Sleeping bag liners and top quilts

[Wtmurray]

Sea to summit and others make sleeping sleeping bag liners like these that supposedly add some small amount of additional thermal rating to your sleeping bag but primarily are there to keep the bag clean and to prevent sweat and oil and trail grime from directly touching the inside of your sleeping bag.

I often hear these mentioned in conjunction with sleeping bags, but it seems like they should apply to top quilts also. Top quilts are filled with down, made out of sensitive technical fabrics, and are a pain to wash. So logically, if bag liners are good for sleeping bags it seems like they would be good for top quilts too. Do people use bag liners with top quilts? Does anyone think they are necessary? Would I be risking or mistreating my equipment by not using one? Thanks

[Tumbleweed]

Great question! Who knows the answer???

[jolunder]

I use one when ground sleeping in the summer, because than I wear short clothes to "bed".
Other than that I don't use them, because:
a) when it's cooler I sleep with long underwear, which does the same job
b) in the hammock it's downright annoying to get into

[2ply]

I have both a silk and a fleece liner from Cocoon. They do add 5 to 10 extra degrees to the top quilt and keep it cleaner. I mostly use them as a TQ during the heat of summer.

[Theguywitheyebrows]

i remove the zipper and resew it to be shaped right for the hammock, and i dig it for summer. gotta be covered, psychological for sure, but there it is. silk seems nice, never got one of those. long underwear is better in the hammock, especially because you might (are likely) have to answer nature's call in the cold of the night.

[LuvmyBonnet]

I don't use any liners with my TQ because I don't like trying to wiggle my way into a tube in my hammock.

[Theguywitheyebrows]

I don't use any liners with my TQ because I don't like trying to wiggle my way into a tube in my hammock.

thats why i resew them into the right shape. stupid rest of the world builds stuff wrong lol

[Otter1]

Liners are the Devil's spawn.

I think the added insulation claims are exaggerated. They become like a net that snags everything in the ocean and can't be stopped - tangling happens unless you are a still sleeper. While they do keep your primary insulation cleaner, a baselayer does that with the added benefit of wearing it in camp/wherever too.

[Scotty Von Porkchop]

I prefer sleeping in just undies so I usually use a silk top quilt shaped liner that's held in place with a couple of safety pins. Its partly to keep my quilts clean but mostly because I prefer silk, you know, refined tastes and all that ;-)

[SGT Rock]

b) in the hammock it's downright annoying to get into

That was my experience when I tried using one.