Pad Cover for Quilts?

I sleep directly on the inflatable sleeping pad, although most of mine have a “clothier” feel to them and aren’t really slick.  I have at least underwear and a t-shirt on.  If I’m wearing something on my legs it’s either for the warmth or, more than to avoid sticking to the sleeping pad, to avoid my salty, dirty legs form sticking to each other.  I should remember to rinse off my legs earlier in the day, like when I first get to camp, but instead I remember and regret once I’m under my quilt.

I don’t do it, but I see the appeal and the logic of a thin cotton t-shirt and pajama bottoms dedicated as sleep wear, and transported in a reliable dry bag or in a ziplock protected inside another stuff sack.

If Im wearing long johns for sleep cloths I dont use anything over the pad.  If Im wearing shorts and a tshirt I will sometimes use an old bed sheet that has been sewn into a sleeve for the pad.  The sleeve was actually sewn to hold the “wings” for when I use the pad in a hammock.

Even if wearing minimal sleep clothes, I never saw the need for a pad cover. EE makes a nice looking pad cover if you use and TAR X-lite or X-therm pad, but I’ve never used it. If you’re new to quilts, the more important considerations are the quilt’s attachment system to your pad and insulated head protection if it’s cold. Both make a big difference with a quilt once the temps drop below the mid 40’s.

I expect to be wearing gym shorts and a synthetic t-shirt.

I always wear sleep clothes and use no pad cover, but given your expectations, the EE pad cover looks very nice for 1.5 oz.

No pad cover for me

I’ll wear a baselayer for sleep and/or storm, so won’t directly contact the pad.

Sleep directly on the pad. Drool into the little dimples of my z-rest.

I remember this being a “major” concern of mine when I switched to a quilt.  That worry lasted as long as my first night under a quilt.  Unless it’s super hot, I sleep with something on and directly on my mat.  No cover for me.  Even on those few occasions when It’s too hot to wear anything other than shorts, I’ve never been bothered by the feel of my neoair on my admittedly old but bare skin.

Don. Naked. Sticking to his Neoair.

Not a picture I needed. Thanks Don….

zenbivy makes some really cool pad covers that have a hood and pillow attached

I sleep warm and I’ve never been happy with the feeling of skin on neoair but long Johns are too much unless it’s really cold. I haven’t found a solution I’m happy with yet.

Isn’t ZenBivy the new company started by the guy who used to run Sierra Designs?  Those pad covers are interesting, but at 7oz (min) not likely to be interesting to the UL audience.

I’ve looked at the pad covers by EE, but they are made out of the same nylon fabric as their quilts. Doesn’t seem any less sweaty and sticky than the pad. I usually wear baselayers to bed, and don’t care about the pad.

I like the ZenBivy concept, it seems interesting. Two problems with it for me though:

1. I use a 25×72 pad, ZenBivy only does the 20×72 or 25×77 sizes that frustrate me about Thermarest.
2. I don’t like having a sleeping-bag-type hood, that’s why I use quilts. Their mattress covers integrate a sleeping-bag-style hood.
3. I said two, but there is one more. A 25 degree quilt is the highest temp rating they offer. It would be nice if they offered a 40 degree as well.

I sleep directly on pad – Thermarest Prolite.  Definitely has a plasticy feel.  I kind of prefer my skin isn’t against it.

I always wear long pants and shirt.  I have a down quilt.  The pants and shirt absorb body oils so it keeps the quilt clean.  Also solves the problem of skin against plasticy pad.

My Thermarest pad cover (W/ mating snap-on light synthetic quilt) covers the top and edges with elastic holding it on. This is about the lightest solution for a pad cover.

I won the Trail Pro pad and the cover/quilt in a drawing as otherwise I would never have purchased the cover and quilt.

BTW, when using inflatable sleeping pads or air mattresses I slip a T shirt over the top 1/4 of the pad for a nicer feel when I lay my face on it. The shirts have always stayed in place overnight.

Stumbled across this conversation, searching, because I too have decided I like quilt sleeping (right now just using my mummy bag as one by tucking my feet into the foot box) and definitely do NOT like sleeping directly on my NeoAir.

The EE one looks good, except for two things.   They apparently aren’t making them now.   And the 1.5oz figure seems pretty implausible.   What fabric could they possibly be using ?   For the typical sleeping bag in Western Mountaineering’s ExtremeLite series, the shell seems to weight at least 8 oz (total bag weight minus fill weight).   So EE is using a fabric substantially lighter than what WM uses on their lightest bags ?

But, anyhow, EE ones aren’t available now, so I’m looking at making my own, more a fitted sheet than a pad cover (my pad has plenty of protection on the bottom, from a closed-cell foam pad and a ground cloth).  I’ve been looking at very light polyester fabrics from https://www.fabricwholesaledirect.com .  I figure I need one weighing less than 100 GSM (grams per square meter) to get a fitted sheet that weighs no more than 6oz.

This one looks promising: https://www.fabricwholesaledirect.com/products/extra-wide-nylon-taffeta-fabric?variant=39460446765171

… extra wide, so one linear yard should be enough.   I figure about 36*84 (to allow fitted sheet to fold somewhat under my large-size NeoAir) which comes out to 2.33 yard^2, or a little under 2 meter^2, so 160 grams or less than 6oz.

But they have other very light fabrics too, and I’m not sure how they will feel and how durable they are.   The lightest, at 50 GSM, is: https://www.fabricwholesaledirect.com/products/polyester-china-silk-lining-fabric?variant=39460337778803

… apparently used for interior lining of garments.

There’s also the issue of HOW to make it into a fitted sheet.   I’m thinking just 4 pieces of elastic, fitting diagonally across each corner of the sheet and hooking under the corners of the pad.

I thought it would bother me sleeping directly on my Thermarest Neo air Xtherm and/or Xlite..But it ends-up that I don’t even notice it. That’s with merino wool base layer tops and bottoms. I would guess that as you head towards lighter and lighter sheet fabrics that you’ll end up with something that does not add much comfort. In a way, wearing lightweight wool tops and bottoms IS a pad cover: you are wearing the pad cover! I like the leggings and top also because they stop me from having that sticky feeling between the nylon of the quilt (or sleeping bag) and my kinda dirty, sweaty, sun screened skin. My $0.02.

ripstopbytheroll has 0.66 oz/yd2 nylon.

If you just made a bag it might work.  For a 20 x 72 inch pad cut the fabric 41 x 73 inches – extra 1 inch for seam allowance.  Fold over and make a flat felled seam.  Sew the end with a flat felled seam.  Hem the top.

41 x 73 = 2.22 yds. = 1.5 ounces

I’ve slept for years directly on thermarest prolite mattress which was fine

I got an uberlite.  I don’t mind the feel of sleeping directly on it, but it moves around as I toss and turn, so am thinking about making a bag like above, then sewing my quilt to the edges so there’s no drafts underneath and the pad doesn’t move

Jerry: isn’t that just a Big Agnes bag and pad, then? I suppose it would still be lighter?

yeah, exactly, Big Agnes had such a product but it was heavy

I would make it to exactly fit an uberlite.

You know, I think I just feel weird being right on the pad, feels like I could puncture it (yeah, I’m usually wearing some underwear).    So it’s probably a lot psychological, the sheet providing virtually no protection, I imagine.

Thanks for the link on the super-light stuff.   I wonder where you can get the stuff Western Mountaineering uses for their ExtremeLite bags (they call it 10-15 denier nylon taffeta) ?   Looks like the stuff they call MEMBRANE 10 and such might just be it.

Cool, so because it’s so light, I just make a bag, little extra protection under the pad and no need to worry about making it fasten like a fitted top sheet.   My pad is 25″ wide, but for some reason well over the spec for a large size (NeoAir Trekker), like 80-something inches.   I’ve thought about asking them to shorten it.   But I digress.  I guess I’d need 3 yards to fit the thing.

It is feasible to use one of the tapes they sell instead of sewing ?

For most trips I put a baselayer top and bottom in the waterproof stuffsack with my quilt, so I know I have something dry and comfortable to wear at night even if the conditions during the day have been a bit rubbish. In this case, I sleep directly on the pad. (though my pads are usually Exped and have a slightly softer, nicer feeling top layer anyway).

If I was wearing more layers, puffy jacket/trousers etc and there was a chance that a zip/button/metal might contact the pad I’d think of having something over the pad to help protect it, but if it’s cold enough for that I might have moved from a quilt to a bag anyway so might be protected regardless.

use tape to seal that thin nylon?

I would think that would work if you didn’t have a sewing machine.  Try it on a test piece.

Sewing two sides together is a bit tricky.  The top layer tends to stick to the foot and slip a little relative to the bottom layer.  You should have some long strip scraps – try sewing them first and make sure they don’t slip when sewing a long length.