Sleeping Bag or not?

[Roger Deee]

I am walking from end May thru June from StJPdP and am planning to stay 50% Albergues and 50% pensions & small hotels (so I can get some sleep)
So I am considering going without a sleeping bag because;
1) I sleep warm
2) I have a good liner that I use, silk
3) I am comfortable sleeping in a base layer if necessary, and
4) I will only need it 50% of the time

All I really need is a blanket, I have done this before and slept OK.
Any thoughts please, as I would love to shed the extra weight & gain some space
Do the Albergues have blankets? and how cold does it get?

 

[Shefollowsarrows]

I walked in June 2014 and didn't need a sleeping bag. I took a silk liner and used an albergue blanket a few times. Shed the weight Buen Camino!

 

[Roger Deee]

I walked in June 2014 and didn't need a sleeping bag. I took a silk liner and used an albergue blanket a few times. Shed the weight Buen Camino!

thanks Tammy

 

[AJ]

Not all albergues have blankets (e.g. Roncesvalles), though most seem to.

 

[Kev]

I brought my sleeping bag and only used it as a blanket - Shed the weight.

 

[J F Gregory]

I am walking in March, yes sleeping bag.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Last year in June, there was snow on the Pyrenees and Roncesvalles does NOT give blankets.
So you decide...

 

[Bradypus]

Gets pretty chilly up at O Cebreiro too. For early summer I'd take my very light (~700g) bag and my silk liner. Hard to balance paring down the weight without losing comfort.

 

[spursfan]

It's June, it's Spain, there are a couple of highish points but otherwise - silk liner perfectly fine supplemented with base layer/other clothes if needed

 

[november_moon]

I took a silk liner and a down blanket that is actually meant for backpackers that sleep in hammocks. It was very light and gave me that extra bit of warmth when I needed it. Most nights I just slept with the liner though.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

From mid-June in Astorga until mid-July in Muxia I didn't use my sleeping bag. A pair of shorts and a silk tee-shirt was usually enough and when I wanted a bit more warmth a blanket was handy.

[Edited to add: I picked up a new bag in Viana at the end of May and I remember not getting enough use from it to justify its cost. I definitely did not use it from Astorga on but I do not remember how much use it got in the weeks between Viana and Astorga (we ran into a few problems that slowed us down quite a bit.)]

 

[Lucy Longpath]

Can anyone advise whether a sleeping bag is needed on the Puy Way in April and May please? I am sure the answer is in a previous thread but I can't find it quickly by searching. I was very glad of my sleeping bag last year on the Camino Frances at that time of year but not all Albergues had blankets. How about the Gites in France? Do they all have blankets? Thanks!

 

[Mark Lee]

On three Caminos running from June through September I never carried an actual sleeping bag and only relied on a liner and the blankets at albergues. I would say out of all those nights (over 100) I really wished I had a sleeping bag about 5 times (once the hospitalero at an albergue loaned me one that had been left there...that was nice).
I would say the liner, coupled with albergue blankets when available as well as base layer clothes when needed, should suffice.

 

[ELHS220]

I walked mid May to end of June last year. I took a queen sized flannel sheet and it was fine. I stayed in albergues about 2/3 of the time. The queen sized sheet was perfect because there was a lot of extra material to tuck in under the mattress in both albergues and hotel/pensiones so the covers didn't come off during the night. Also good for keeping tall American feet from sticking out of short Spanish beds!

 

[Americanperegrino]

I stayed in the San Martin Pinario across the street from the Catherdral of Santiago and froze in Oct. They don't turn the heat on until Nov. Had I not had my bag I would not been able to stay...it was that cold inside. Taking a bag, a sheet, a silk liner, etc is a matter of chance, like rain gear. Some folks do just fine and really never need it, some need it every single night.

 

[tomnorth]

My reason for taking a sleeping bag has nothing to do with warmth. Some of the bedding at the alburgues was a bit dodgy. I liked knowing that I would be snuggling into my own bag at night. Perhaps it was a bit of a security blanket for me. When we got to alburgues that had full bedding I still used my sleeping bag.

 

[Urban Trekker]

I am walking from end May thru June from StJPdP and am planning to stay 50% Albergues and 50% pensions & small hotels (so I can get some sleep)
So I am considering going without a sleeping bag because;
1) I sleep warm
2) I have a good liner that I use, silk
3) I am comfortable sleeping in a base layer if necessary, and
4) I will only need it 50% of the time

All I really need is a blanket, I have done this before and slept OK.
Any thoughts please, as I would love to shed the extra weight & gain some space
Do the Albergues have blankets? and how cold does it get?

I always take mine as I sleep lite. It's a zip up down travel blanket and I always know who has slept in it last. It's your call. You can always buy one if needed.
Buen Camino

 

[purplesage]

Even in May, some parts of the Frances can get cold. Most albergues have blankets... though some are smelly in some albergues. You'd have to bear it !!! O'Cebreiro has fantastic heating. I'd try to get a bed near the heater. They are huge ones, going up almost along the wall up to the very top. Frankly, I'd carry my sleeping bag. Just gives me a feeling of security and you can open it up if you have long waits in airports, for example. Buen Camino

 

[Mark Lee]

Something that might be worth looking into and that I have used, is a surplus US military issue GI poncho liner. Any members of this forum that are former military will probably recognize them. They're made of a fiberfill insulation, sandwiched between quilted nylon. They are about 80"x 60" and weigh about 22-24 ounces. For some reason they seem to reflect a lot of body heat back to you, and are warm for their weight. I've even used them as a sleeping bag liner and they seemed to add about 20 degrees to the bag's warmth range.
You can find them cheap on the internet (way less than a lightweight sleeping bag), but there seems to be a lot of counterfeit ones, and I think I'd try to find the genuine surplus if I could.
Their advantage is that they are very versatile and can be used like a bag if you tie the strings to each other, or simply used as a blanket if flat, or a top cover on an albergue mattress when flat. You can even use them as a blanket outside on the grass. Disadvantage is that the nylon is quite smooth and slick, if that kind of thing bothers you. I put mine in the smallest stuff sack I could find for it. Reference photos using Brierley guide for size comparison.

 

[Trevor Gaymans]

Can anyone advise whether a sleeping bag is needed on the Puy Way in April and May please? I am sure the answer is in a previous thread but I can't find it quickly by searching. I was very glad of my sleeping bag last year on the Camino Frances at that time of year but not all Albergues had blankets. How about the Gites in France? Do they all have blankets? Thanks!

Did you get a reply Lucy? I'm also doing the Le Puy around mid May and would love to ditch my sleeping bag if not needed!

 

[KariC]

I am walking from end May thru June from StJPdP and am planning to stay 50% Albergues and 50% pensions & small hotels (so I can get some sleep)
So I am considering going without a sleeping bag because;
1) I sleep warm
2) I have a good liner that I use, silk
3) I am comfortable sleeping in a base layer if necessary, and
4) I will only need it 50% of the time

All I really need is a blanket, I have done this before and slept OK.
Any thoughts please, as I would love to shed the extra weight & gain some space
Do the Albergues have blankets? and how cold does it get?

Can I ask the same question about Caminho Portugues in September? My inclination is to bring a fleece ultra light sleeping bag/blanket but would be happy to hear that on that caminho, you don't need anything. Obrigada!

 

[Deleted member 32363]

I am walking from end May thru June from StJPdP and am planning to stay 50% Albergues and 50% pensions & small hotels (so I can get some sleep)
So I am considering going without a sleeping bag because;
1) I sleep warm
2) I have a good liner that I use, silk
3) I am comfortable sleeping in a base layer if necessary, and
4) I will only need it 50% of the time

All I really need is a blanket, I have done this before and slept OK.
Any thoughts please, as I would love to shed the extra weight & gain some space
Do the Albergues have blankets? and how cold does it get?

I took 3 silk liners inside each other. Was enough. Once I got hypothermia with insufficient rain gear (A thin "Indian" plastic bag type poncho)across the Mesita plain, wind blowing rain sideways under my baggie. The albergue I stumbled upon, Manager opened early for me, gave me blankets, and a space heater!
Doing it again, with better rain gear , but same bedding. No mat. Most municipal places had throw away bottom sheets. No bedbugs!!

 

[MTtoCamino]

Thru mid April yes, after that no

 

[Lucy Longpath]

Did you get a reply Lucy? I'm also doing the Le Puy around mid May and would love to ditch my sleeping bag if not needed!

Yes, the replies said that it could be cold and probably colder than the Camino Frances in April/May and that although there would usually be one blanket available in the Gites I might need more than just a silk liner. One person did say they did not need it and wore a fleece in bed if cold, and another suggested long underwear and a knit cap might be good, but on balance I have decided to take my one season sleeping bag weighing 750grams. I took it on the Camino Frances and was glad of it but I did know that there were not always blankets on the Frances. If you are going mid May though you might find that by June you might not need it. I suppose you could maybe take it and then post it home if not needed in June??

 

[Roger Deee]

Thanks Everyone, after reading all the replies I have decided to leave my bag at home. As I will start last week of May I will risk it and take a pair of compression tights (which are great for recovery) and a thermal t-shirt for sleeping and save the space and weight. If I'm freezing about day 3 in Pamplona I will either visit the Decathlon store and buy a bag or stay in Pensions/Hotels on the cold nights.

 

[Pingüigrino]

I am walking from end May thru June from StJPdP and am planning to stay 50% Albergues and 50% pensions & small hotels (so I can get some sleep)
So I am considering going without a sleeping bag because;
1) I sleep warm
2) I have a good liner that I use, silk
3) I am comfortable sleeping in a base layer if necessary, and
4) I will only need it 50% of the time

All I really need is a blanket, I have done this before and slept OK.
Any thoughts please, as I would love to shed the extra weight & gain some space
Do the Albergues have blankets? and how cold does it get?

Hello Roger Deee, Nowadays more and more of Alberques are removing blankets due the problems they are having with bedbugs. Nor less than 6 albergues I know they had blankets in the pass are now saying they havent blankets to desperate pilgrims with no sleeping bag. Last october I share my sleeping bag/blanket with an elder pilgrim who thought that he will not need it in the entire Camino. You can have a very bad experience if you dont carry a ligth one.