I’m just wondering if anyone else sweats in their sleeping bags and if there’s a magic cure. I was backpacking this weekend and was so hot. It was too cold to be without a cover, but too hot to be zipped in. Any suggestions?
HHC
Sweaty sleeping bags
system
#2
If I know it will warm I bring a cooler, lighter bag, or a quilt, or a sheet. I also sometimes just cover up with enough extra clothing (jacket, t-shirt, etc) so that I am comfortable.
Colter
system
#4
I don’t know if this is your precise problem, but I have the difficulty that, after a day of hiking, I can be cold in some areas while sweating profusely in others. This creates quite a conundrum at bedtime!
In particular, someone once suggested that a backpacker’s analogue to the rhetorical question “Is the pope Catholic?” might be “Does a hiker’s crotch sweat?” I heard a guy in a shelter on Mt. Rogers say, “Amazing… I’m borderline hypothermic and my crotch is STILL sweating.” Someone else replied, “TOO MUCH INFORMATION”. But I think this is a significant issue of comfort and hygiene. Partly this may happen because mummy bags tend to pin thighs together, but I think there may also be some special connection to the intense exertion of backpacking. Under the right (or wrong) conditions, the resulting inflamed skin on the insides of the leg can contribute to painful chafing during the day.
Because the hot spot is in the middle of the body, this isn’t so easy to address by rearranging my blankie. One option is to put one of those super-absorbent pack towels in the, ah, afflicted area.
anonymous
system
#5
It’s also painful when you fall asleep with a Nalgene full of boiling water there. The following days odd shaped second degree burn was cute. Two moons rising?
Bushwhack
system
#6
I understand all too well what the anonymous poster is saying about the sweaty nether regions. I was having a problem in that area when I first started backpacking. Even though it was very cold out at night in the bag “that area” was always hot and sweaty making the night uncomfortable.I eventually developed a terrible rash. What works for me is to wash the affected area every night no matter how cold it is out, dry thoroghly, and apply a generous amount of Gold Bond Medicated Powder. This seems to help. I also carry a silk bag liner with me and on hot nights I will sleep in the liner on top of the bag.
Big B
system
#7
For me, having a silk liner gave me a lot of flexibility in dealing with night time temperatures. Getting clean at the end of the day also was key to a good night’s sleep.
Radar
system
#8
Living in a desert, ie southern Nevada, temperatures can vary greatly depending on when and where exactly you are (mountains vs open basins, wind sweeps, season, etc). I am currently using an old Cat’s Meow on its dying last legs, but have a silk liner that works when it is colder to buttress up the thinning bag on colder nights. For a few ounces, it has carried the old bag a few extra years, b4 I get to buy a new one for next years AT hike. 
xtn
airferret
system
#9
As above a silk liner. It is a silk bag to go inside your sleeping bag. It adds about eight degrees to a bag and it can be used as a hot weather bag. Sleep in it on top of your bag and if you get cold, slip into your bag with it or without. You can leave your bag unzipped and not get bad drafts while using it. It is light and compact. Just hand wash and line dry it. The shower rod in a motel room overnight works great. As you can tell I like it. Mine is made by Cocoon but it is about sixty bucks. For me worth every penny on a thru-hike though.
Two Scoops