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Tips for sleeping on foam pad


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Viewing 9 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)
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  • #1279608
    Casey Balza
    Member

    @equals

    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.

    #1781614
    Jim Colten
    BPL Member

    @jcolten

    Locale: MN

    The only thing that ever worked for me was to be young

    But that train left the station years ago:-)

    #1781619
    todd
    BPL Member

    @funnymo

    Locale: SE USA

    Put it on as much duff as possible.

    Other than that my best advice is to put an inflatable torso pad on top!

    #1781621
    Lance M
    BPL Member

    @lancem

    Locale: Oregon

    Try scooping out a depression in the ground (or find a natural depression) for your hips/behind. Seems to make a big difference for me.

    #1781662
    Paul Magnanti
    BPL Member

    @paulmags

    Locale: Colorado Plateau

    Sleep 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.

    #1781664
    William Chilton
    BPL Member

    @williamc3

    Locale: Antakya

    Sleep 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.

    #1781667
    Dale Wambaugh
    BPL Member

    @dwambaugh

    Locale: Pacific Northwest

    I 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.

    #1781678
    Mary D
    BPL Member

    @hikinggranny

    Locale: Gateway to Columbia River Gorge

    Same 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!

    #1781697
    Casey Balza
    Member

    @equals

    Yeah 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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