There are many advantages to bringing this small half-pound of surplus gear such as keeping your body oils off your sleeping bag or quilt; extra weather protection in case of temperature drops; as a stand alone sleeping bag on summer trips; as a barrier at hostels and hotels and a soft buffer between you and hard nylon or polyester fabric of a sleeping bag or quilt.

After bringing a liner on nearly all of my trips it’s my opinion that this is a great piece of gear to have along on any backpacking trip for a little piece of insurance.  And at 8.1oz it’s light enough to not cause too much of a guilt trip because of the extra weight.  I already owned a Columbia Omni-Heat Sleeping Bag Liner and it proved itself on many a winter hike but was over 10oz and a little bulky so like any good backpacker I’m always on the hunt to shave a few ounces and bulk.  Well that’s where this Sea To Summit Reactor liner came in with its lighter weight.

When I removed it from its stuff sack I was immediately impressed with the softness of the fabric and how small it compresses.  The fabric is very soft but it’s also very thin and so I question the effectiveness of this liner and whether it will really improve the warmth of my quilt by up to 14 degrees F.  I knew with winter approaching I would have ample opportunity to give it a go.

Before purchasing it I was a little concerned with the length of it because at 6’2″ I tend to be just a tad to tall for regular versions of sleeping bags and quilts so I always go with the long versions.  I knew it was a gamble but I went ahead and purchased it and it turned out to be plenty long enough for me.

 

 

Another concern was the constrictiveness of it because a lot of liners are smaller than standard sleeping bags to be able to fit in them okay.  One of the reasons I switched to quilts from sleeping bags is because I move around a lot and anytime I use a sleeping bag I end up twisted like a pretzel.  But, this liner has plenty of room and it’s super stretchy so those two factors combined makes it very compatible to my sleep style.

 

 

 

First Trial….