View Full Version : Slipping pad/bag
I have a problem.
My sleeping bag slips all over the place on my Therm-a-Rest....very annoying!
I will start the night with my head at the top of the pad, and wake up a few hours later half way down the darn thing.
I have heard of people placing drops of caulk along the pad or bag.
Is this sound advice?
If so, do you place it on the pad or bag and what type of caulk would you use exactly?
All advice is greatly appreciated!
I use "GE Silicone II clear sealer/glue" on my sleeping pad and tent bottom. Thin the silicon out with Mineral spirits until it it just kind of thick. Paint on a few thin stripes on both sides of your pad and the bottom of your tent. This should take about a 1/2 once of silicon. Will work best for the tent to pad slipping but will also help the bag. In time it will wear and peal off but lasted me an entire thru hike. This is also a good seam sealr for tents. Remamber to go easy you only need a light coating.
My husband is a restless sleeper. The only system he's found to stay on his sleeping pad is to put the pad inside the bag. That's easiest with the Big Agnes system, but he'll do it with other bags and pads--otherwise he ends up on the ground every time.
If it's just a friction issue, the silicon thing should work. IMO Therm-A-Rests are not all that slippery, which makes me wonder whether increasing the friction will really solve your problem.
daddytwosticks
10-29-2008, 19:47
Get yourself a Gossamer Gear 1/8 inch thinlite pad. I use this between my silnylon tarptent floor and Prolite 3 pad. The Thinlite is very light (4 oz) and STICKY (in a good way). Keeps me from sliding around. Should work fine for your problem...will add warmth and comfort to boot. :)
gsingjane
10-29-2008, 20:24
I haven't tried this, but I've wondered whether you could put some of those non-slip things they sell for the bottom of shower stalls on a therma-rest - they seem to be moderately friction-y things - to increase the likelihood that a sleeping bag will stay put. I don't know whether they'd abrade the surface of the bag too much, though. Or if you could get any that weren't flower-shaped and pink.
I will also say, I used to have this problem more than I do now. Maybe you will learn in time not to move so much, who knows?
Jane in CT
Skidsteer
10-29-2008, 21:05
Get a little dirt on the Thermarest. Sit on it at camp, sweat on it, etc.
It helps quite a bit.
Sierra designs makes a sleep bag that has these thin strips of nylon that strech around the pad to keep the pad and the bag static against each other. I think it would be quite easy to sew two pieces of string to each side of your bag and then just tie them around the pad. Do that twice or three times down the bag and your problem is solved. SD has pieces that have a cinch on them but tieing them may work just as well.
i've run into that problem as well. the reason i don't like the cinch technique, or big agnes system, is that i rooch around in my bag, and sometimes i take my bag with me. i don't want to be confined to have to have my bag a certain way, like, if i roll over on my side i like my hood opening to roll with me. what i've done to try to combat this is to try to find a very level campsite to minimize sliding and to take whatever spare clothes i have (or my empty pack) and stick it on the side of the pad i think i may slide or roll towards.
nitewalker
10-30-2008, 06:10
I have a problem.
My sleeping bag slips all over the place on my Therm-a-Rest....very annoying!
I will start the night with my head at the top of the pad, and wake up a few hours later half way down the darn thing.
I have heard of people placing drops of caulk along the pad or bag.
Is this sound advice?
If so, do you place it on the pad or bag and what type of caulk would you use exactly?
All advice is greatly appreciated!
if you sleep with your head facing toward the downhill end you should have no problem . sliding toward the foot of your pad should be eliminated:-?..lol..............peace , nitewalker
NICKTHEGREEK
10-30-2008, 07:04
a dozen Dime sized dots of McNett seam seal on both sides of the pad keeps the pad on the tent floor and then the bag on the pad. Idea's the same as the rest.
Homer&Marje
10-30-2008, 07:39
I had the same problem for years. Then this summer I lost my sleeping pads in the Berkshires. Problem solved, I no longer slide off my pad:D DOH!
daddytwosticks
10-30-2008, 13:13
bobby d...you can also get ahold of a type of shelf-liner material they sell at Wal-Mart. It's a type of sticky foam material. It comes on a roll for a few bucks. Cut a piece off and just put it between the pad and bag. Can't weigh more than an once or two for a 16" by 16" piece. Good luck.
Cabin Fever
10-30-2008, 14:14
You get a Big Agnes sleeping bag and the pad goes in the sleeve at the bottom of the bag.