you prefer lightweight versatile gear or do you like to have a specific tool for each task? What comforts are you willing to give up on the trail, and which ones can’t you live without?
Once you answer these questions, you’ll know what kind of gear you need and why exactly you chose that gear in particular. This will make it easier to practice with it and, later, use it on your adventures.
