Packing sleeping pad

[Mikerfixit]

I'm trying to figure out the best way to pack my sleeping pad. Its one of those blue foam closed celled deals.

I have tried it horizontal on the outside but it is wider than my pack and catches on stuff as I walk by. I tried it vertically on the outside, but couldn't find a good way to secure it without blocking most of the smaller storage where I would store quick to access items.

For my trip I ended up setting it inside the pack slightly unrolled and stuffed the rest of my gear inside of it. This caused it to stick up taller than needed and I ended up smashing it down on itself to help condense the space.

Once I was back home I tried placing it inside the pack but allowing it to extend all the way into the sleeping bag area of the pack and then jamming the sleeping bag into the center of the pad and shoving it into the bottom. This kept the pad from protruding from the top of the pack but meant that I would need to empty the entire pack to get to the sleeping bag as the zipper for the sleeping bag compartment was blocked by the pad.

I'm looking for suggestions and wondering how others pack their sleeping pads.

Thanks in advance.

[dzierzak]

Once I was back home I tried placing it inside the pack but allowing it to extend all the way into the sleeping bag area of the pack and then jamming the sleeping bag into the center of the pad and shoving it into the bottom. This kept the pad from protruding from the top of the pack but meant that I would need to empty the entire pack to get to the sleeping bag as the zipper for the sleeping bag compartment was blocked by the pad.

Wouldn't you have to empty the pack to get your pad out anyway?

[Engine]

Horizontal on the bottom is better than the top, it'll be lower than most of the vegetation...

[orthofingers]

I think you've hit the main points of why everything in life is a compromise. A closed cell blue pad is pretty cheap, light, durable, and has good R-value but it's bulky and hard to pack.

Can you 1. Cut down the pad a bit so that it fits in your pack and yet allows you to sleep on it or 2. Afford a NeoAir Xlite or 3. Get a bigger pack or 4. Become a hammocker ?

[MuddyWaters]

Sounds like a wide pad, is 20" width an option?

Sleeping bag compartment.....marketing gimmick
Whats it for...if you want a quick nap in middle of day?

You sleeping bag will be last thing you need out of pack every time , and first thing in, so why do it concern you?

If unpacking everything seems a hassle....you got way more stuff than you need

[Tipi Walter]

Sleeping bag compartment.....marketing gimmick
Whats it for...if you want a quick nap in middle of day?


I use my sleeping bag compartment on every trip and it serves several functions---My bag of course is in its stuff sack and the compartment scrunches it down even tighter giving me more room in my pack for other things. It's a dedicated area for my bag which I won't see except twice a day---packing up in the morning and setting up camp at night---therefore the bag is unseen and unneeded until these times.

It offers more protection to my valuable down bag---from trail and ground dirt, from rain under my pack cover, and from blowdown pokes and sawbriar thorns.

And anyway, you have to put your sleeping bag somewhere, right? Wherever you put it in whatever pack you are using, well, let's just go ahead and call this space or pocket or nook a "sleeping bag compartment" and not worry about it. And in the old days I used to use a dedicated bag compartment on my old North Face pack as a space for my cookstove and all my food. Why not? The bag went into the top part of my pack and just stuffed in without a stuff sack.

[Turk6177]

This cuts down on how much you can pack, but can you put it vertically in your pack loosely and stuff the rest of your gear in the center of the roll? I have done that with a thermarest foam pad, but it definitely cut down on how much I could carry.

[Mikerfixit]

I'm kind of a wide guy; broad shouldered and belly. The belly hopefully will shrink back down but the shoulders never will so I need the width of the pad.

I already use a hammock, or I would if I ever made it to the camp site. I used a hammock over 30 years ago and found it was the best way to camp even back then. (Gear is so much better now.) I know sleeping pads can be difficult to use in a hammock but I can't afford a quilt setup.

The sleeping bag compartment is useful for putting the sleeping bag in for reasons others have mentioned. Also, with a wide zipper its nice to stuff other items into that don't take to being shoved through a narrow opening but would still be useful to get to fairly quickly.

[Mikerfixit]

This cuts down on how much you can pack, but can you put it vertically in your pack loosely and stuff the rest of your gear in the center of the roll? I have done that with a thermarest foam pad, but it definitely cut down on how much I could carry.

I can, but like you said it takes up a good amount of space. I was hoping for another solution. There just might not be a better one though.

[ralph23]

Find a guy that does boat canvas in your area (there are a ton around you). Ask him to add some snaps to your pack so you can store the pad in a vertical fashion with the help of some webbing straps. The straps will be easily removable (via the snaps) and secure enough for hiking.

[H I T C H]

What kind of pack is it that you are using ?


Hitch

[jimmyjam]

Cut your pad into 10" wide pieces and then tape it back together on alternating sides so that it will fold accordian like. Put it in your pack first up against your back. I keep two pieces of mine on top of the outside of my pack to sit on during breaks. This piece has two velcro tabs which match the accordian part in my pack so I can re-attach them at night.

[nsherry61]

As I restate a bunch of other peoples' ideas from above in this thread . . .
1) Cut the pad down width-wise so that it is not more than 20 inches. Then try hauling it in the conventional way, horizontally on the outside of your pack, on the bottom is more out of the way.
2) If that's not good enough, figure out how wide the inside of your pack is and cut your mattress into strips to fit just right inside your backpack accordion fashion using tape as hinges as suggested above.
3) Finally, if that doesn't work, well, there is a reason we pay large sums of money for alternatives.

Good luck and have fun!

[Sandy of PA]

Thermarest now has a 24 x72 folding foam pad that is flat unlike the standard Z rest. Would this be an affordable solution for you?

[saltysack]

Thermarest now has a 24 x72 folding foam pad that is flat unlike the standard Z rest. Would this be an affordable solution for you?

Zlite is much easier to pack than the huge burrito style pads....didn't realize they now make it in 24" wide...fairly cheap....I still carry a 4 section piece as sit pad and dog bed...packs easily in side pocket or vertical on shock cord.....acts as a kick stand when pack is on the ground...


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[MtDoraDave]

Depending on your pack (if it will facilitate this), one way I've seen it done by a friend- he carries his blue roll up pad vertically on the back of his pack, held in place with a few velcro/ elastic straps. If he needs to access the pack's back pocket, it only takes a few seconds to remove and replace the sleeping pad.

Hell, it takes him longer to re-tighten his waist belt and tuck the ends into their little storage areas.

I chose to buy a Prolite Plus when I went to a smaller backpack that didn't accommodate the roll up pad. I didn't sleep well on the dang thing anyway, so what the heck. Spend the money, sleep better, fit everything inside the pack.

[Greenmountainguy]

Some folk fold a pad in a way that makes it padding on the harness side. It looks awkward to me unless you are carrying a frameless ultra light pack. I have never found a good way. Perhaps when I make some money I will try a Z pad. I may just be changing one issue for another though.

[Greenmountainguy]

What kind of tape do you use to hold the pieces? I would think duck tape would fail and shread the pad on the bargain.
Hey, what about light weight webbing stitched in between the pieces? You could even use a double thickness at hips and shoulders. Velcro would help if the pieces stray.
Tell me I'm brilliant! Tomorrow I get out the sewing machine!

[jimmyjam]

I used duct tape. It's held for going on four years.

[Greenmountainguy]

Hmm... lasted four years. Maybe as long as a pad would when heavily used.
Still, let us embrace any and all opportunities to over engineer our gear! I'm going for webbing and Velcro. I also have some carbon ensolite which might make a superior HP pad addition. I will keep you posted

[Ercoupe]

I secure it vertically with a shock cord and cord locks. Most packs will have sewn in loops to use for this purpose. Easy to remove for day use.

[rashamon12]

if you are using a hammock you dont need a closed cell pad you can use an under blanket which would eliminate the bulk of the pad.

[Time Zone]

if you are using a hammock you dont need a closed cell pad you can use an under blanket which would eliminate the bulk of the pad.

OP said they can't afford a quilt setup (post #8)

Also, consider that, even if that were not a concern, the elimination of the bulk of the pad by going to underquilt does not come without cost ... the UQ then takes up space in the pack. Granted, it's not going to be as much space taken up as the CCF pad, but the pad usually goes outside and takes up no space inside the pack.

[rashamon12]

with an under quilt you can use lots of different things as one it doesnt have to be some name brand. a quality wool blanket or something

[Greenlight]

Cinch it to the bottom of your pack. That's how I hiked all through my youth and it worked fine. Did it catch on things occasionally? Yes, but fewer times than you would imagine.


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[JC13]

Cheaper than an UQ.

http://www.klymit.com/hammock-v-1.html

[rashamon12]

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/alps-mountaineering-ultralight-series-sleeping-pad-self-inflating~p~5332a/?filterString=s~sleeping-pad%2F

this is cheaper than what you posted.

[JC13]

http://www.sierratradingpost.com/alps-mountaineering-ultralight-series-sleeping-pad-self-inflating~p~5332a/?filterString=s~sleeping-pad%2F

this is cheaper than what you posted.It is indeed but I was linking a pad specifically designed for the hammocker in mind. ALPS gear is generally heavy as well, I have one of their tents, pretty bombproof but at just under 6lbs for a 2-person after mods it is still too heavy.

[H I T C H]

If you chose to hang the pad under your pack there are sacks that are made to contain them. This nylon shell may reduce the frequency of the pad getting caught on things. If nothing else they make the hollow part of the rolled up pad usable storage space in that you don't have to worry about anything that you stored there falling out.

Hitch

[Hikingjim]

Years ago I carried a wide blue foam on the back of my pack horizontally. It hit some stuff. It survived
I would occasionally rig it up vertically if I was bushwhacking.

[Another Kevin]

Years ago I carried a wide blue foam on the back of my pack horizontally. It hit some stuff. It survived
I would occasionally rig it up vertically if I was bushwhacking.

I carry my blue foamy only in winter. It sometimes goes horizontal, more often vertical. I run a shock cord through it and hook it on a gear loop on the pack at the bottom, and on whatever attachment is convenient (a closure, a haul loop, a daisy chain) at the top.

[Hosh]

Sounds like a wide pad, is 20" width an option?

Sleeping bag compartment.....marketing gimmick


My wife's Deuter pack has a sleeping bag compartment. I think they are hard to effectively load from a volume standpoint. We always need to add something, usually more soft items. It is much easier to have a single compartment, wrap your "must stay dry" items in waterproof bag and stuff them to the bottom. It's really a hold over from the old Kelty packs with lots of extra pockets, zippers and straps.

In smaller volume packs, it is more difficult to store tent poles, fly rods or other long items with the divider separating the compartments. Further its just extra fabric and weight that doesn't serve a good purpose.