Hi Elcaro

>A silk inner sheet is a must for multi day trips, you'd be amazed how much dirt you wash out of them - dirt which isn't going into your bag.

I absolutely agree on the liner comment above. I sleep in my spare thermals and am surprised how dirty the liner has got when I wash it.

For the Christchurch folks, Twin Needle in Ferry Road do a great deal on washing and filling the bag with 100g of 650 fillpower down. I had this done and so far my bag seems to be warmer.

Regarding wearing extra clothes in the sleeping bag, it depends on how much room there is in the bag. If there's not much room then yes, you can compress the down of your sleeping bag when you put on extra clothing. However if your bag is quite roomy which is the case for me, being 173cm and weighing 60kg, then wearing extra clothing will not compress the down of your bag so you will be warmer and I have proven this, by putting on extra clothing when I am cold (usually after 5am especially if you've gone to bed with the fire going).

However if you want to be the warmest, I have seen it recommended on a few websites that you don't put on that extra layer but instead spread it over you inside your liner as you will be wasting some of the insulation by compressing it underneath you. I started doing this with my nice slippery down jacket and it seems to work but I am one of those people who wake up everytime they turn over so can keep a handle on the optimum positioning of my jacket i.e. well tucked around my shoulders.

Some people however may find the clothing slips off so it won't work as effectively though it will reduce the space inside your bag that you need to heat.

I don't get the logic behind not wearing clothes next to your skin in a bag solely for the reason that the down is more insulating as the down is still being used as a barrier to heat loss. If this were the case then all those times that I put on extra clothing when I got cold in the wee hours, I would have got cold but this has never occurred.

Finally, regarding condensation in sleeping bags, I've read if you place a disposable nappy at the foot of your bivvy bag with the bag slightly downhill, then the condensation will be collected in the nappy. NOt sure what you would do on multi-day trips or what you wantto do with a soggy nappy!

Elcaro wrote:I guess it's similar to the tumble-dryer balls you now see for sale around the place.

.Elcaro.

Yep - it agitates them. Often just tumbling in a dryer can compress things.

If you are sleeping outside forget a down sleeping bag. Once wet - its almost impossible to get dry again (even when you take it home). Use a synthetic one. If using a synthetic one you might like to use a cotton inner sheet in summer (a single sheet halved, sewn at one end and half up the side works) so you don't sweat and I thoroughly recommend a polar fleece inner for winter for that extra warmth. Don't waste money on a satin insert, they are truly not worth the money. The beauty about polar fleece is that if it gets wet you can ring it out and even if its damp it will still keep you warm. It really depends on where you are going to sleep, the weather conditions and whether you have to carry it. Hope this helps.