Insulation for an afternoon nap in my tent

I like afternoon naps, too.  Plus solar heating of one’s tent is an issue here at midnight north of the Arctic Circle.  Not only is the light annoying, but the solar heating makes it uncomfortable inside the tent (where you are to avoid the bugs).

I suspect, more than the R-value of the sleeping bag, you’re blocking the solar input for that area of the tent.  So while the sleeping bag works great, you already have it along, and it dries it out; a tarp could also be used or used in addition to a sleeping bag to provide more shade for the tent.

In Baja, we’d spread our ground cloth over a spindly bush to create a spot of solid shade for a siesta in the hottest part of the day.

A lot of these tips become obvious …once we know them.

Recently I saw, scrawled on the inside walls of a refuge, “if you roll up your down jacket it makes a wonderful pillow” .

I thought it was  obvious but the writer just liked to share the discovery and no doubt someone else will benefit from it.

(no, I don’t add my graffiti to places like that or anywhere in fact)

This feels like a nap confessional. I’m in.

The sleeping bag on top of a net tent – that’s a good trick to create some insulative shade.

If you’re carrying a sheet of tyvek or a mylar ground sheet, that also works well. I often carried a mylar groundsheet when I was tarp camping, and I’d attach that to the top of my tarp while napping in the afternoon sun, and it did a great job of reflecting heat. Cuben/DCF tarp canopies are also better at reflecting solar radiation than silnylon/silpoly fabrics.

I stumbled on this old post and had to reply. In my ’60s onward (I’m 82 now) I loved an afternoon nap after a long backpack and before dinner. Sadly I always had a sweaty nap in my tent if it was hot. And this was even after doing as Erica said, laying my mummy bag over the tent for more shade.

My take was that I still had a decent rest and woke up hungry and ready to cook (as opposed to eating  freeze-dried meals).

I’d be too lazy to pitch a shelter for a nap. I just find a non-ant spot (very important!!!) and roll out my 1/8 foam pad, putting my feet up on a boulder if possible. Wet bandana over the face and good night. Bug head net if needed.