Topic

What do you sleep on?

Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 44 total)
PostedMar 20, 2007 at 2:01 pm

What is under your sleeping Bag?

I have evolved into a Big Agnes air mattress, a tent floor and a ground sheet.
I have not found a more comfortable mattress as the BA.
(For those of you that say; Comfort sometimes does trump lightness)

Doug

.

PostedMar 20, 2007 at 2:13 pm

I switched from Thermarest to BA a while back. I was tired of tossing and turning trying to get warm and comfortable. My latest pad, a BA Insulated Air Core good to around 15F, weighs 23 oz since I decided to go for the long this time. It's been great not having my feet sitting on top of something else for a change. I've had quite a few "slept right through the night(s)" lately…great for these old bones.

EndoftheTrail BPL Member
PostedMar 20, 2007 at 2:23 pm

Just last year, I "graduated" from a blue foam to a self-inflating pad (REI Lite Core). Aging is no fun. :(

PostedMar 20, 2007 at 2:28 pm

GG Nightlight Torso (pack under my legs) and GG spinnaker ground cloth. And forget the compressed down, I just finished a homemade quilt (17.5 oz) that I used successfully down to 30* the other night. I couldn't be happier with it, it turned out great!
I don't think I sacrificed a whole lot of comfort switching from an old Thermarest to the GG pad. Its shorter, but provides a lot of padding and warmth for such a small weight. I was actually just as comfortable on it the other night as I ever was with the Thermarest.

Adam

PostedMar 20, 2007 at 2:31 pm

Have a 3/4 original, full size original, & luxury thermarest.
Now am thrilled with the comfort & lightness (13 oz) of my short prolite 3 thermarest. And I am a fussy sleeper.

Douglas Frick BPL Member
PostedMar 20, 2007 at 2:31 pm

Air–in a Hennessy hammock. That's by far the most comfortable for me, winter or summer.

On the ground I've been using a GG ThinLight 1/8" pad with a GG NightLight Torso or BMW Torsolite. Neither arrangement is very comfortable for my creaky bones, so I picked up an OR/Exped DownMat 7 Short. I haven't tried it yet, though. I'm willing to carry some extra weight rather than have wakeful nights, but not quite as much as my original 2.3-pound Therm-A-Rest. Maybe if I spent more than a week out at a time I could get used to thinner pads.

PostedMar 20, 2007 at 2:44 pm

in warmer weather (just below freezing an up) an Exped foam air. In subzero, an Exped downmat 9. I seriously begrudge the weight – 26 oz for the foamair – but I knew I could no longer use my 1/8 ensolite, or 1" thermarest when I awoke so stiff that I literally could not tie my shoes in the morning. Stuff happens when you pass 60.

PostedMar 20, 2007 at 2:56 pm

I sleep on a Gossamer Gear 3/8" pad, cut to torso size. Guess that's the lightest option one can choose. It's far from beeing comfortable, but it works and you know… Who cares about comfort? ;-)
However, I find that my legs tend to become quite cool during the night. Has anybody got advice for me how I can solve that problem? Insulating pant? Or does it really help to use the empty pack? I don't carry any spare clothing with my that I don't wear at night either.
Below the GG ThinLite I have a GG Polycro ground sheet.
Of course that system works only in the warmer season w/temperatures above 32F.

David Lewis BPL Member
PostedMar 20, 2007 at 3:03 pm

Option 1 (using LL treking poles that double as cot side poles)

Luxury Lite 3/4 length ultralight cot
GG ThinLight 1/8" full length
No ground sheet

Option 2 (using kompedell CF poles)

Thermarest ProLite 3 3/4 length
GG Polycro ground sheet

Dondo . BPL Member
PostedMar 20, 2007 at 4:30 pm

Montbell torso pad + Montbell inflatable pillow on top of a 3/8" GG thinlite pad cut to 48". A lot of warmth and comfort for 16.1 oz. Vapor Trail pack goes under my lower legs and feet.

Douglas Frick BPL Member
PostedMar 20, 2007 at 5:10 pm

> I find that my legs tend to become quite cool during the night. Has anybody got advice for me how I can solve that problem? Insulating pant?

A piece of GossamerGear ThinLight 1/8" sleeping pad cut to fit under your legs will make a big difference. (It's all I use with a quilt.) It will be much lighter than insulated pants if you weren't going to bring them anyway; a full-length GG ThinLight 1/8" pad weighs only 2.5 oz, and you could probably cut it down to 1 oz for just the legs.

PostedMar 20, 2007 at 7:14 pm

GG Nightlight Torso pad, pack under legs, waterproof bottom bivy. (homemade quilt on top)

Mina Loomis BPL Member
PostedMar 21, 2007 at 7:41 am

3/4 length Ridgerest
Tent floor or, if in a tarp, plastic poncho groundcloth, or, in dry warm weather sometimes, just the Ridgerest
Pack under feet (for slight foot elevation as well as insulation/ground protection)

I am 56 and thus have every right to be creaky and need more padding, but since I sleep on an old packed-down futon at home, lack of padding while camping doesn't make much difference. It just depends on what you are used to.

PostedMar 21, 2007 at 7:55 am

Thermarest Prolite 3 short (14.5 oz with sack), montbell #3, and usually the floor of a leanto. Otherwise the floor of a double rainbow. I haven't tried many pads, mostly since the stores around here don't have them, and I've always liked the Thermarests. I don't think I need a down filled one since I don't normally camp in winter outside of huts.

Eric Noble BPL Member
PostedMar 21, 2007 at 8:52 am

Mainly a Hennessy Hammock with a No Sniveller underneath. When on the ground, a Prolite 4 regular at 24 oz (675g). This thread will hopefully help me do better.

PostedMar 21, 2007 at 10:07 am

3/4 length TR Prolite 4 with a short piece of a cheap blue foam pad for my legs and feet. The blue foam pad piece also makes a nice camp chair.

PostedMar 21, 2007 at 10:41 am

Full-length Prolite 4, though I need to consider a 3/4 length and using my pack. I get cold too easily and my hips get too sore with thinner pads.

Under my tent or tarptent I use thin plastic sheeting from the hardware store (paint tarps that I cut to size) — super lightweight, cheap, and durable, but not terribly enviro-friendly. Any thoughts on something lightweight that's not so disposable?

PostedMar 21, 2007 at 11:50 am

gossamerGear NightLight torso pad and Polycryo ground sheet. If the ground is cold, wet or uncomfortable I sheath my legs with a heavily modified (down to approximately 23oz) Deuter Speed Lite 30 pack.

Douglas Frick BPL Member
PostedMar 21, 2007 at 12:09 pm

>Any thoughts on something [ground sheet] lightweight that’s not so disposable?

Gossamer Gear Polycryo Ground Cloth (small: 1.3 oz; medium: 1.5 oz; large: 5.6 oz). I’ve used my small many times and it is holding up well. It is absolutely water-impermeable (I’ve slept on a puddle). I overlooked a sharp stick when pitching my tent, and it hurt when I sat on it. I broke the stick off through the tent floor and the ground cloth, with no harm to either. However, the last time I used my large, I shoved a tent peg through it and punctured it less than an inch from the edge. The next day there was a 3″ tear from the edge near that location, which I ignored. While giving it a vigorous two-person shaking the next morning, the entire sheet ripped in half. So while the material is quite puncture and wear resistant, a tear should be taped immediately to prevent it from propagating catastrophically.

Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 44 total)
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