Sea to Summit Toaster Fleece Liner

The Sea to Summit Toaster fleece liner is a bit bulky and heavy but can be used in a few different ways. I ended up using it more as a summer bag and a bag cover in the winter. Due to its size and weight I see it being used more for recreational camping rather than long backpacking trips.

I picked this liner up at a local outfitter for a week long winter backpacking trip I was planning this past year. I was expecting single digit temps and blistering winds, and since I get cold really easy I was looking to boost the warmth of my old Kelty 0 Degree Cosmic down sleeping bag. I also took it with me on a couple of overnights recently this summer. Ended up not using it as a liner much at all.

It is a mummy shaped micro fleece liner and is only available in a single size and only in the color black. It comes with a stuff sack, has a 3/4 length zipper and a contoured hood with elastic draw cord. 

Online Specs: the length is 78'', the width is 28'' at the top and 12'' at the bottom with a weight of 20 ounces.

I notice that these measurements are close enough to accurate when the bag is laid out flat. However, it is fleece and it does stretch. I can stand in it with my hands over my head or stretched out in front of me with no problem. So it has the size if you need it. Also, on my scale, with the stuff sack, I got 21.7 ounces.

Easily slides over a big bulky bag, but can be too big when put inside of regular size mummy sleeping bag. To me it is like wearing a loose fitting sock that keeps moving around inside my shoe when I use it as an actual liner.

I somehow always end up using this liner as everything but a liner. I said that I get cold easy, but with a zero degree bag it can be a bit too much. I would use it with a 30-40 degree bag if I expected temps lower than that.

I found myself getting hot so I started using it as a bag cover. It helped increase the warmth of the bag and if it became too much I was able to just unzip it and throw the top off to the side. The zipper stops about a foot before the bottom which leaves a decent size foot box.

On one overnight I was trying out a new sleeping pad that was not working well. That night I used the liner as a ground sheet under my bag and it allowed me to make it through the rest of the night.

There was one summer night I tried the liner solo. I think the temps hit low 60's. For me, it was not enough! Good into the 70's, but no less without more insulation.

The black fleece attracts tons of hair and having three dogs I am constantly battling this problem. I have not had any problems with my zipper or the draw cord. No seams coming apart and the fleece seems to be holding up great after three washes without shrinking or any noticeable difference at all. 

The included stuff sack helps to contain the liner, but the whole thing is a bit big and bulky for what it is.

I would recommend this liner for car campers and overnight trips. I personally feel that it is too big and would not want to carry it on any long hiking trips. It does provide added warmth and can be used in variety of ways.

Keeps skin oils and dirt off sleeping bag, static electricity attracts hair (human and dog), noisy zipper pull (metal clanking with every movement), bulky.

The long zipper makes it easy to get in and out of. The cut seems strange though: zipper starts on your side and crosses the body to end in the middle of the chest. The zipper pull is incredibly noisy — metal clanking with every little movement. I'm considering adding some sort of snap button or something so I can keep it in place during the night.

Test 1: Brought this liner as a sheet for an Alaskan dorm/hotel stay. Room was kept at 80°F and it was much too hot to use this bag. I went to using a regular comforter.

Test 2: I went on a two-night RV trip in sunny 50-55°F weather (45° minimum both nights). The RV had an electric heater running and I estimate inside temperatures were around 70F when I fell asleep and 60-65°F in the middle of the night. I slept on a mattress with a  Sea to Summit Reactor Extreme Thermolite Liner *inside* of the Sea to Summit fFleece Toaster liner. I wore polyester gym pants, a long sleeve Icebreaker 260 wool turtleneck, and wool socks. Was still very cold all night.

I wore the described outfit to sleep in a 69°F room (sans socks) with only two blanket layers on top of me (two fluffed cotton blankets which keep me was warm as two fleece blanket layers) and I am very comfortable.

Anyways, if this liner added "warmth", I should at least be in the lower end of 'comfortable' when the RV temperatures were 67-68°F (before temp's dropped off at night), instead of cold. I was eating ridiculous amounts of carbohydrates on this trip so my core body temperature was already getting a boost.

Test 3: Repeat of Test 2 but inside a 60 degree house. Felt very cold all night.

Test 4: Used this winter camping on a glacier. We pitched [very nice expensive winter] tents on snow at the foot of the glacier. Temperature at night was 25°F (day 30F). I used a Downmat 7 UL on top of a Therm-a-Rest RidgeRest SOlite sleeping pad. Slept in a Mountain Hardwear Lamina -30 sleeping bag and this Sea-to-Summit Fleece Toaster Liner. Had on two fleece tops and two fleece bottoms. Hot water Nalgene at my feet and two pairs of wool socks.

Was way too warm in the middle of the night from above and below! The bag, tent, and downmat were all significant factors in this I believe. Tent: three of us played cards in the closed up tent for about 20 minutes and my infrared thermometer indicated the temperatures rose from 28°F to 37°F.

I believe this liner has its place in the proper air temperature range, but narrowing it down hasn't been fun. It is really bulky; packing it back in the original bag requires actually folding it and rolling it up nicely. Static electricity attracts hair (human and dog) all over this liner.