How do you sleep well in a tent?

[iHydro]

I used to be able to sleep fine in a tent but after sleeping in it last night in my garden, that's changed. Now I'm not sure if it just the ground in my garden is just hard or I'm getting old, but it was just an uncomfortable experience. Is there any way to be more comfortable? How do you lay etc? I've been using a self inflating roll mat under me which I inflated a little more before using it.

I need some tips before I injure myself next month!

[salad]

Alcohol

[iHydro]

Unfortunately I'll be camping with my son so getting hammered is out of the question! Otherwise that would have been my simple solution.

[Mikey P]

Decent sleeping mat - possibly combination of two (closed-cell and inflatable). Try the extra thick ones at Alpkit - I think as many of us grow older, our tolerance for cold and discomfort reduces so kit often needs to be warmer and more comfortable. Were you cold at all?

[salad]

I find if I over in-flate my roll mat then this can lead to a poor night sleep. I try to keep mine quite soft ,but not so soft that I touch the ground when laid flat on it

[iHydro]

I was nice and warm (sleeping bag made sure of that) the roll mat was inflated as much as I could get it (I nearly got backdraft inflated from it when blowing it up!). Woke up early this morning to a nice bit of frost but I was most definitely toasty warm. Just an ache in my knee and sides felt like they had been battered.

[Mikey P]

Maybe a couple of mats then - deflate top one slightly to get softer mattress with one underneath to maintain insulation?

[Hammock Hamster]

Not sure what sort of trip your planning but if I go camping with swmbo I get forced to use a tent instead of my hammock.
She has a similar problem with the hard floor and we usually take along a duvet which we pop on top of the roll mats which works quite well.
Not something I would take on any of my bushy style trips and realise its not always practical but if your parking close to your pitch it may be an option!

Cheers, Hamster

[iHydro]

Cheers for the suggestion guys, I might try for the least expensive (cost free) alternative first. Next time I'll not inflate my mat as much, see how I fare with that. My trip out will most likely be just north of the border next month for 2 days/one night. Possibly second weekend in June as I'm on a course at the end of this month/start of next.

[southey]

Give a pillow and a rolled up jacket, top or what ever under your knees, as long as your able to shlep on your back it should help with the achy knees and keep you from rolling on your side which can see your hips,knees,elbows and shoulders putting enough small area pressure to end up touching the ground and you end up laying in an awkward position(OOooer missus!)

[sargey]

I was nice and warm (sleeping bag made sure of that) the roll mat was inflated as much as I could get it (I nearly got backdraft inflated from it when blowing it up!). Woke up early this morning to a nice bit of frost but I was most definitely toasty warm. Just an ache in my knee and sides felt like they had been battered.

that'll be the problem then! let half the air out of the mat so that it has enough slack to conform to your hips and shoulders, you'll be so much more comfortable. if you sit up on the mat and your rump just touches the ground underneath, that should be about right. this concept may seem counter intuitive, but it definately works.

cheers, and.

[blacktimberwolf]

I've just accepted that I shall never be as comfortable in a tent as I am in a bed & so enjoy the experience of 'roughing it'
You could always try slipping some leaf litter or other vegetation under the ground sheet so your boney bits after pressing into your sleeping mat have something soft to dig into

[Bushwhacker]

Go to sleep when you're tired, not when conformity requires you to.

[ged]

Quite often I'm actually more comfortable when I'm camping than I am in bed. When camping, about the best for me is to lie on two or three thick folded wool blankets. They have some spring, they breathe, they're warm and they don''t give me the same allergy problems that down would give. Unfortunately that much wool is very bulky and quite heavy, so I usually opt for a 3/4 length self-inflating Thermarest.

There are a few foldable camp beds around, various styles for between a tenner and the sky's the limit, I quite like those but they don't give much insulation so you might still need a mat which kind of defeats the object for me.

At the end of the day it might just be a matter of getting used to it. My wife swore that she'd never be able to sleep on our new memory foam mattress. For three days. Now she loves it, and after a couple of years I'm the one who doesn't like it much. I think it's because when I sleep on it I don't move around so much, and I wake up very stiff. My back, I mean.

[iHydro]

My roll mat is a self inflating one. I just topped it up too much after inflation!

[Wayland]

Oddly I'm usually more comfortable outdoors than in.

If on the floor a decent airmat like the Exped downmats.

Otherwise a hammock with a good underblanket.

Get rid of the lower walls of your tent and call it a tarp.

No more sweaty, humid, trapped air. What's uncomfortable about that?

[Jackdaw]

It usually takes me a couple of days to settle in to tent living, but once I do I always get a good nights kip.

I live in a village where there is very little external noise so when I'm outside I have to switch off from the normal background noise put out by nature. Even when I have, I normally wake up with the dawn chorus but then settle back down for a bit more sleep until something else wakes me up.

Being very tired is also useful before you go to sleep.

Jack

[Teepee]

I hardly ever sleep well on the ground, I can only remember a couple of good nights. My Exped downmat 9 and pacific airmat come close to tolerable though. The most comfy is my el cheapo airmat from tesco's and I get a reasonable kip on that in the back of the van.

The best night I've ever had was on a thin CCF mat in a perfect body shaped depression, in thick grass under a poncho.

My pacific airmat is comfier with less air in and a CCF mat under it to maintain insulation where my hips squash the airmat flat to the ground.

For the reasons above, my hammock gets taken out very time in preference to bum crawling over rocks and tree roots in a sweaty damp fabric box.

[lannyman8]

lay on your back or belly and see how that goes...

[palace]

I have a Tenth Wonder Hammock, Sargasso Tarp & an enlarged by Snugpack Cocoon sleeping bag by Ian Dent Willoughby in which my 21st sleeps soundly well apart from loud snoring...

[iHydro]

Cheers again for the helpful input guys, will definitely be trying some of it out next month!

[Gweedo]

Get a cheap fleece blanket (sometimes they sell the in Aldi or suchlike) With it, make a cover for your thermorest. That way your bag won't slide off the mat at night, it won't slip off the groundsheet, and if it's really warm, you can sleep directly on the mat, using your bag as a duvet.

Use a pillow - I've got one of those foam filled jobbies. Use the off cuts from the blanket to make a cover for that as well. I avoid using rolled up jumpers and suchlike as I find that they are either too hard, not the right height etc etc.

Get a pee bottle and use that at night rather than getting boots on and venturing forth.

Do not drink the contents of the pee bottle.

And I've saved the best for last. Before putting down your camping mat, make a shallow 'trench' along a line where your hips will rest so that your back remains straight when you're lying on your side. Believe me, it works wonders. Variations include trenches for knees and shoulders......

I picked up that last tip from Spike Milligan.

[jimbo75]

I used to be able to sleep fine in a tent but after sleeping in it last night in my garden, that's changed. Now I'm not sure if it just the ground in my garden is just hard or I'm getting old, but it was just an uncomfortable experience. Is there any way to be more comfortable? How do you lay etc? I've been using a self inflating roll mat under me which I inflated a little more before using it.

I need some tips before I injure myself next month!

Drink rather a lot. Then take something to pee in.

[BigMack]

I've just accepted that I shall never be as comfortable in a tent as I am in a bed & so enjoy the experience of 'roughing it'
You could always try slipping some leaf litter or other vegetation under the ground sheet so your boney bits after pressing into your sleeping mat have something soft to dig into

I agree, this does help a bit with comfort and also about going to sleep when you are tired. I tend to rise very early when camping so by about 10pm I'm ready to drop anyway!! Unless I am fishing, I avoid alcohol as it makes me feel very cold and of course has the added annoyance of having to go pee in the middle of the night. During fishing, the sleep times are regulated by whats on the hook so I tend to have a wee nip whenever the fancy takes me!!

Cold is the thing that made me feel most uncomfortable when I started camping but a good insulated roll mat sorted that and I think the leaves add to this - maybe trapping air? Not sure but I do seem to be a bit more warm and comfy.

[workingdog]

i sometimes do the tent bit (instead of the hammock) when im out night shooting so i can sleep with the rifle,its a bit dangerous in the hammock as you might imagine,the grass or ferns etc under the tent in the right places does it for me,combined with the three quarter therarest mat,not to hard!!!!!

[jacko1066]

Im the same mate, except it's just my knees that wake up killing me!! I use a foam mat and a three quarter self inflating one on top! I am however thinking about getting one of these -
http://www.highlander-outdoor.com/pa...70&pnid=301598

For the price it's gotta be worth a punt!!
Cheers
Steve

Sent from my SK17i using Tapatalk 2

[Edventure]

Oddly I'm usually more comfortable outdoors than in.

If on the floor a decent airmat like the Exped downmats.

Otherwise a hammock with a good underblanket.

Get rid of the lower walls of your tent and call it a tarp.

No more sweaty, humid, trapped air. What's uncomfortable about that?

+1 for the Exped downmat. They are expensive but are comfortable and warm.

[Rabbitsmacker]

lie on your side, pillow between your knees, i saw that tip on this website sometime and i even do it in bed, it has improved my level of comfort so much i can't tell you.

[Bucephalas]

lie on your side, pillow between your knees, i saw that tip on this website sometime and i even do it in bed, it has improved my level of comfort so much i can't tell you.

Seconded.
I had a motorcycle accident 5 years back breaking every bone in the right side of my body. When receovering (and every night since) I sleep with a long side-sleepers pillow which I cuddle into and the end of it seperates my knees.
For the tent, I use a drybag which traps the air and does the same job.

I recently purchased a very comfy Aerobed Pakmat (no affiliation etc), which is superb. Down side is the weight, so I'm now purchasing Exped Synmat to leighten my load.
I did a brief Youtube vid on the Aerobed here.

I do find that the first night I have a rubbish nights sleep but from then on it's easier. I'll go to whatever lengths I need to to ensure I can still get out!

Good Luck!

[garethw]

Since I got a hammock I don't consider a tent unless I have to...