Hostel sleeping bag

I realize that this is a bit off the backpacking orientation of this site, but I hope you can make some suggestions on a good summer weight, light sleeping bag.

I am planning a hostel to hostel week long hike in Spain next spring, so am looking for a sleeping bag of about 45 degrees, hopefully light and small. I am considering the REI Travel Down sleeping bag, $139 and about 28 oounces.

I don't want to go the expense of the Western Mountaineering bags in case the bag picks up bedbugs on the trip and has to be thrown out before I come home.

So-

Any comments about the REI travel down bag?

Any suggestions for a good 40-45 degree down bag which is light and won't break the bank??

Yeah- I know- light, warm, cheap- pick two---

Thank you!!

Have you considered a quilt? I am not sure how I feel about the possibility of throwing away a piece of Hand-made art that is an EE Quilt.... but you can get an 50°F ProdigyX in RegWide for $140 (17.5 Oz) or 40°F (24 Oz) for $145: http://www.enlightenedequipment.com/?product=prodigyx-50

They Apex insulation but end up lighter than that down bag. You could also get a nice toasty warm down 40°F Down RevX quilt for $190: http://www.enlightenedequipment.com/?product=revelationx-40

My experience (admittedly 12 years ago now) is that very, very few hostels in Europe allow sleeping bags because of the bedbug issue. You take a cotton or synthetic sleep sack (either a sleeping bag liner or a regular bed sheet sewn into a bag) and a pillowcase and use the hostel's blankets. A few hostels even insisted I use their bed linen rather than mine. Extra charge, of course.

I suggest you do some research before investing in a sleeping bag specifially for hostel use. Unless conditions have changed, it will be useless in most places. You'll get lots more up-to-date info on budget travel sites such as Lonely Planet (although LP ain't what it used to be).

Take a look at Campmor.com for inexpensive gear, although the REI bag you mentioned looks like a good deal--if you can be sure the hostels will allow it.

Have a great time in Spain; it's a beautiful country! If you're going at any time within a few weeks of Easter, be sure to make reservations well in advance. Now is not too late! I was there during Holy Week and it appeared that the entire population of northern Europe was there enjoying the sun! Also, expect many places to be closed down Good Friday (or even Maundy Thursday) through Easter Monday.

BZH-
Thank you for the link to RevX. I am not familiar with this quilt manufacturer. The quilts look promising, the 40 degree quilt is lighter than the REI Down travel bag, although more expensive. May be money well spent. I am concerned that their 50 degree bag may be a bit chilly in an unheated building in mid May in Spain.

OM-
I will hopefully be doing about the last 100 miles of the Camino de Santiago. I have checked some websites on the subject, and have not seen any prohibitions on sleeping bags. Sleep sacks are recommended, but most comments on the available blankets are that they are pretty dirty.

I plan to go to a talk next week being given by someone who recently returned from a walk on the Camino. I will be sure to ask him what the current rules are about bedding.

OM, thanks for the heads up to check before I buy a sleeping bag.

Thank you both

Don

Our member BrianLe and his wife just returned from doing the Camino. You can find the link to his online journal in the Trip Reports section. You may want to PM him with questions. I haven't yet read his journal.

Brian's previous hikes include the "Triple Crown" for hiking all three major long distance trails (PCT, AT, CDT).

OM-

I will read Brian's journal and see if I can find an answer to the sleeping bag question. Otherwise, a PM to Brian is a good idea!

Thank you

Last 100 miles, or last 100 km? From Sarria perhaps?

It's not all that many days, and depending on time of year, you very likely don't need to bother with a sleeping bag.

When you say "hostel", do you mean "Albergue" ? The latter is the group sleeping arrangement for the most part there. Hostels you want just the little sleep sack (you might consider getting the one with permetherin sort of baked in though, bed bugs can be an issue). Every hostel and Pension and certainly Casa Rural that we stayed at had blankets.

My wife and I finished our hike on the 9th (of this month) and didn't have actual sleeping bags, just sleep sacks. Many Albergue's did have blankets, and in a couple of places where they weren't on the beds we were able to get at least a thin blanket by asking.

Last 100 miles- or so-. We were planning to start at O Cebreiro, as we wanted to start a bit before the crowds which will likely start at Sarria. Also, it is mostly downhill from O Cebreiro. we are figuring 10- 15 miles per day.

Yes, I do mean Albergue, but I thought hostel would be a more generic name and might get a wider response.

We are going to start in mid May of 2014 if things go as planned. I get the impression it may be cold and wet in Galicia in the spring. Somehow I need to get more accurate climate information for Galicia.

Are the Albergues heated in cold weather??

I have been reading the Camino de Santiago forum, they said that some of the Albergues had very old/dirty blankets. It is nice to hear that this may not be the case.

I have read part of your Journal for your Camino, I will read it all soon. The two days of thoughts on what to bring etc were very useful.

Thank you!!!

I didn't see any sign that the Albergues are heated; I wouldn't count on it. Even in private rooms in hostels, albergues, casa rurales, my sense/guess is that it's like much of western Europe was when I lived there in the early 80's --- there's a particular date when they turn on the overall heating system (so that the heater in your room can function), and you can get pretty cold in shoulder seasons at times when the heating isn't on yet or has already been turned off for the season.

Spaniards who live further south have a different sense for what the word "frio" (cold) means than do those in the north. I think that Galicians are a bit tougher about cold and wet.

It's true that the blankets can be old and possibly dirty. I do recall one time where the blankets where just filthy (even by my standards) but more often they were fine. Bed bugs ARE an issue, or at least can be, and blankets certainly don't get washed daily. I was happy with my permetherin impregnated sleeping sack:
http://www.rei.com/product/797112/sea-to-summit-insect-shield-coolmax-adaptor-liner-mummy

I suspect that you're right that it can be cold and wet in May in Galicia. Certainly past O Cebreiro you're more vulnerable to what's coming in from the Atlantic, which makes weather forecasts less reliable.

BTW, O Cebreiro is a cute and very touristy town where it seemed to us that lodging is pretty limited. I'd recommend that you try to book a place there ahead of time for your start. I have no idea if you can get a pilgrim credencial there; certainly you can in Sarria.

Best of luck!

I was hoping we could get the pilgrim credencial from the American Pilgrims on the Camino web site. Apparently they send the request off to Spain? as the process takes about a month. Their office is in Palo Alto CA, not too far from us.

Thank you for the suggestion about booking ahead. I expect we can get addresses from the John Brierley book. When our plans are more firm we will make a reservation.

Can you recommend a good place to stay in O Cebreio?

Thanks!!

Don

cheap Slumberjack sleeping bag? http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/SubCategory___40000000228_200368691?ip_navtype=AdvancedSearch&catFilter=&searchKeywords=200368691&ip_sortBy=&filters=Category~GEAR.Sleeping%20Gear.Sleeping%20Bags~Sleeping%20Bags%20%2826%29&ip_constrain=&pageSize=24&catType=shopByBrand&searchCategory=browsefilter&manNameFilter=&sizeFilter=&ip_state=&priceFilter=&currentPage=&colorFilter=

"Can you recommend a good place to stay in O Cebreio?"

We ended up staying at a "casa rural" that we booked and paid for through one of the local bars in town. It was okay. Everything is very close together in that little town. I have no particular recommendation; we stayed where we did because when I called ahead, other places were already booked!

OK.

I will check the guidebooks next spring. My guess is most of these small places won't have websites, so I may have to reserve by snail mail (the horrors!!!)

Or- maybe an overseas phone call- but that could get expensive.

I better start early

Thank you!!!

Don