What to wear inside sleeping bag?

[Jon D]

For the life of me, I cannot get a straight answer by way of Google searching this question and since I can't see a forum topic on this subject, I'll put it to you lot. What clothing (if any) do you wear inside your sleeping bag? The past few occassions I've worn varying degrees of layered clothing and have been somewhat cold during the night, not the performance I'd expect from my Snugpak Hawk Softie 9 Sleeping Bag. Is it best to just strip off completely? What do you all do?

Thanks.

[jus_young]

There are differing theories on this. Some say that the wearing of clothes will limit the amount of heat being emitted from the body to warm the air within the bag and its insulation. This will then effect the the rate in temperature rise during the nights sleeping but also make you feel colder in the mornings when getting out of the bag due to the layers worn all night.

The other theory is of course that the wearing of layers should keep you warmer just as it would with your clothing during the day.

Personally, I just wear what I want in the bag which is normally a base later. That way if I need to do a relief visit during the night I don't get chilled or scare anyone.

What are you sleeping on? We can lose a lot of heat through the ground so maybe it's your mat that may need changing.

[Jon D]

Thanks for the reply Jus. It's happened a couple of times in my hammock, even with under blanket and Thermorest beneath me, also when ground dwelling in UK DPM Bivvi Bag with Thermorest.

[Bushwhacker]

Start with as little as possible - Just wear your base shirt and keep a spare top inside the bag in case you get cold, that way it's already warm and you don't have to get out of the bag to fetch it or put it on. Don't take your trousers right off, just pull them down to your ankles, that way if you get cold you can just pull them up whilst still inside the bag or, if you get caught short in the night, again, you only need pull them up instead of messing about trying to put them back on. Don't be tempted to put your head inside your bag, always keep your nose and mouth pointing outside otherwise condensation from your breath will build up and make you cold. Also, as already stated, you may want to look at how you're insulated from the ground. I use a thickish foam mat and don't have any problems.

[ratcatcher]

heres what we all wore on our last camping session at the woods, four of us in DD hammocks, the rest in tents

[Silverback]

I wear ron hills and a base layer in my doss bag....I'll either keep another top layer in the bag with me or close at hand but I never sleep in the clothes I have worn that day

[Bernie]

The last NB meet I was at, Fish measured the lowest temperature below zero in the night. I was in a down sleeping bag inside my normal sleeping bag. I was warm as toast.

Oh, and I was only wearing my wedding ring.

[Bushwhacker]

Ah, nearly forgot. A silk bag liner can make all the difference too.

[FishyFolk]

Norwegians are in two camps

Either naked or wearing a dry wool base layer and thick wool socks.

I do the first in summer, and the second in winter.

Here is a swedish video that explains it quite well (English subtitles).

[jbrown14]

In my experience; even more important than what you're wearing over most of your body, the three most important articles of clothing for cold weather sleeping are: 1. knit cap, 2. mittens, and 3. socks.

I tend toward being very warm while walking so my gloves and hat for winter walking even in below freezing temps are fairly thin and close-fitting. I've found that a looser, thicker cap of wool or synthetic fleece paired with a similar pair of gloves or mittens and then an over-sized pair of socks sometimes layered over a thinner liner pair helps keep me warm well below the temp rating of my sleeping bag.

In the summer, I hang, and I usually wear nothing more than a pair of soccer (football, woo!) shorts.

Realistically, you have to tailor what you wear to match the conditions you're experiencing in the field compared with the capabilities of your sleeping gear.

All the best!

Josh