Sleeping Bags & liners - help needed!!

[RandomMess]

DC have been doing DofE and both moaned they were too cold to sleep despite layering up etc.

I suspect the school sleeping bags aren't 4 season...

So if I bought a 4 season sleeping bag have you recommendations as the price range of those claiming big to be 4 seasons is huge!!!

Also I wondered about a silk liner - light to carry and another layer plus easier to wash...

Also self inflating mats - warmer than the foam ones, any comfier? Worth carrying the extra weight?

With 4 DC and DofE, guides and festivals I really don't mind investing a bit...

TIA

SIMS too heavy to carry for DoE IMO, and anyway the foam inside insulated the same as a foam roll up. Get a foil backed roll up foam mat from Decathlon for extra insulation.

You can get fleece sleeping bag liners which wouldn’t weigh much, or take a fleece blanket to put on top.

What temperature was it on tne last trip? The ground temperature will have warmed up over the last couple of weeks.

Wear a hat in bed.

Some 4 season bags can be v v bulky too. The lightweight ones will be £££. They shouldn’t actually need 4 season in this country in summer.

One of my DDs still has a 15 tog duvet on her bed in our house with a 6am temperature of 20+ degrees!!! When we had that sunny weekend was when so got sunburnt but still froze overnight...

I think the hat was on in bed!!!

Fleece liner looks bulky will it really be that much warmer than a silk one? As it's a natural fibre keeps you warm in winter, cool in summer thing...

Hi
I have both a silk liner and fleece liner. The fleece one is very bulky and can be used as a separate sleeping bag. The silk one packs very small and really does help with creating a little bubble of warmth next to your body. I also wear leggings rather than jammies and throw any and all coats and jumpers over the top of the sleeping bag to keep any heat close to me. I am a very cold sleeper and the worst part is always my lower back so any dressing solutions that can help that is to be encouraged (socks stuffed down your trousers?). I always wear a hat to sleep in and have even been known to wear gloves and a scarf.

SIMs are not really going to be good for DoE due to weight and bulkiness and would say the same for fleece liner. Totally recommend silk liner.

Do you have a set of good thermal underwear? In merino wool or similar? Suggest that they take these and put them on under their clothes once dinner is done before the air temp starts to cool much. Then, at bedtime, (I don't know if they get changed into pj's or just sleep in gear) even if they DO get changed, there is still a layer of warm air protected near their core (as they DON'T remove the thermals) - it's far harder to warm back up again later in the evening.

YYY to hat. And wearing any other layers on top that they have with them.

Have a spare pair of dry socks for wearing to bed so that feet can be dry and warm. Good thick winter socks.