What are you going to sleep on in your tent?

[lemur]

this is what i did this year..



doesnt look like much!! but, it was AWESOME..

i 'upgraded' to one of those fancy Therm-a-Rest pro self inflating sleeping pads and wow it was the comfiest year ive had on the playa.

it is a bit skinny.

so, at chill time i would put clothes along the sides to cover the floor and beef up the padding so i didnt feel like i was 'falling off'.. it worked great... of course theres a sleeping bag involved but it was so warm this year i rarely needed it.

surely better than the closed cell foam pads ive been using in previous years.. plus it packs down smaller.

if you pack light and sleep in a little tent i dont see how you can do much better than one of these fancy thermarest type of self inflating things.

[dragonpilot]

I feel weirdly close to you, just knowing you have the same cot.

Too funny!

[theCryptofishist]

I feel weirdly close to you, just knowing you have the same cot.

Too funny!

If you two start having the same dreams, I'm going to find it very creepy.

[deutlich]

How have people fared that just sleep in sleeping bags vs. cots?

Do any of you elevate your sleeping arrangements if you're using a sleeping bag?

[MOOP_Nazi]

How have people fared that just sleep in sleeping bags vs. cots?

Do any of you elevate your sleeping arrangements if you're using a sleeping bag?

Try to elevate when possible.

I slept on the ground in a sleeping bag once. I think I was damn near paralyzed. After that it was always a cot or a vehicle.

If you can bring a hammock frame - that'd be the way to go.

Providing you have a hammock also.

Otherwise it'd be silly.

[maryanimal]

I slept on a queen-sized air mattress that pumped up about 20" high. I had sheets, an open sleeping bag on top of the sheets and a comforter on top of that. I slept so good. Better than my bed at home.

[trilobyte]

Pani and I have a full size mattress in the back of our van, topped with a comforter that's minky faux fur on one side, silk on the other.

[Bob]

How have people fared that just sleep in sleeping bags vs. cots?
Do any of you elevate your sleeping arrangements if you're using a sleeping bag?

Reminds me there might be some confusion for some readers. In American usage, a camping "cot" is something like this:
http://www.rei.com/product/772536/byer- ... uminum-cot
http://www.rei.com/product/769019/liber ... olding-cot

Usually doesn't come with a pad or bedding.

On top of a cot you'd use blankets or a sleeping bag. Night temperatures can get near freezing.

[Elorrum]

thermarest on a cot. my best so far. Started out ten yrs. ago camping with an inflatable pad... shaped like these, but more heavy duty, the rubberized canvas type. very comfortable on the ground.

[deutlich]

Thanks everyone for your input. Totally appreciated!

I've got to really figure out what sort of usage I plan to get out of each piece of gear I get. At the moment, I have not an iota of camping gear (save for a water bottle) 'cause whenever I camp, I just borrow all the stuff.

But I really want to do more of it (especially now that the fall is here) and I think the reason I haven't gone as often as I'd like is because I lack the gear. I need to be reasonable in purchasing stuff (I tend to go overboard), but I don't want to skimp just for the sake of it either. I'd rather plan early enough & save so it's affordable. Plus, lots of big sales comin' up!

I'm going to ask all the local burners I know how they get all their stuff over there and keep those costs in mind too. I'll have tons of vacation I can use next year, so technically I *could* drive -- AND OMG HOW COOL COULD THAT BE?! -- but I know I'm going to love driving to it and absolutely hate driving from it just from being so damn worn out.

[MyDearFriend]

Thanks everyone for your input. Totally appreciated!

I've got to really figure out what sort of usage I plan to get out of each piece of gear I get. At the moment, I have not an iota of camping gear (save for a water bottle) 'cause whenever I camp, I just borrow all the stuff.

But I really want to do more of it (especially now that the fall is here) and I think the reason I haven't gone as often as I'd like is because I lack the gear. I need to be reasonable in purchasing stuff (I tend to go overboard), but I don't want to skimp just for the sake of it either. I'd rather plan early enough & save so it's affordable. Plus, lots of big sales comin' up!

I'm going to ask all the local burners I know how they get all their stuff over there and keep those costs in mind too. I'll have tons of vacation I can use next year, so technically I *could* drive -- AND OMG HOW COOL COULD THAT BE?! -- but I know I'm going to love driving to it and absolutely hate driving from it just from being so damn worn out.

Oh oh oh your first stop off the playa should be Reno, to shower and eat and sleep in a real bed that's what we did last year and then I went on for 10 hours the next day no problem. Just don't do it all by yourself. Cheerful companions really help!

[Savannah]

4 Burns in a sleeping bag + air mattress; 3 Burns in a comforter on the linked REI cot w/ foam mattress. And I find that I love, love, love sleeping elevated. This, and a tent I can stand up in are my favorite comforts.

You can also stuff a bunch of things under a cot, and eliminate a little of the tent madness.

[MOOP_Nazi]

Oh oh oh your first stop off the playa should be Reno, to shower and eat and sleep in a real bed that's what we did last year and then I went on for 10 hours the next day no problem. Just don't do it all by yourself. Cheerful companions really help!

I do primarily agree with MDF with one small exception - I feel the first place to stop is in Nixon to get Indian Tacos.

Imagine taco fillings piled high onto the substance known simply as "fry bread"...

I firmly believe that it has such a simple name due to the fact that the indigenous peoples actually received the recipes from the "old ones" prior to their slumber beyond the stars and that if they speak the name it will awaken the priest Cthulhu from his slumber in R'yleh.

I might be wrong...

But I don't think so..

But it is that good...

[motskyroonmatick]

Ive used a coleman queen sized air mattress nearly every year on playa. This year I figured out the perfect way to make it as comfortable as possible for me.

1) I fully inflated it and if it was not fully inflated when I tested it before getting in bed I took the time to top it off.

2) I bought a foam pad mattress topper and used it. This entirely prevented the situation where you freeze your ass off due to the air mattress sucking all the warmth out of your body when the outside air gets cold.

3) I used a sheet over the whole thing and it held everything in place quite nicely.

4) I made my bed with all the blankets I had and then folded nearly all of them to the side in a sequence where I could pull one of them at a time over me if I needed more. I also folded one up in the foot area of the bed and it was awesome having the little bit extra there. I use the standard sheet over the bed in non sleeping hours to prevent extreme dusting of the bed.

5) I put a travel trailer around my bed. This really helped keep the dust down and moderated the temperature and light a bit.

6) I had a nice cuddle partner one night and this took the bed from awesome to very awesome.

[essjay]

5) I put a travel trailer around my bed. This really helped keep the dust down and moderated the temperature and light a bit.

Does this mean you put your air mattress in an RV?

If so, I would say that this was the greatest contributing factor in your comfort.

[motskyroonmatick]

5) I put a travel trailer around my bed. This really helped keep the dust down and moderated the temperature and light a bit.

Does this mean you put your air mattress in an RV?

If so, I would say that this was the greatest contributing factor in your comfort.

Yeah I did put my air mattress in my no heat no AC travel trailer. From my experience(8 burns and multiple camping trips) with my air mattress in tents, box truck and now RV-- The single most important improvement ever was adding the mattress pad to the top of the air mattress. Ive slept on it with and without in my trailer and it makes a vast difference. The trailer was a very nice addition to my camp this year though.

[dragonpilot]

How have people fared that just sleep in sleeping bags vs. cots?

Gawd...at first I read "farted" and immediately thot fart production is the same whether you're in a bag or on a cot...but the dissipation factor is greater on the cot...nevermind...

[deutlich]

Gawd...at first I read "farted" and immediately thot fart production is the same whether you're in a bag or on a cot...but the dissipation factor is greater on the cot...nevermind...

Hahaha - Now I wish I *had* asked that!

[BBadger]

What about a tent full of inflated blow-up dolls? You could invite someone in, and then pull back the covers to reveal the pile of "bodies" that make up your bed. THE HORROR.

[Bob]

Used to have c.1960s Eddie Bauer cots. Canvas, insulated underneath with goose down. Comfy.

[deutlich]

Prior to reading this thread I hadn't even thought about sleeping elevated, but now that the idea's been sparked I can't get away from it. I'm still waffling on tent vs yurt but either way I'm bringin' some carpet scraps for out and inside, then using a cot for elevation and extra storage underneath. Keepin' my eyes peeled for all the upcoming holiday sales. Bet I can get a lot of this stuff for reasonable prices and Birthmas is coming up! (My 30th is the day after Christmas).

[Nipple]

Yurts + Cots = <3 Forevah...

[ambird]

if you pack light and sleep in a little tent i dont see how you can do much better than one of these fancy thermarest type of self inflating things.

This is what I used, and I slept like a rock all week.

We also brought an inflatable air mattress, but the power inverter we brought didn't work with the plug-in pump. Oops! Sure glad we had a backup plan.

[Boijoy]

I use one of these with a nice self inflating camp mat on top. Im a "full figured" gal & it works just fine.

http://www.amazon.com/NRS-Roll-A-Cot/dp ... 604&sr=8-1

[late]

Thermarest self inflating camping pad. Even the Ms. likes them and she's a total bed snob. You have to blow into the pad just a smidge after it self-inflates to get it just right, but you can have it as hard or soft as you want. Highly recommend. A bit expensive but they've already saved us on rebuying air mattresses.

For like 10 years it went like this.

Get a new midrange inflatable mattress. Take it camping. Sleep decently. NEXT year, go to BED on an inflatable mattress, wake up after 2 hours lying on the ground. THIRD year, THINK you have the dang thing patched. Go to bed on inflatable mattress, wake up in an HOUR on the frickin ground. NEXT year, buy yet another friggin mattress. REPEAT.

I'm SO never getting one of those again lol.

--Alex

[AntiM]

I find cots hard as rocks, which is fine for napping, but impossible for real sleep, or twosome sleeping.

Self-inflaters are awesome alone, throw a memory foam topper on top and they are plush as can be.

[Savannah]

I find cots hard as rocks, which is fine for napping, but impossible for real sleep, or twosome sleeping.

Self-inflaters are awesome alone, throw a memory foam topper on top and they are plush as can be.

I don't think I would enjoy standard cots without give or padding . . . they look so unforgiving . . . but a cot that comes with it's own several inch thick mattress and a little give (springs and stuff, instead of nylon pulled tight) is nice.

If I ever camped à deux, I think I would have to give in and do a self-inflating mattress or standard mattress.

[Milayna]

After much thought and reading many threads about this, I've decided to splurge and go with Savannah's REI cot. The reviews are awesome, and I just don't want to deal with an air mattress, but feel like a sleeping pad might not be as comfortable as I'd like. The cot is a little pricey, but I see it as an investment in my comfort and sanity out there

[Bob]

I use one of these with a nice self inflating camp mat on top. Im a "full figured" gal & it works just fine.

http://www.amazon.com/NRS-Roll-A-Cot/dp ... 604&sr=8-1

That with a blanket or bedspread over the top, tucked so it doesn't shift around, works well. Creates a dust-protected space under the cot too.

[Herring]

I have no luck with air mattresses, so this year we're bringing this:


Click for description

It's made of foam so it weighs maybe 10 lbs, folds into a couch and fits easily in the bed of my truck with all the other gear. I got it second hand from a girl moving out of her dorm, but in my apartment it soon became the dog's couch and now it lives in the garage (man cave). I'm really excited about making it my new camping bed, after years of not being quite sure what to do with it.

If you don't mind bulky gear and like something like a mattress, I reccommend it. Keep an eye out for these on Craigslist, especially when the college kids move out in May.