Somewhere Slowly

My post about camino sleeping bags always sees a lot of interest. When I started out, it was one of my main concerns – how to stay warm and comfortable in the night so I could get a good restorative rest and make the most of my days. So yes, I ordered, I returned, I got hung up on weight, I pondered lightweight but fragile down vs machine washable synthetics, and in the end I invested in the cocoon of bliss which is the Sea to Summit Traveler TR1 – it can be zipped up from the top, from the bottom, opened out completely as a quilt, the foot end can be cinched tight or left open, and I could finally sleep with the zip on top of me instead of at one or other side, making it easier to get out and back in when I had to visit the loo in the night.

Only “problem” is it can get too hot in a stuffy albergue, but if I opened it up like a duvet, I’d need some form of sheet (the disposable paper sheets provided aren’t very comfortable and tend to come loose in the night) and sleeping on top of it with no cover wasn’t always a good option either. I tried adding a silk sleeping bag liner to use with it or on its own, but though people love them, I can find them restrictive and get them twisted around me. Plus it’s another thing to carry and potentially not use. Time to think outside the box.

So I looked at normal quilts and blanket, but they would invariably fall off me in the night, or I’d end up sleeping on the mattress, which is what I was trying to avoid. I did get a Thermarest Juno blanket, though, thinking it’d work great at home in the winter – it is impressively warm for the thickness and weight of it! And it has a handy zipped pouch at one end to stuff it into when not in use, making it a very nice little pillow.

And then I saw this: A Sea to Summit Breeze knitted cool-max liner (they also have a warmer version, Reactor) with the same cinch opening at the bottom and even buttons on the “shoulders” – I imagine you could stick your legs out, hoik the bag up and go to the loo without even fighting your way out of and back into the liner!

Between them they weigh more or less the same as a sleeping bag and covered more uses for me, so guess what, I found the older version of the liner to try, without the opening at the foot end, and I put the blanket *inside* the liner rather than the liner inside a sleeping bag. And it works!! The blanket stays in place, I can pull it around me if I’m cold or shove it to one side if it gets too warm, and the top opening of the liner is wide and stretchy enough to get in and out without any problems. I can use the liner on its own, I can wrap the blanket around me to sit outside on a cool evening or after a shower, and I can wrap the liner around my neck if I’m cold. The liner also works wonders on its own when I stay in private rooms, where it can also get cold if there is no heating or the bedding isn’t warm enough for me.

Fun fact – I love the cool-max material so much I even got a Cocoon travel blanket which I use as a scarf, wrap, sheet or blanket whenever I travel – perfect for flights, trains and bus journeys!

*No, this isn’t an ad, I have paid for all the stuff myself, I am just very excited to find solutions that work for me!