This won't be a comprehensive treatment of backpacking sleep systems, but I want to talk about a few pieces of gear that I have, some things that I have purchased, and why I decided to go with the items I will be using.
First, the two main categories for sleep systems are the sleeping pad, to keep you off the ground, and some kind of bedding. Let's start with the bedding options.
Sleeping Bags
When I was growing up, we had sleeping bags. They were rectangular and essentially like a blanket that folded in half the long way and closed up the bottom and side with a zipper. To pack them, you folded them in half and then rolled them up. They were heavy and bulky.
These are not usually very expensive (though it depends on the insulation material) and they can still be found in big box store camping sections. They are find for car camping where you park your car next to a campsite, pull all your gear out and camp within 30 feet of your vehicle. But if you are planning to carry your gear for miles into the backcountry, these are not ideal.For a long time, mummy bags were popular among backpackers. A mummy bag follows a very similar design, as far as being a blanket that folds over on itself with a zipper up the side, but mummy bags taper at the bottom and also typically have a hood on top. Cutting the shape this way, saves a bit of weight and also reduces the amount of air inside the bag that your body has to keep warm in the night. They also typically compress more and, the high end bags, are filled with down. Down bags compress a lot and have a high weight to insulation ratio. Down loses its insulation properties if it gets wet, so that is a drawback, but as long as you can keep it dry, you're good.
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| Typical mummy bag |
Drawbacks of the mummy bags are that the insulation that you are lying on top of gets compressed. Compressed insulation offers little to no insulating power. It is wasted material and weight. That's one thing. The biggest problem with mummy bags is that they are not comfortable for anyone who shifts position in the night. Unless you sleep all night on your back with your arms either across your body or down at your sides, these bags feel very constraining. If you roll on your side, the hood is in your face and one of your ears is exposed to the cold. Or, if you manage turn the bag with your body so the hood is still on the back of your head, you typically either have to do an awkward wriggling motion, where you pick up separate parts of your body off the ground/pad to keep the pad underneath you, or you end up rolling off the pad. You end up wrestling with the bag all night if you toss and turn. I also have a tendency to sleep with my arm under my head a lot. This becomes awkward with the hood.
One more issue. It can be hard to regulate your body temperature in a sleeping bag, mummy or rectangular. If your feet get hot, on most bags, you have to unzip the whole zipper from the top to vent your legs and feet. Some bags do have a way to unzip from the bottom, but this has to be done by sitting up and messing with it in the night.
Bad sleep in mummy bags was the number one reason I stepped away from backpacking for years.
...enter quilts.
Backpacking Quilts
Quilts are a little tricky to describe, but I'll give it a try. Imagine that you took a blanket and folded the sides toward the middle until they meet in the middle, long ways. At the bottom, you sewed the end closed. Now you sew up the open part where the the opening to around where your knees would be. Now, flip the blanket over. That's the basic idea of a quilt. It's basically a blanket with an enclosed footbox that opens on the back side. Most quilts also have clips and straps that can be used to keep the quilt in place on a sleeping pad. This design eliminates wasted material and fill on your backside that gets compressed by lying on it. That makes them lighter than mummy bags. The strapping systems that lash them to your sleeping pad also allow you to roll and shift in your sleep. The more open design also helps to regulate temperature. If you legs get hot, you can slip them out of the foot box and even stick them out if you want while still staying covered and cozy on top.
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| Quilt upside-down |
The quilt shown above is actually the underside of the quilt. The side you see here faces down.
Depending on the company and quilt design, some quilts offer zippers on the footbox and cinching straps on the bottom that can be opened so your quilt can open all the way and becomes just a blanket.
If you haven't guessed already, this is exactly the option I have chosen. I love the versatility a quilt like this offers. And this design development in sleep systems is really the whole reason I have gotten re-engaged with backpacking. Ten or more years ago when I was backpacking, sleeping in mummy bags was the worst part by far. I could not get comfortable. I'm a side and stomach sleeper. I toss and turn. I also tend to sleep with one arm under my head and pillow. I am also a hot sleeper. I want some ventilation and mummy bags are generally either zipped or not zipped. Mummy bags are the worst for someone like me.
The specific brand and model of quilt I chose was UGQ (stands for underground quilts). They allow for super customized quilts for your preferences. I opted for a zip closed footbox with no taper and drawstring closure at the bottom. You can choose the down fill power for your quilt as well. The higher the number, the more loft your quilt will have, the warmer it will be and the lighter weight it will be. You also pay for the weight savings. Higher fill power down is more expensive. I chose 850 fill down. It was the middle of the road option.
There are also temperature ratings. Temperature ratings are not exact. Some companies assign a temperature to their bag or quilt based on lowest temperature you can survive. Other company's use a temperature rating based on the lowest temperature where you will be comfortable. There is another factor that figures into the equation as well; your sleeping pad. We'll get to sleeping pads later, but if your sleeping pad doesn't offer much insulation, you will lose body heat into the ground no matter how your bag or quilt is rated. I opted for a 20° bag.
I want to say two more things about down. If you opt any down gear, you need to know that it is very important to keep your down quilt, bag, jacket, or whatever dry. Down insulates very well and it's super light weight, but only if it is dry. If it gets wet, it's not going to help you. Also, make sure that whatever company you buy from ethically sources the down. There are humane ways to harvest down from geese and cruel ways to harvest the down. Do a little homework to make sure the down from your gear was ethically sourced. UGQ is a reputable company, but they are super small, US based company.
As with virtually all your gear, weight is another consideration. Quilts tend to weigh less because they don't have material and fill on the back side that is against your sleeping pad. For me, I added material to give me a larger footbox and larger size (wide and long). My total weight comes in just under 2 lbs.
This past weekend was my first night trying my sleep system. The overnight low was around 40°F. My feet were very warm, even though I wasn't wearing socks. They were so warm that I needed to open the footbox. I didn't unzip it, although I could have done that too. If the weather were much warmer, I would have probably needed to do that. But just with the drawstrings opened up at the bottom, whenever my feet felt too warm, I could simply lift a leg to vent the hot air.
My head and arms were a bit cold that night. I will have to try some other options there. I wasn't so uncomfortable that I couldn't sleep. I also only had on a thin long sleeve base layer shirt, a knit hat, and a thin wool buff around my neck. I could have put on my down puff jacket, but I was too lazy to get it and put it on, and not uncomfortable enough to bother.
Sleeping Pads
Sleeping pads keep you off the bumpy ground, but they also keep your body heat on your body, not in the ground. Sleeping pads use a more objective rating system (compared to the temperature ratings for bags and quilts) to indicate the insulation power. The rating is known as "R-value", and it's a standard measure of insulation power for any insulating product or material. The higher the R-value, the warmer the pad.
The other factors to consider are dimensions and weight.
Again, back when I started backpacking, the standard width of sleeping pads was 20". Some pads also had a tapered shape that followed the contours of a mummy bag. If you are able to lie down on your back with your hands on your chest and sleep without moving all night, I think you must be a vampire, and you probably sleep during the day anyway.
Pads also used to be 1-1.5 inches in thickness. While those pads were a step up from closed cell foam pads that were around before that, they are heavier than the inflating air mattress pads that are common now, and they are smaller. I have a 25" wide and 4" thick inflatable sleeping pad. Here is a link to the specific model I picked up, the Nemo Quasar 3D.
The Nemo Tensor Ultralite is probably more popular. I liked the idea of the edges being slightly raised on the Quasar 3D. It's more expensive, but it's lighter and has a higher R-value.
There are pros and cons for each. I also own a Therm-a-rest 25" pad that weighs close to the Tensor, but has a slightly lower R-value than the Quasar. If I go in warmer weather, I can always take the Therm-a-rest pad in place of the Quasar.
Pillows!
I almost forgot about pillows. Backpackers used to generally forego pillows, using stuff sacks filled with clothing or jackets to support their heads in order to save weight and space in their packs. Many now bring a pillow of one kind or another.
I picked up a Nemo Fillo inflatable pillow with soft cushioning outer shell. It packs super small, only weighs 9 oz, and it's fairly soft. I'm not 100% satisfied that it will be the final solution for me, but I did bring it on my recent trip. I was glad to have it.
I brought a second pillow that was just a smallish throw pillow that has been floating around our house. I'm not even sure where it came from. Therm-a-rest makes a compressible pillow that isn't inflatable and it's fairly popular. The large size is just under a pound. My generic pillow weighs around the same, so I figured I would give it a try as well. I was a little disappointed in that pillow. I didn't feel like it provided the support I wanted, especially given its weight. I have a couple of other options that I plan to try out on future trips. I will report back as I get more experience and feedback.
Anyhow, those are the choices I have made for my sleep system. I am very pleased with with options I have made. As you can tell, I have put a bit of money into these items. I have done some comparison shopping online when possible to find decent prices. I have tried to avoid using Amazon when possible, and I have also opted for either US or Canadian produced items and companies whenever possible.
If I'm going to be out on the trail for 12-14 days, I want both light weight and quality gear that keeps me safe and comfortable.
Thanks for stopping by. More to come!
Gavagai
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