A Good Night Sleep

Over the years I’ve had my share of restless nights trying to sleep in the outdoors. With the topic of shelter aside (I’ll talk about shelter another time) there are few other factors to influence your nights slumber than what’s under your sleeping bag.

Some of it may be a factor of age. As a young teenager backpacking in the Sierra Nevada I could get a good night sleep with my bag directly on a granite slab. These days most everything feels like that granite slab in the wee hours of the night. I’ve gone through a number of mattresses, pads and whatever over the years.

The air mattress. I’ve noticed a lot of newer campers use these. I think that is simply because that’s what they sell in the department store camping section. Remember, just because they sell that doesn’t mean you need it. When the rechargeable inflation pumps became available a few years back my friend  recommended I try it. So I bought the kit. They are OK. I’m not real fond of the rolly-polly feel. It does take up a lot of room in my small 2 man tent I use for light trips. Then it sprung a leak. I awoke in the middle of the night with memories of cold hard granite. Not good. When I got home I repaired the leak. Then I made the mistake of taking it on my next trip. It was fall and we were at higher altitude. It got down to 26 degrees at night. Waking up at night with my bottom side very cold and my top side nice and warm I quickly blamed myself for not knowing better. That big mass of air in the mattress simply got cold during the course of the night. Yet another restless night.

The cot. Good for the longer trip when you’re taking lots of gear. But they are too bulky for the light trip. A couple of things I’ve learned. Get the right size. Cot frames differ. Some styles only have frame members down the sides. Others have a frame all the way around. If your feet and head are touching the frame it will bother you during the night. If its narrow and you like to spread out like I do the side rails can be uncomfortable. You could get one that’s plenty big but you could find that it takes up too much room. My good friend brought one on a trip one winter. Being a base camp, cold weather trip we figured we’d live large. Brought my six man, four season tent. His cot practically covered all the real estate inside. When he sat on it his feet didn’t even touch the ground. I told him it was big enough to conduct aircraft operations on. After our trip he returned the “aircraft carrier” for a smaller version.

If the weather is cold (or could get cold) you will need some insulation under your sleeping bag. Even with the best cold weather bags the pressure points were your body presses down will compact the insulation to near nothing. You will soon feel all that cold air under your cot. Use a high density foam pad like I do. Even a blanket or cheap/old sleeping bag would help. The less it compresses the better insulator.

Foam pads. I’ve got several of these and have used then for many, many years. There are several types and there is one that would match your personal preferences. They are great for backpacking or light car trips. Well, any camping trip for that matter. They perform relatively the same year-round. They don’t leak, they are inherently good insulators and are very, very durable. Do your research and try them out for size. There are variations for any type of camping and they run the scale as far as pricing. They make a good choice for a good night sleep. 

Hybrid foam pads. No these don’t have anything to do with fuel economy! These are the next level of the good ‘ol foam pad. General known as self-inflating sleeping pads or mattresses. They are foam with a tough, durable and air-tight outer layer. The pad is unrolled and allowed to “breath in” for several minutes. It expands into a thicker more comfortable pad than the regular foam pad. I even give it a few puffs to firm it up some more before closing the valve. When breaking camp the air is pushed out by rolling it up then closing the valve. This compressed package saves storage space.  I’ve never had “contact” with the ground with this pad. 

The one I use is a Therm-a-Rest Luxury Camp. They even make one that is really comfortable. I’ve had it for about six or seven years and I love it. It is what I reach for when I’m packing. It has never let me down (no pun intended). I’ll admit it is not cheap. Shop around. Find a store where you can try it out. They come in various sizes too. I kinda felt I was splurging when I bought mine. Not now. Worth every cent I paid.