Nemo Tracer Sleeping Bag Liner: the Piece of Gear You Didn't Know You Needed

By: Rachel McCullough

I never really considered a sleeping bag liner as an essential piece of gear. I tend to go super light when backpacking, so that’s probably why.

But now that I got a chance to try out this Nemo liner, I get what it’s all about.

I don’t think that I’ll car camp again without it.

And for the true dirtbags, put it in your bed and never go through the hassle of changing the sheets again. I’m not going to tell you if I tried this or not :)

Let’s go through the pros and cons.

Pros:

Soft and Comfortable

I have to say that when I first pulled this out, it really was not as soft as I was expecting. Not that it was scratchy by any means, I just wanted something extra plush.

I even put off sleeping with it for several nights because it just didn’t feel perfect to me and I just want to be super cozy when camping. 

Well, it turns out this liner is just deceiving. I was completely wrong on that front.

I slept in it just one night car camping and I’m sold. It is soft cozy and all the things I want to feel all snug in my rig at night.

Fits in any sleeping bag

There is no reason to have a Nemo sleeping bag to use this liner.

It’s a mummy shape, so it will fit in any mummy bag and of course there will be no issue with putting it in a larger bag.

It will also work with backpacking quilts!

Doesn’t smell

At least it didn’t to me but I was camping solo so there was nobody to complain otherwise ;)

More than one use

There are a bunch of ways to use the liner:

1. Add extra warmth to your sleeping bag.
2. Use it alone on summer nights. 

This is where this liner really shines for me.  So many summer nights are warm to start out and then the temps drop – a lot. 

This liner is perfect in this situation.  My sleeping bag was way too hot to fall asleep in it.  Yet I’d wake up freezing without it and I always find it’s hard to sleep with nothing covering me. It’s just not cozy.

This liner is perfect for those nights that start out warm. I can be all snuggled up in it and then pull my bag over me in the middle of the night.

Keep your sleeping bag cleaner. 

Yes, please.

My sleeping bag is a very light pastel baby blue. This is not a good color if you have any dirt at all on you. It’s pretty much immediately dirty in just one night after getting it cleaned.

I mean it’s no dirtier than darker color bags but just the fact that I can see it…yuck. 

No longer. My bag stays clean and this gets thrown in the wash at the end of my trip.

Bring it anywhere you need sleep sheets

Like at a hostel, a sketchy hotel, or someplace like Yosemite’s High Sierra Camps, where they provide the blankets and you provide the sheets. 

This would have been a great item to bring to the Frog Lake huts in the winter. You can heat the cabins as you like, so only a light sleeping layer is needed and it will really reduce the weight of your pack skinning in. I would have been much happier with a lighter pack on our icy skin out of there!

Environmentally friendly.

It’s made with recycled materials and since washing sleeping bags can put microplastics in the waste stream(!), it’s better to use this and wash it.

Reduce the number of times you wash your sleeping bag!

The liner is much easier to wash than a sleeping bag – just put it in with your regular laundry. Or at least I did. I’m not the best at reading washing instructions and it came out great😉

You don’t have to roll it up all pretty like in the photos

You can just stuff it right back into its sack quickly if you want (recommended!).

Cons:

Crawling into it

I think this was another reason I wasn’t too psyched to try it out at first. It seemed like putting on pantyhose in a full-body way.  And it kind of is. Comical, really.

But it’s just not a big deal once you’re in. Just try not to get up for the bathroom at night or you’ll have to do it twice!

Extra weight

The regular weighs about 8oz and the long weighs about 9oz.

If you are counting every ounce, then you might not bring it just for comfort or to keep your bag clean.

But if you want to go out in the fall with a summer bag, the added weight makes a lot of sense.

Extra space

More so than the weight, the extra space is a factor.

It’s a fabric that doesn’t pack down.

Make sure you have room for the 6.5 x 3.0 x 3.0 inches in your pack. 

For car camping, this is a non-issue. I just leave it in my sleeping bag.

You could do this as well for backpacking, but test to be sure your sleeping bag will still stuff into your stuff sack.

Just an extra thing

I strive for everything to be optimized and efficient. Having one more item to pack and keep track of is not ideal, but for me, it’s totally worth it.

It’s on my packing list now!

Wrapping it up

While I was ultra skeptical at first, to say the least, I am 100% on board for this sleeping bag liner.

Even being a gear-lover, I didn’t think I needed yet another thing, but here I am.

It’s on my list and I can’t see how I’d ever car camp without it.

If that’s not your style, you can use it to make a lightweight bag warm or just use it completely on its own while traveling or in the heat of the summer.

See what's in stock now at TMS

Enter to win a Nemo Disco 15 Sleeping Bag & Tensor Sleeping Pad or Moonlite Camp Chair

Author: Rachel McCullough

Rachel never turns down an adventure, whether it’s a dawn patrol or polar swim (without a wetsuit!). Rain or shine, she’s motivated to get outside. Besides playing in the mountains, you’ll find her at the helm of McCullough Web Services, the company she founded to help clients improve their online presence with impeccably-designed and easy-to-use websites.