Get a good night sleep on your next camp out with the Gear Guy’s handy guide to sleeping pads, bag liners, pillows and cots.
SLEEPING PAD
A sleeping pad is one of the most important pieces of camping gear you’ll ever own. In addition to keeping you comfortable while sleeping someplace hard, the pad will also insulate your body from the warmth-grabbing ground. A sleeping pad is something you’ll never grow out of, and as long as you take care of it, it’ll last for many years. So it might be worth investing in a good one.
There are several types:
The closed-cell foam Ridge Rest Sleeping Pad ($20, scoutstuff.org) is an ultralight backpacking classic. It weighs just nine ounces and has helped many a Scout sleep over the years. ($20)
The two-pound Therm-a-Rest Trail Lite ($60 to $70, cascadedesigns.com) self-inflating pad rolls up and packs small enough for backpacking trips.
The two-pound open-cell foam self-inflating Kelty Camper Pad ($60, kelty.com) has anti-slip dots on one side and comes with a repair kit. ($60)
BAG LINER / SLEEPSHEET
One of the handiest and most underrated pieces of sleep gear, the sleeping bag liner is truly multipurpose. In warm weather, it can be used alone as an ultra-light sleeping bag. When slipped inside a sleeping bag, it’ll boost the warmth of your bag by 10 to 30 degrees and will keep it cleaner and reduce wear and tear. Liners are made of everything from cotton to silk (expensive) to fleece (super warm).
The Sea to Summit Adaptor CoolMax Travel Liner ($45, seatosummit.com) is made with moisture-wicking CoolMax fabric, like lots of athletic clothes, and is well-suited for summer camping. This liner will also soon be offered in a version treated with InsectShield to repel mosquitoes and other bugs. ($55)
Another good liner for warm-weather camping, the REI MTS Mummy Bag Liner ($36, rei.com) is made of the same fabric used in REI’s MTS underlayer clothing and is specifically designed for use with mummy-style sleeping bags.
PILLOW
This is a camp luxury. Sure you can make your own, but if you have the space, sleeping with a packable, lightweight pillow is pretty darn nice.
The ENO Pro Pillow ($22, eaglesnestoutfittersinc.com) weighs 11 ounces and has a polar fleece side for cold weather camping and a microfiber side for warmer nights. Throw it in its stuffsack and it’ll compress down to 25 percent of its full size.
Wanna pack your own pillow? Bring along the 2.3-ounce, microfiber-covered Therm-a-Rest Trekker Pillow Case ($11, cascadedesigns.com) and fill it with all your extra clothes for an even comfier DIY pillow.
Gear Guy has been using the Slumberjack Quallofil Camp Pillow ($11, scoutstuff.org) for a really long time. It’s not the cushiest thing in the world, but it does the job and is affordable.
COT
While you’d probably never bring a cot along for a backpacking trip, there’s nothing better than racking out on a cot on car-camping trips. They get you up off the ground for added comfort, better ventilation and for some, a better night’s rest.
The foldable Trekker Camp Cot ($60, cabelas.com) weighs 15 pounds and supports you comfortably with durable nylon fabric stretched across an aluminum frame.
The sturdy and wide Slumberjack Big Cot ($90, scoutstuff.org) has polyester fabric with an aluminum and steel frame.
Not sure which gear to buy? Need tips for maintaining your equipment?
I just like to sleep on the bare ground and I like to not sleep in a tent or hammock the ground is my choice.
Hey Gear Guy,
could you post something about the therma-rest trail scout
Thanks!
Get a compression sack for your clothes, and sew a peice of fleece on the outside. Sleep on the fleece patch. This is very light and minnimises carying a pillow and a compressoin sack.
Thanks for all the info. I’m in my 2nd year of scouts and trying to learn as much as possible. I’ve read all the info that I could about sleeping bags and liners online, but nothing I could find explained it as well as you did. I learned more in the 20 minutes on this page than the 20 hours of my research prior. Thank you for this site!
buy hte Big agnes air core pad! affordable, and its as comfy as unicorn fur on cloud of cotton candy!
nice metaphor
If you really like a pillow, try an inflaitable one. I bought 3 at Wal-Mart about 4 years ago and take one on my backpacking trips simply because they pack so small, so why not. It can inflate from 1/2 – 3″ high and 17′ long. It has 1″ of open cell foam build into the fleece pillow case for extra comfort. I found them on sale for $4.00 each. I used to use a large ziplock 1/2 filled with air and wrape my fleece jacket around it; the air pillow is more solid and less noisy. I don’t roll up my clothes as a pillow because either they’re dirty and smell or I’ll sweat on my clean clothes making them dirty before I wear them.
I bought one from Target and its lasted me 5 years!
You’ll need to cut an X in a tennis ball and put one over each leg/foot of your cot or you will poke a hole in the bottom of your tent. Or get a cot that has a continuous length of tubing across the bottom where it touches the floor.
Good idea! the legs of my cot are too big for that so i put socks on them.
My vote goes to the Thermarest NeoAir. It’s nice packing my pad away in my bag rather than strapped to my gear loops on the outside.
Never ever use pillows…They weigh you down on backpacking trips and they can be replaced easily with a bundled up sweatshirt. Most also become obsolete when wet.
I agree with the pillows except I have a bad neck so I use a total pillow in my hammockthe small total pillow is tiny it can support my neck and I have a water proof case for it.
if you have an inflatable sleeping pad, just stick sum thing underneath the head part to prop it up a bit. that way, you don’t need to bring a pillow and your head is propped up.
Isn’t this the same guy that couldn’t have a 4 ounce compass on his watch because it “was to heavy”?
yes
So what makes you think a 4 ounce compass on you watch is going to slow you down?
I have one of those Sea To Summit sleeping bag liners. I take it on short summer skiing and mountaineering trips when there is still snow on the peaks. It turns my 30 degree bag into a fifteen degree bag! my liner works great!
I use the awesome Term-a-Rest Trail lite pad. I use the small. Although, it doesn’t cover you completly, it still is great and keeps me warm. It is really lightweight too!
This is totally rockin’!
cool
exped mats and pillows are amazing!
I use a exersize mat from wal-mart its cheap, light, and really comfortable. It came with its own strap so i just hook it to my pack. It works great!
For my Sleeping Pad.
The Slumberjack Super Guide 30 degree sleeping bag is awesome.
I use a Big Agnes Air Core sleeping pad. The pad is full length, with 2.5 inches of thickness. It’s great for backpacking because it weighs only 22 ounces and packs down to the size of a Nalgene bottle!
Exped pillow is 3 oz and inflatible.
thermarest is the best for there sleeping pads and pillows
I like LL Bean all the way for this kind of thing!
I never know what liners were till now!
thermarest pillows work great for backpacking
I found a sleepin ba that keeps you warm to temperatures down to -57 Degrees. It is in the $50 to $100 range.
Is there a specific link to the 100th anniversary slleping bag? I am having trouble finding it.
Try the Cocoon Airsore Pillow instead. It weights 2 ounces and takes up barely any room.
Aircore i mean.
thanks for the nice selection
it is awesome
It is very helpful to now how I can buy all the stuff I need.
i have found that a sleeping pad is very important for cold weather