I plan to walk the Vézelay route in June. I am hearing conflicting advice reagarding the sleeping bag. For some, it is just indispensable, the single most important item in the backpack. For others, it is just redundant, the single heaviest item that can simply be replaced by a light-weight silk sleeping liner.
Any views to help a new unexperienced pilgrim?
Thank you in advance.
It depends a lot on how warm or cold you tend to sleep. I'm a cold sleeper so I always err on the side of carrying something over-rated for the expected temperatures, my partner sleeps warm and will happily curl up under a sheet when I'm shivering.
If you're walking in June it's unlikely to be seriously cold. Because I know I sleep cold I would carry either a lightweight down camp blanket or a fleece sack in addition to a thin silk liner. I detest sleeping bags (which is another personal thing) so I always default to things that I can use as a blanket or just roll up in it rather than a bag.
To a great extent weight and cost are interlinked. If you want a seriously warm, very lightweight quilt or bag (which implies using down) it will cost a lot of money. Less money means heavier fabrics and less efficient fill so they need to use more of it, hence heavier weight. It's a case of looking at what's available and how much you are prepared to spend. Very cheap sleeping bags are usually not worth the money, they tend to be bulky, cold, (despite their claims) and fall apart pretty quickly.
Having said that, you are planning to go on a trip that will probably cost you several thousand $$ so looked at as a proportion of the overall cost it isn't a huge expense even if you go for an expensive one. The same applies to shoes/boots, get whatever fits best and works for you, almost irrespective of the cost. Footwear and sleeping comfortably make a huge difference to your overall enjoyment so it's worth getting what works for you.
