Chinook Pongee Mummy Liner

The Chinook Pongee Mummy Liner is a very basic, no thought, sleeping bag liner that might work well for small, short people.

Sadly, I can think of no reason at all to recommend this product to anyone.

Words of wisdom to start with:

First of all... ALWAYS use a sleeping bag liner! A sleeping bag is an investment—usually an expensive investment. The insulation in a sleeping bag, whether down or synthetic, has to be able to create dead-air space to keep the warm air in and cold air out. A bag's insulating efficiency is dependent upon its ability to loft. Loft is the "fluffiness" of the insulation, and is what creates that dead-air space.

The insulation is easily damaged, and therefore the loft decreased, by dirt, natural oils on your skin, and the stuff we all like to put on our bodies in the outdoors, such as sunscreen, bug spray, etc. Every time you get in your sleeping bag, you transfer these contaminants from yourself (and your clothing) to your bag. In other words, without a liner, every time you use your bag, you are decreasing its ability to insulate by degrading its loft. SO ALWAYS USE A LINER!

The manufacturer's provided info:

"Product # 22105

A versatile addition to your camping gear or travel pack.

Very soft, silk-like polyester fabric.
Helps keep the interior of your sleeping bag clean.
Can be used on its own on warmer nights.
Stuffs down into a very lightweight, compact package (stuff sack included).
Size 83" x 30" x 20" (210 x 75 x 50 cm)
Material 100% polyester
Weight 7.4 oz (210 g)"

MY findings and review:


I'm not too crazy about this liner—not because it is a "bad' liner, but because it is not a very good liner, and it doesn't seem to have any thought towards the user put into its design.

Both times I have used it, I awoke all tied up in it and discombobulated!

As for being a "sleeping bag liner", yes, it is that. Just a plain, simple liner. That's all. Basically just two (2) pieces of material sewn together.

Another reason I am not crazy about this liner is because I did not sleep well when using it. I tossed and turned, and woke up several times. I think this was mostly due to the design of the bag at the foot end.

There is no footbox. It is just a top and bottom sheet sewn together with literal corners at the foot end. My toes ended up being smashed into the corner seams all night long.

I measured 29 1/2" at its widest point, where it immediately starts a continuous taper... 


... to 18" at the foot end. There is no shape to match a human body. It is just a straight line, continuous taper.

And regardless of the manufacturer's claims of an 83" length, this liner is just barely long enough. I had to constantly fight with it to keep it under my head—and that with my toes smashed into the end seams!

It has a 14", rounded, 'hood' area, and measures 81" for the total length. Keep in mind, that all of these measurements are while the liner is laid out flat on the floor, not being used.

Once you get in the liner, because of the way it is constructed and the lack of a footbox, the useable space inside of the liner (length and width) becomes significantly less.

The amount the liner "shrinks" is dependent upon the size of the user. Again, this is just two (2) pieces of material sewn together.

Also, there are no cinch cords, and therefore no hood, just a flat piece of material that you lay your head on top of. This is definitely a warm weather only liner. For small people.

It does have an opening of almost 18" along one side, to allow the top sheet to be folded back. This aids in the entry and/or exit of the liner. But there is no reinforcement to the stitching at the point where the top and bottom sheets meet.

Accessories:

The liner includes a stuff sack that is partly mesh. It has a shoe string type cinch cord, with a standard barrel lock.


The stuff sack measures approx. 4" x 8" with the liner in it, and together they consistently weighed 7.7 oz on my scale.

Conclusion:

Yes, it does have an opening to help ease entry/exit.
Yes, it has a smooth material that doesn't snag on clothing.
Yes, it has a good "next to skin" feel.
Yes, it will help keep your sleeping bag clean.
Yes, it may add a few degrees to the warmth of your bag.
Yes, it is better than no liner at all.

But I still won't ever use it again.

I may keep it as a backup liner, or as an extra for when someone doesn't have one (someone small and short!).

I really hate to bad mouth a product. Even the worst products have at least ONE (1) thing about them that is positive, or have at least ONE (1) benefit.

I think this is the first product that I have, or have had, that I am to the point where I can't think of any reason to have it, other than as a spare.

Sadly, I honestly can not for the life of me think of any reason to recommend this product.

Even for the simple, no-frills, absolute minimal use of just protecting your sleeping bag, I still can't recommend it because there are cheaper and better designed liners out there that will do the same minimal job.

It does have a nice stuff sack, that is kind of cool looking... that's something, right?

Bottom line: There are much better liners out there.

Use:

The morning after one of the restless nights I had using this liner.

Here you see the Chinook Pongee Mummy Liner paired with my High Peak E-Z Pak 1000 sleeping bag, on top of my Nemo Cosmo Air & Pillowtop 1P sleeping pad, all within my Eureka! Backcountry 1 tent.

Good luck and get out there!
:-)

And if you liked my review, please vote it up! Thanks!