Well, it's now 37 days (but who's counting?) until I head off for London and the rest of Europe. It's my first trip overseas having explored Australia thoroughly and I can't wait!

My biggest concern about my trip is the very unfamiliar cold weather and what I need to prepare for it. We plan to stay in hostels during the whole trip - sticking mostly to Northern and Eastern Europe. I hadn't planned on bringing a sleeping bag, figuring that heating and sleeping gear will be the norm at hostels and when living out of a pack that you're lugging around for 3 months space is at a premium. That is until my travel buddy bought one today and now I'm leaning towards being over rather than under prepared.

So the biggest question is, if you were me, would you bring one?

Oh and while I think of it, what in the way of pants will I need to keep myself warm while doing the regular European sites?

Thanks in advance.

As far as pants go, you might want to invest in some really nice, lightweight thermals that you can just wear under regular clothes for added warmth. Most sporting good stores have them.

That's a tough one on the sleeping bag. If I knew I was just going to be in hostels every night, I'd say don't bother. But, we had one with since we were camping, and it came in handy the night we ended up having to sleep in a (and outside!) a train station, and on overnight trains. You can get an ultralight bag that weighs less than a pound, is about the size of a loaf of bread and can be hooked to the outside of your bag. You may also want to look into ultralight blankets as an alternative.

I prefer to bring my sleeping bad when sleeping in hostels, thats just my preference :cheers:

^ Y'all should know that Anthon's sleeping bag stuffs down to about the size of a football and consequently doesn't take up very much room in a backpack! :)

i guess its just preference, would you rather have a sleeping bag at the expense of added weight through your travels, or take the risk of not needing one without having to carry it!

i had one of those, but soon as i got it out the first time i couldnt roll it back up and get it back in the bag, bloody impossible..... now its just squashed into the top shelf of my cupboard, best $120 i ever spent pffffft :thumbdown:

What kind was it btw? I love mine, as Jeanie mentioned it packs super small, but still keeps me quite warm. :cheers:

Outriaer D.M.H Trendsetter...quality products :lookaround:

dosnt just keep you warm it boils you to death

I took mine with me when i went around Europe and it came in very handy a few times (especially when we had to sleep in the park....but that's another story). If i was you i would buy one that you can roll up real small, like what KCL was talking about, and strap it to the outside of your pack, that way you don't add much weight to your pack or sacrifice any packing space.



.....are you a triple j listener by any chance???

Thanks everyone for the advice!

Sure am a JJJ listener - being in Australia for Australia Day was one of the main reasons for leaving when we did :)

Haven't got my votes in yet for the hottest 100 - I couldn't get it down to 10 tracks if I tried. Moby, Kaiser Chiefs and The White Stripes all released great tracks this year.