Silk sleeping bag liners

[Tom Saffell]

Sorry if this is slightly off topic, but it is outdoorsey, and I'm guessing some people here will have something useful to say....

Im thinking about getting a slik sleeping bag liner.

1) Does anyone have any experience of said product ?

2) Does anyone have any recomendation of which to get / where to get ?

3) Has anyone tried these: http://www.silksleepingbag.co.uk/ - they seem to be the cheapest, but no big brand reassurance, so I'm slughtly cautious.

Thanks muchly

tom saffell

[roo nli]

1) yep

2)Got ours from Kathmandu (in the sale of course) shop. Believe there is one in london. Packs into it's own stuffsac.

3)Nope. Only worry would be dodgy stitching, but they are such a simple thing that I'd be surprised if a "no brand" company couldn't get that right...

Silk is ace, I used to have some "silking" thermals that you could wear for days on end and they never seemed to get smelly. Never tried them as kayaking thermals though.

Found this couldn't find Silking's website. www.silking.co.uk didn't workhttp://mountainwarehouse.co.uk/shop/product_list/c_path/69/spd/sleeping-bags.html

[roo nli]

never believe all error messages you see eh?

Moderator, HELP!!

[Pete the kayaker]

I would recommend a Lifeventure silk sleeper available from Millets, Blacks and good independants for £39.99.

(I am biased here though, I work for Lifemarque)

Compare the quality of the silk by trying to push your fingers through the material. Cheap Indian silks will split and the threads spread apart, whilst quality Chinese silk will hold together tightly.

See http://www.lifeventure.co.uk/sleepers/index.shtml

[MikeB]

Silk liners are great - very slinky, and pack down tiny. I have one made by one of the "big names" (cant recall who) and it is lovely - that said, being a big bloke I found it didnt give me enough room at the shoulders, but that might not be a problem for you.

Getting in and out is a wriggle as most dont have a side zip. Eventually I replaced it with a Coleman pertex liner to which I had a 3/4 length zip added on the appropriate side to match my bag. IIRC Coleman offer a zipped liner, but the zips on the right.

The Coleman might be an alternative worth considering - its very comfy, adds warmth and certainly keeps the bag clean.

The only snag to silk is the price - but if thats not an issue and packed size / weight is a factor, then they're grrrrreat. And very slinky.

Mike.

[MikeB]

Yep, the "DEBUG MODE" bug strikes again! Ignore it - the post seems to go thro anyway.

Mike.

[meatballs]

First Ascent do silk sleeping bags (and pyjamas), so most climbing shops, some canoe shops can get them in afaik :)

[Tom Saffell]

thanks for that - sounds good then....

forgto to mention in my original post that the company that I linked to sells them for £21 each - almost half some of the others...

hence my suspicion on quality / eagerness to not pay over the odds...

(not suggesting that cheap = crap, but one does have to be careful)

anyhow, I've just noticed that they are based in central london, so I'll probably cycle over there and stick my fingers into one as suggested (love that tip btw ;)

I'll let you know how I get on. I'm guessing that at £21 each they could be on to something...

cheers

tom saffell

[Silky]

Had mine made up in an Indian market years ago. Bought 4 meters of fine sari silk, took it to a taylor and asked him to stitch it together for me. As ever, caveat emptor... the old cigarette lighter trick will weed out any underhand business with cheap imitations, i.e. "satin".

Had several more made in Kathmandu a few years later - a sari is 6m long so two saris will make 3 sleeping bags. You get a choice of groovy colours, too...