Sliding pad

Two things to do:

1. Find the flatest piece of ground for your campsite. On a slope, no amount of silicon / seam sealant can keep 100+ pounds of weight from sliding.

2. A few dollops won't do it. Paint half-inch stripes of silicon either on your tent floor or your sleeping pad.

This is an issue for me when my tent is pitched on an incline. I think it's specific to the pad, not the tent, as it has no real texture, and it isn't an issue without the pad. I'm planning to put some "lines" of silicon/SilNet down the 4' length of the pad. I'm thinking 3-4 on each side. One side to keep it from sliding in the tent, the other side to keep me from sliding off the pad.
It sounds sane, but I have yet to do it.
Does anyone with an old Thermarest GuideLite have successful results with this?

Another option to consider for stopping a pad from sliding is to add a very thin closed cell pad under your other pad. A GG thinlight (1/8 inch thick) doesn't weigh much and adds a bit of warmth, cushioning and puncture protection to your pad.

I agree with Ross; I slip around much less with my GG thinlight than I did with silicone strips on my air pad. That thing really grips, particularly with your weight on it.

I use a Torsolite pad and like to use the Gossamer Gear Thinlight pad for added insulation. It keeps my heels from getting cold. I find that the pad slips and bunches up defeating the purpose for having it. I put silicone strips on my Torsolite and it seems to stay put but I have not put stripes of silicone on the tent floor and am not sure it would help with such a thin pad.

Anyone else have this problem?

I took a tube of silicon caulk and put big X-shaped patterns of small silicon dots from edge to edge on the bottom of my Thermarest full length pad. Three big xs, head to foot, did the trick.

This stopped the slipping on my Contrail's silnylon floor. (Plus, it's a very lightweight solution.)

Eric

"A GG thinlight …"

That's the way I do it also. Keeps the tent floor nice. Otherwise the stripes pick up fine dust after a few nights.
-Barry

Thanks for everyone's great ( as always ) feedback..

So, anyone have any experiences / comparision to BP Light's product offering of the " DIAD " ?? Again, I'm only interested in the " slippage factor "

When the ground is sloping enough for me to slip during the night, I find something to wedge next to me on the lower edge. Like, the toes of my shoes, or a ditty bag with personal items in it, or anything else that isn't already being used for something else. This creates just enough "stop" to keep me in place. My pad is a 3/4 Ridgerest.

Mina

P. S. Also, I make sure my husband is downslope, which keeps him from sliding into me. He is not much into slide-prevention techniques.

I have the same problem. It was suggested to me that a small piece of the material that people buy to put under rugs to keep them from slipping will work for this. There are various types but they all seem to be an open gridwork made of some kind or rubbery foamlike cords. They have a slightly sticky feel.

I got one from Walmart that helps if it is not too cold. Once the temperature drops the the material seems to get less sticky tho. The Walmart pad grid is not open enough though so it is too heavy for my purposes. I have seen pads with much more open gridwork in the past but don't know where to find them at this point.

Has anybody tried this technique?

“I have seen pads with much more open gridwork in the past but don't know where to find them at this point.

Has anybody tried this technique?”

Yes. And they also work very well. And they take up very little bulk. I found some super lightweight ‘open gridwork’ pads at Shopko in the kitchen section. I cut mine down to 9×15”. It ended up weighing about 1.5oz. That little piece more than holds my prolite 4 in place (for example) on a slight slope.

You’re right, there’s some heavy stuff out there; and that’s good for carpet but look for the stuff that you line kitchen cupboards with.

-Barry

Or you can paint the entire/most/direct sleeping area of the floor with the waterproofing mix of 1 part by weight of silicone caulk and 3 or 4 parts odorless mineral spirits by weight. Makes the silnylon way less slippery, and provides waterproofing as well.

Si tent floor material that is currently used in many of our light weight tents is the culprit for all of us that are slipping and sliding.
I’ve had TorsoLite Inflatable Sleeping Pad Slipping now for over three years and this Issue since day one! My wife has cured the issue by placing the TorsoLite in her sleeping bag, I have tried that and could not live with her solution so I “painted” some lines using Seam Grip (1 oz tube) onto the bottom of the pad (picture below) that has resolved the issue to a large extent.

FYI……The following are return answers to my emails from three companies that manufacture these type of inflatable sleeping pads and their solution to this issue.

1.) “The best solution is to pick up some Seam Grip, a urethane seam sealer, from a local outfitter and place small dots of it on the bottom of the pad itself. This will help provide some friction for the pad to the tent floor without making the pad sticky."
Cascade Designs Inc.

2.) “I’ve heard of people dropping Seam Grip dots onto a pad in order to create some friction points but I'm not sure how well it bonds with the fabric. They might rub off over time plus they add weight. Not sure what else you could do other than sewing cotton cover that would create some friction between all of the slick fabrics.”
Best Regards,
Pacific Outdoor Equipment

3.) “Purchase some McNett Seam Grip or similar and 'paint' some lines of glue onto the bottom of the pad. This will create a tacky surface that isn't so slippery.”

Cheers,
BackpackingLight.com Support