Couple Sleeping Arrangements

[zdavies]

I'm trying to determine the best sleeping arrangement for my girlfriend and I when we hike [or when we can, once my knees are back to hiking snuff].

We've used a light down bag like a quilt over my insul-mat thermo max and her therma-rest self-inflating mat in the past. But the height variance between the two mats is a pain in the arse.

Looking at replacing her pad with an inflatable pad like mine, maybe the big agnes clearview, since its even lighter than the insul-mat.

Only problem with the clearview, as I can see it, is the lack of insulation. I see people putting a thin closed-cell foam pad underneath for insulation, but then there goes the weight savings from using the clearview.

Has anyone tried a space blanket in place of the insulating/foam layer? I realize it might not be as effective, but I'm thinking its ability to radiate body heat back through the sleeping pad might be a happy medium.

Thoughts/suggestions/etc - please and thank you very much.

[zdavies]

Well, looks like I can't edit -

Another consideration is that we don't need as much width as two pads side by side, we're both skinny folk and have comfortably slept on a twin bed for months at a time.

Also, I'll be looking for some means of attaching the side of the pads to each other, so in digging through everyones experience and wisdom, if you've done any of these things or have some ideas let me know.

Thanks again.

[le loupe]

what about adhesive backed or glued on velcro to attach the two pads at regular intervals

I have no thoughts on the space blanket / insulation point

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

Welcome to WB. Space blankets make a lot of noise and are uncomfortable against the skin. They also do little to stop body heat from being transfered to the blanket and then dissipating from the portion of the blanket you are not on. I suggest she either use the same mat you do or the insulated version of the BA.

He-Dino and I slept on two 20" pads side by side (making a 40" wide sleeping surface which compares to a twin bed which is 39") before we got so fluffy. We now have an 8" x 72" piece of quilt that lies between our 20" pads so she-dino can adjust a leg and hip with lots of metal inside and he-dino can adjust an arm with metal inside and so there is room for the dino bellies and she-dino butt. (He-Dino has no butt ;D) We still use the same quilt, but she-dino also uses a lightweight sleeping bag as well. (She-Dino is a very cold sleeper - he-dino is a very hot sleeper.....)

[dloome]

There's certainly the potential for weight savings when using shared equipment, and the obvious appeal of sleeping together, but I think some couples preferred sleeping arrangements simply differ too much to find a shared compromise that would be comfortable for you both.

When my girlfriend and I hike together, she uses a full length pad, an overstuffed 15 degree bag, sleeping clothes, etc. I use a torso pad and a 1 pound quilt and sleep in my trail dirties- Obviously, she wouldn't be comfortable AT ALL using my equipment and visa versa, so it would be impossible to find a compromise, and frankly I don't see the point of doing so.

No biggie. We sleep next to each other and are both comfortable in our respective gear- There's a lot to be said for couples carrying their own equipment, especially on a long hike when for whatever reason you may find yourselves separated for short periods of time.

So I would just suggest both of you carrying whatever makes you comfortable, and leaving it at that. If it's the potential lack of trail sex that bothers you, there's always the day time for that. Just my $0.02.

But to answer your question, I've seen several couples use two foam pads of equal dimension "hooked up" with adhesive backed velcro running the entire length. If you're both using inflatable pads which tend to be contoured more to a body shape (as opposed to a rectangular foam pad) you may have a problem getting them to nest up against each other. Not really sure how you'd accomplish that, but you'd probably need some means of connecting them together, as well as a strip of insulating material to bridge the gap- Maybe a strip of closed cell foam or something like a draft tube you could stuff in between- Spare clothes or something?

[Tipi Walter]

The best system I found is for each of us to carry separate tents. This gives my GF the freedom of having a full night of sleep w/o my snoring. Plus, she likes her own space for reading, eating and all the rest. We find it to be the best overall option when backpacking together. I recommend it.

[mudhead]

http://www.thermarest.com/product_detail.aspx?pID=71&cID=4

Never used it, can't vouch.

For summer, a rectangular bag over the two of you can work. If you can rack in a twin, two pads, the same thickness, shoved together should work fine.

[minnesotasmith]

Many hostels do not have couples beds in the bunkroom (where budget issues push many to sleep). Likewise, hostels such as the 12 Tribes one in Rutland VT can force couples staying there (even if married) to sleep in separate rooms, as they have separate rooms for men and women. Then, there are some shelters constructed with bunks too narrow for two people to both lie down. (Telling them blithely "So tent!" isn't much of an answer if there's 6" of slush or it's raining cats and dogs when they arrive at the shelter.)

It is thus useful for a hiking couple to carry bedding with which they can comfortably sleep separately when needed.

[Rain Man]

I'm trying to determine the best sleeping arrangement for my girlfriend and I ....

OUCH! That mis-use of "I" for "me" gives me the same willies as dragging one's fingernails across an old-fashioned chalk board. I'm sure that's just me. Let me recover a bit, and I'll tell you what my wife and I do.

<pause to allow skin to stop crawling> :D

Okay, I'm going to suggest that there is no answer to the best sleeping arrangements for couples. My wife and I have slept in separate sleeping bags, in zipped-together sleeping bags, on separate sleeping pads, and on sleeping pads attached together. Oh, and in shelters and in tents and cowboy camping. Cold nights and warm nights. I think the only thing we haven't tried is sleeping together in a backpacking hammock. Now, napping in our big hammock out in the yard on a warm Sunday afternoon is a different matter!

Anyway, none of the above arrangements works perfectly. If you're apart, you can neither snuggle nor share body warmth. If you're together in zipped together bags, cold air easily gets in around your necks and when either turns over. We have not tried a down blanket, but that might be next.

The one thing that does help is attaching the sleeping pads, which you can do by purchasing the manufacturer's own straps or system, or (as I found out) just using a little multi-purpose string/cord. I looped some around our pads in two figure-eight loops (crossing each loop between the pads), one near the knees and one near the chests. Worked like a charm. Otherwise the pads slip all over the place until neither of you has a sleeping pad fully under you. Does not lend itself to a comfortable night's sleep on the trail.

Anyway, the answer is y'all will just have to experiment and see what works for y'all. Enjoy the company!!!

Rain:sunMan

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[Farr Away]

This is something my new husband and I are going to be working out. I like my hammock; he's always used a tent. I don't think he likes the idea of sleeping separately, so ...

Anyone out there share a hammock?

[Wags]

unless it's really really cold i prefer to have my own bag and my girl has hers. she gets soooo hot when she sleeps.

[KnowledgeEngine]

If you insist on sleeping in the same thing, Big Anges makes several bags that "mate" they also have very good insulation around their zippers IMO. Don't know how well it would work, but I have always been happy with my BA Crystal. All you need for them is 2 bags, 2 pads. As long as the bags are the same "footprint/template/series" the zippers from both bags are supposed to mate together

[NorthCountryWoods]

They also make a couple of doublewide bags.

http://www.bigagnes.com/str_bag_series.php?cid=6

[gravityman]

My wife and I have 9 months on the AT together (1.5 times). What has worked for us is:

For Cold : mating Western Mountaineering Versalite bags. That way we can mate them if it is warm enough (above about 30 degs) or sleep seperately if it's too cold (below about 20). In between it depends on how we feel (or if I said anything jerky that day ;)

For Warm : We use a Western Mountaineering Mitylite opened up and zipped to a self made coupler. The coupler is a full sheet between us and the pads and a zipper around the outside and at the foot bottom to keep me from pulling the quilt off my wife ;) This is good to about 40. Below that and we need clothing or our warmer bags.

For pads we both used prolite 3. In the cold case we use the Thermarest coupler kit (very light) and for the warm case we use that home made coupled. It has straps to hold the pads together and a 'foot pocket' for the pads. Made it out of .9 oz ripstop.

Recently my wife decided she needs a thicker pad (already at age 30!) so she has a big Agnes insulated aircore. We still couple them together (but with string or our homemade coupler which still works).

The warm system saves us about 1.5 lbs total. It was worth it! Switched in Pearisburg (May 1st) but we should have waited another week.

I highly suggest Western Mountaineering bags. Best ones we've used...

Gravity

[gravityman]

They also make a couple of doublewide bags.

http://www.bigagnes.com/str_bag_series.php?cid=6

5 lbs for the light weight version! Verses 4 lbs for 2 MW Versalite bags that zip together or are apart and warmer by 5 degrees. But the price is a bit higher...