cmlong

I am doing a Kilimanjaro trek and safari in September, and need to bring a sleeping bag, or I can rent one there from my tour operator, Good Earth, for a small fee. In the interests of packing light (more than saving money) for this 17 day trip (with stopover in Amsterdam), I'm considering renting one and instead just buying and bringing a liner. Has anyone rented a sleeping bag in for their trek? Was it in bad shape or acceptable quality? If buying, I assume I want a 0 degree bag, but any recommendations of brand/type (synthetic vs down)? Looks like the down bags would run $200 plus, but I've seen some synthetic as cheap as $50 (Slumberjack brand). If I just bring a liner, is synthetic or silk recommended? Thanks!

lifelist

Is it just the bag or a sleeping pad, as well? The pad is fairly important for insulation and comfort.

For my trek with Tusker, I brought my own - a 0 degree down bag, and they provided the sleeping pad. I already had the bag for winter camping. Pay attention to weight limits for your gear - that $200 down bag will be fairly light, but that $50 synthetic bag will be very heavy. If you're going to buy a bag, consider how you'll want to use it afterwards.

The others on the trek rented bags, and they were of very good quality, and tusker provided fleece liners, as well. I don't know what quality equipment Good Earth provides.

I like silk liners - warm, light, packs small, and feels good against the skin.

jill_h

If you choose to rent one from Good Earth, buy a sleep sheet to put yourself in inside your bag. No telling when the last time was the bags were cleaned. You can get sleep sheets at REI or other athletic stores.

npederse

I did Kili with Good Earth last fall. They provided good condition "thermarest" style pads, so don't worry about that.

I would bring my own bag -- especially if you're a cool sleeper, you want to have a very good condition bag (which is going to be better than what Good Earth provides). Two others hiking with us had rented bags - they didn't complain about the condition, but I didn't get to see the bags.

I'd say go to 10 or 0 degree bag (I was a little cool in my 15 degree bag on the last couple of nights). If you're concerned about weight/space, go with down, as it is (in my experience at least) more compressible, slightly warmer for the weight when compared to synthetic.

cmlong

Thanks for the info. Yes, Good Earth has said that they provide the sleeping pads. As I said, if I do rent a bag, I will bring my own liner for hygiene reasons, probably silk which would be lightweight and probably pack small. I'm not sure how much warmth a silk liner adds though, and I don't know if the rentals will be zero degree bags. If the liner adds about 5 to 10 degrees to the bag rating, though, I'd probably be warm enough. I also plan to bring silk long underwear which should be good for sleeping in. I probably won't have much use for a $200 zero degree sleeping bag in the future, though one never knows.

BostonGal

We went with a different company, but we rented the following: sleeping bags, liner sheet, sleeping pads, and hiking poles.

I couldn't deal with lugging that stuff halfway around the world.

Worked out just fine!

hills27

Bump

UltimateKilimanjaro

A sleeping bag liner can add up to 15 degrees of warmth. Since you won't have use for a sleeping bag after the climb, I'd recommend you rent the sleeping bag but bring a bag liner. I keep my liner in the car as a back-up blanket.