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Tips for sleeping on foam pad
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Sep 21, 2011 at 9:32 am #1279608
Does anyone have any tips on how to sleep comfortably on a closed cell foam pad? I tend to toss and turn on one and do not want to go to a heavy inflatable pad.
Sep 21, 2011 at 9:40 am #1781614The only thing that ever worked for me was to be young
But that train left the station years ago:-)
Sep 21, 2011 at 9:47 am #1781619Put it on as much duff as possible.
Other than that my best advice is to put an inflatable torso pad on top!
Sep 21, 2011 at 9:50 am #1781621Try scooping out a depression in the ground (or find a natural depression) for your hips/behind. Seems to make a big difference for me.
Sep 21, 2011 at 10:55 am #1781662Sleep on it as much as possible. Once you get used to it, your body will find it fine.
I've never used anything but a foam pad. The few times I've tried an inflatable, I find it TOO soft and pliable.
So, I really do think it is what you are used to.
Sep 21, 2011 at 11:05 am #1781664Sleep on a hard bed at home. At home we have a wooden bed with cotton filled mattress, no springs, and my wife and I both prefer a foam mattress when camping.
Sep 21, 2011 at 11:10 am #1781667I found the problem was having a pillow, not the pad. With a good pillow I can sleep on the most basic pad.
The real cure is a hammock. Can't beat it.
Sep 21, 2011 at 11:29 am #1781678Same situation as Jim. As I've gotten older, my hips have gotten more sensitive. Over the years, I've gone through a progression of pads, from none at all, to blue foam, to old-style Thermarest, to Thermarest LE (2" thick and almost 2 lbs.), to POE Insulmat Max Thermo (2.5" thick and 17 oz.), and now a 20" x 60" x 3.5" thick insulated air pad from Kooka Bay. The last, by the way, in mummy style, weighs only 12.8 oz., proving that you can get comfort and warmth without paying a weight penalty.
Some folks like the NeoAir, but I never was able to get comfortable on the horizontal baffles, and I started shivering at 40*F. The NeoAir is also expensive. My custom Kooka Bay pad was about the same price!
Sep 21, 2011 at 12:02 pm #1781697Yeah I think a pillow will help out a lot. I've been using my down coat and whatever else I had for a pillow but things end up getting scattered through out the night and come undone.
So I think I will try the pillow route next time I go backpacking. I love the simplicity of a foam pad, quick to deploy, put away, and indestructible. I guess I will also just have to wait till I get used to it as well.
Thanks for the input everyone.
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