Choosing A Travel Sheet - One Crucial Feature You Won't Be Able to Live Without!

Traveling with your own sheet used to be mandatory with budget travel. Hostels didn't supply sheets or towels so you were on your own to have one with you. Your sheet became a very personal item that you snuggled up with each night, used on overnight buses, and laid on the ground when you slept in airports. Can you tell I love(d) my travel sheet? LOL

Nowadays most hostels supply sheets but now and again you need (or maybe even WANT) your own, especially for treks like the Camino de Santiago!
With your own travel sheet, you are assured a clean sheet (assuming you keep your sheet clean), it can help regulate heat and sweat, you always have a blankie of sorts with you, and it even covers a possibly not-so-desirable hostel pillow.
Bed bugs? Nope, sorry, it's not going to protect you against those as they simply bite right through sheets or crawl right into them (yeah, yuk).

Travel sheets are synonymous with sleeping bag liners; liners that you slip into your bag to help with temperature, cleanliness, and I'm not sure what else. But for those of us using them for travel and not camping, we'll call them travel sheets.

As with any backpacking travel gear, high tech is better, lighter, stronger. Brands such as Browint, Sea to Summit, DreamSacks, and many others make all sorts of acceptable sleeping bag liners. Make sure to research those by weight, fabric, and size and shape (mummy vs. regular). But I tend to steer clear of those "other" travel sheets. I have a specific requirement for my travel sheet that not many have ....
let me go ahead and clue you in to the most important thing you can look for in a sheet ... a zipper!!

Things to Take Into Consideration When Buying a Travel Sheet

Opening / Zipper

To me, this is so important! So many sleeping bag liners are just a tube that you slide into, then are trapped in for the night. no thank you. See all my reasons below why you want a zipper.

Pack Size

When every cubic inch matters, pack size is something to consider for sure! They'll vary from around 6x3" to 8x4". Any more than that and you might want to reconsider unless you're car camping.

Physical Weight

This is really important. You'll find them from 9 ounces to over a pound, so pay careful attention to this! Yes of course ones with zippers will weigh more, but you pay for what's important.

Material / Warmth

Where are you going to be using your sheet? In cold weather? In the tropics? Pay attention to if the fabric breathes or not, keeps you warm, dries, quickly, etc.

Quality / Brand

Again, paying for what's important.... Consider how long you want your gear to last. Even though I'm a budget traveler, I personally don't mind paying more for quality gear since I intend to use it all the time and want it to last forever. ;) Good customer service and warranty is important, too.

Pillow Pocket

Having a pillow pocket is nice, and I like mine on the outside / underneath because I'm usually not putting my own pillow in it; it's usually the hotel or hostel pillow. That way your are not in contact with the pillow and it's kept securely in place under your sheet.

Travel Sheets with Full Open Zip

These are my top recommendations for travel sheets. They vary greatly in price, fabric, weight so have a look at what suits you best.

Why Do You Want a Zipper?

I absolutely cannot sleep in a confined sleeping bag liner. Picture yourself trying to curl up in a ball in a mummy sleeve or trying to put your foot outside the sheet if you get hot. Nope, not gonna work. Unless you have a zipper.

You can zip it all the way up if you want to be secured inside your sheet, or you can open it part way or even unzip it entirely to make a fully flat sheet. If you are traveling as a twosome, you can even zip two liners together to make a big queen-sized sheet sack! Pretty romantic, eh?

There are very few brands that make them with a full length zipper (side and bottom), hence those are the only ones I will ever even consider purchasing. I personally own the Cocoon Coupler in a silk/cotton combo. Even though it costs more, it's a quality product. My Cocoon has gone through 10 years of heavy use and is still intact! I bought the poly-cotton one for my step-daughter. It takes up a bit more room but it's acceptable and comes in a cute pattern (because that matters LOL).

The zipper does add a little weight and bulk, but it's so worth it. Cotton also adds weight and bulk but is also the least expensive.

For me, the Cocoon silk/cotton combo is the perfect balance. It rolls up to about the size of a tall coffee mug and stuffs in it's own sack. Unfortunately it's hard to find online at the moment. My sheet is quite the little luxury item and I just love slipping into the cool silky fabric when everything else around me is grubby and backpacker'y.

Other Travel Sheets with Full or Partial Zip

Here are some other suggestions if you have a particular need such as an extra large sheet or if you don't want a full open zip sheet.