"Trailhead" sleep systems

I only have backpacking gear so it’s always double duty. Only extras are heavy cookware and food for real cooking, throws and heavy chairs for hanging around the campfire.  Sleep setup is the same, except maybe a full sized pillow.

When I was young, my backpacking gear was also my car camping gear. My son, who is 29, uses the same gear for car camping and backpacking too.

I have 1 sleeping bag (WM ultralight) and 3 quilts. I could get by with just the sleeping bag, but the quilts are lighter, so sleeping bag/quilt is trip dependent. I wouldn’t want one sleeping system for everything because for some trips it would weigh too much.

For car camping trips with my son, I still use my backpacking gear except my son will bring a two burner propane stove and a couple camp chairs.

I use this gear for non-backpackpacking trips with my wife, mostly because my wife won’t sleep on the ground. Using the Successful Marriage Formula I learned long ago:

Happy Wife = Happy Life

If anything, my sleep system got more comfortable as I transitioned from car camping to backpacking. First, I upgraded my sleeping pad from a self inflating pad to a lighter, thicker, and more compact inflatable. Second, I discovered how much more comfortable I am in a quilt versus a hooded bag. As as side sleeper, these made a huge difference to my comfort. But my motivation was reducing weight and volume, rather than comfort.

So, yes, I think a single sleep system suits both backpacking and car camping, but that’s in large part because I never had a mondo car camping mat to begin with.

My trailhead sleep system is a Toyota Corolla.  Recline the seat, bring a full-sized pillow off the bed at home.  Sometimes a jacket or quilt for a bit of warmth.  If more warmth is needed, I run the heat (small compact cars only use 1/4 gallon per hour.  Hybrids only 1/7 gallon per hour while running the climate control).  It’s more sound-deadening than a tent.  Animal-proof, too.

I use the same EE 30* Down quilt for car camping or backpacking and I’m fine to that temp and a little lower.  Now I have separate hammocks (and tents), and underquilts for car camping versus backpacking.  Just recently I got a cuben tarp, which will be used mainly for backpacking.  Cooking gear – don’t get me started.  I think my EE quilt and a few of my essentials are the only gear consistent from car to backpack.

Well, although I don’t own it for that long, the Sestrals Blanket from As Tucas seems to be a very versatile sleeping system and, at least in theory -and to me-, seems like the ‘ultimate’ bag.

In car-camping-situations, or in a mountain hut, I could use it like a blanket.

During a night in my shelter I would close the footbox and close the bottom snaps so it becomes a quilt.

In drafty or colder situations, I’m able to close all the snaps so it becomes a hoodless sleepingbag. It has a fairly wide girth so that the bag-option is possible without being too uncomfortable.

Weighs 602 grams/21 ounces.

Mine is filled with Climashield Apex since I’ve had some bad experiences with down bags in the past.
Marco (the man behind As Tucas) also makes down quilts/blankets as a custom order.
We don’t have many cottage manufacturers here in Europe but, they’re all really great.

Same quilt. Different pad. super-cush REI Camp Bed for camping, L Xlite for backpacking.

I suppose I could put a L ridge rest under a neoair for some extra campground cushy, but the the Camp Bed is pretty awesome if you don’t have to carry it.

Too-hot quilt is never a problem. 20 degree works nicely for me so far.

Considerations:

how much camping gear do you want to leave in your car for vandals?

how much repacking to you want to deal with in the morning?

I lean toward mostly separate set-ups.

The thing that has driven me away from quilts is having a cold back. I don’t like inflatable mattresses and will only use a Z Rest. I settled on the Mobile Mummy because I find the garment-style zipper and arm holes to be genius! When I’m hot, it’s just natural and more intuitive for me to unzip it like a jacket in order to cool off, and to zip it back up when I want to retain heat. I also like that it has a hood so I don’t have to wear a cap at night. All this bag is missing are foot vents like the Backcountry Bed. Thanks for helping to bring this bag to life!

Why was an ultralight version of this bag never made?

I am wondering if anyone has found a SINGLE solution that is light enough for the backcountry, but comfortable enough that you use it everywhere?

How about an integrated system with a down quilt or bag, and a thinner synth layered on top?

Of course people here do that all the time but you could bring it / explain it to the masses if integrated in one product. If you can provide some small benefit of how the two stay together for minimal weight it would mean you provide a flexible temperature system with different weights (for example down only to 0˚C, synth only for summer, down plus synth for below 0˚C), and protect the down against moisture. Would be extra nice if you could go thinner on the shell materials  to offset the doubling up there (the weak point in this set up of course)..

Just an idea.

Most of my old backpack group would use older, heavier backpacking tents, … if they didn’t have a vehicle system (camper shell, SUV bed, .. I know a shorter couple that can lay in the back of the original Prius).  The main group would arrive and others trickle in.

Most didn’t want use the car-camp tent designs due to a lot of assembly.

I’d say simplicity, more room per person, and heavier fabric to shield eyes from incoming headlights.

Arne L., how well does the open top of the As Tucas Quilt work for you? I find the lack of a drawstring irritating but then again the one I tried was too small for my height.

For what its worth, when I am camping at a TH, my setup is dependent on the vehicle. If I am in a cage, I sleep inside with the seats folded down (pillow from home also). But when I am on the motorcycle, I use my backpacking gear and nothing else. Of course, car camping is a wholly different story, as that usually includes my wife whose idea of “roughing it” is a hotel without room service. So camping in that situation requires some over the top comfort for her (nothing that actually could be packed).

“How about an integrated system with a down quilt or bag, and a thinner synth layered on top?”

The always great Tim Marshall made me a system like this. It includes three pieces: a 30 degree quilt, a 50 degree quilt, and a cuben quilt liner. All 3 pieces snap together in any way you want (so you can use just two pieces if that’s all you need, etc.). The snaps don’t add that much weight, but for a tosser and turner like me, it ensures the whole thing stays together all night long.

Jerome:

SD did/does make an ultralight version of the Mobile Mummy (800 fill /15d I believe). We did an ELITE version of the Backcountry Bed that was an even lighter build; maybe thats what you are referring to?

p.s.  The foot vent is the zipper. It does not use an overlapping vent like the BC Bed because that relies on being under your legs to seal properly. With the Mobile Mummy, you roll around and the vent would be exposed. Our intent was that the full length zipper created the foot vent.

I currently use a SD Front Country Bed Twin size on an air mattress in my Ford Expedition. Its almost like sleeping on my bed at home. I use a SD back country bed 800 fill 3 season with a klymit static v junior pad for hiking. I am really enjoying this set-up right now.

“how much camping gear do you want to leave in your car for vandals?”

+1

Count me in the group of people that use my BP gear for trailhead camping (and usually for car camping). Depending on what my overall trip looks like, I might throw in a few different modular items for a trailhead camp (i.e. the Serenity Net for my Gatewood Cape, which I usually use with a bivy so I can cowboy camp most nights), but by and large, I’ll just repurpose what I’m carrying anyway for the trip.

If I’m on a dedicated car camping trip, I have a pair of Alps Mountaineering tents (1p and 3p) which I might bring, although now that I think of it, I’ve never used the 1p for that purpose (or at all in the last four years, now that I think about it).

It’s probably worth noting that I’m legitimately more comfortable with my UL gear and prefer it, even when weight is no object. I’ll sleep like a baby under a tarp on a half-size ZLite, but give me a tent and an air mattress and I’ll be up all night (and probably with a fair amount of back pain from the mattress). I’ve had plenty of experience being the guy that sets up a tarp in a car campground while everybody stares at me.