In short, if you plan on staying in youth hostels, yes.
Most hostels now require travelers to use sleep sacks when
sleeping in the beds they provide. Youth Hostels will often
provide you with a sleep sheet or regular sheet; more than
likely this will cost extra money to use. However, because some
youth hostels do not have them on hand, it is always a good idea
to bring your own.
Sleep Sacks are simple really. Hostels have us use them because
they help keep the beds clean. Clean beds are good.
With sleep sacks, you also have the advantage of being able to
chose your materials. For summer journeys, you may want to go
with something very thin and slick so that it does not stick to
you if you sweat a bit. For winter, you can chose a thicker
material that will help keep you warm on cold nights.
To make a sleep sack, really all you need to do is take a sheet
and fold it in half. Once you have it lined up right, you just
sew up the bottom and half way up the side to create a sort of
sheet version of the sleeping bag.
Many travelers have asked about sleeping bags and whether or not
they should take them along. In my opinion a sleeping bag is a
bad idea. It's bulky, hard to wash when you are in a hurry and
have little detergent and supplies, and a lot of hostels do not
even allow them do to personal hygiene reasons (you wouldn't
want a guy who has been living in the woods along interstates
for three weeks sleeping next to you in a thick, sweaty sleeping
bag).
So in answer to the original question, yes, you should take a
sleep sack with if you are planning on staying in youth hostels.
Sleep sacks are good for you, they are good for the hostels, and
they are good for everyone else who is on the road.
I recommend you add a sleep sack to your list of things to pack.
You won't regret it.
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