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I've been sleeping in a tent in the garden for three nights as I am going away soon for a fortnights holiday and I really don't want to spend a fortnight not having good sleep and being cranky the next day.

It's quite mild at the moment, and so I pitched a single skinned Vango Juno 500 and didn't worry too much about the lack of inner. I've come to a few conclusions about the tent but that's another topic.

I'm not taking the Juno with me for my main family holiday, it was just a quick pitch for the purposes of experimenting with different beds. Night 1 was very cold and I used my Vango Galaxy XL sleeping bag which is brushed cotton inside and also cotton outside, so not the slippy stuff normally associated with sleeping bags, more like a quilt. I used the 10cm Gelert Self Inflating Mat and a Neck Roll rather than a pillow which I prefer because I'm a side sleeper. I also had a hot water bottle. I slept inside the sleeping bag on top of the SIM and then had a single duvet with cover over me. I felt weighed down, it was far too heavy and I couldn't turn around inside the sleeping bag.

So night 2 I put the single duvet on top of the SIM, then opened out the sleeping bag and slept between the two layers. It was still uncomfortable because the Duvet kept slipping off the SIM. It was better though.

Then night 3 I put the SIM inside the sleeping bag, which was zipped up. I then basically had a quilted fitted sheet (quite an expensive quilted fitted sheet) and I folded the excess underneath the SIM. I slept under the Single Duvet and to be honest this was the best nights sleep. I still had my hot water bottle but it was milder than the previous two nights and so soon kicked it out of the way.

There are obvious downsides to all this, multiple duvets as well as sleeping bags and SIMs for all three of us is very bulky even if it is light. The bedding seems to take up the most room in my hatchback. I don't have a roof box and I'll not be upgrading the sleeping bags this year anyway.

Hopefully I've come up with a solution that works for me anyway. I really think that the bed can make or break a camp. You can have a cheap tent as long as it's waterproof but you still need good beds, the right beds. We're all a bit like Goldilocks and it's an expensive experiment to keep trying different things but I hope that's me sorted now.

Why don't you just sleep inside the sleeping bag and on top of the SIM? That's the usual arrangement. Why put a duvet on top of a sleeping bag anyway? It just squashes the loft out the sleeping bag and actually reduces its effectiveness.

If you find it slippy, put it inside a flanellette or cotton jersey single duvet cover, or make one to fit. I used a fleece sleeping bag liner as a cover for a SIM once, when I was sleeping on a rather extreme slope. It worked a treat but I don't usually bother on a flat pitch.

I suppose I should clarify what it is that's making me uncomfortable in the first place. Well I know I can't have a double, sprung mattress and I don't expect that when I'm camping. I do need a decent nights sleep though, the roll mats were fine when I was a kid but I can no longer do that. As I already said I sleep on my side.

I don't settle immediately when I go to bed, there's always a certain amount of turning from side to side and inside a sleeping bag I can't turn effectively without getting bound up inside. Then I'm losing track of where the zip is, the zip sometimes ends up under me at a pressure point such as my shoulder and then I have the shape of it embedded into my skin come morning. Then, I can't locate the zip and I'm trapped inside the bloody thing which is a problem if my bladder is telling me to get up pretty soon. So that's my problem with sleeping bags.

My problem with SIMs is that they're slippy and also narrow. The SIM is the same width as me, so when I turn around I have to do so in situ and not just roll onto the other side of the bed like I do at home. But, the SIM is very warm compared to an airbed and the 10cm is more comfortable than an airbed in my opinion. I see Alpkit have addressed the problem by having a non slip surface on it but I'm stuck with the one I have so I have to make the best of it.

I think the solution is a home made fitted sheet. The quilted padding on my sleeping bag is a bonus but my sleeping bag is too good to compress into nothing by sleeping on it so I'm going to get either an old duvet cover and sew one side of it to fit my SIM or the Sleeping bag liner idea. Since it's now technically summer I'm going to ditch the sleeping bag in favour of a single Duvet and hot water bottle, I know that from March to October I'd still need to use my sleeping bag but on this trip to the very southern tip of Ireland where the weather can sometimes be continental I'll take the chance on the duvet.

Good to know I'm not the only one that struggles with sleeping bags.

Silvers did you have to modify the sheepskin fitted sheet and top fitted sheet or were you able to tuck the excess underneath?

Has anyone tried the Gelert Pod Sleeping Bag? Dont like the Mummies or small caravan bags make me feel smothered!!

Have got an xtra large mummy bag at the mo which is lovely to move around in but not sure the quality will last very long! Thinking the Gelert may be a decent replacement when this one wears?

Quote: Originally posted by victoria1 on 05/7/2011

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Good to know I'm not the only one that struggles with sleeping bags.

Silvers did you have to modify the sheepskin fitted sheet and top fitted sheet or were you able to tuck the excess underneath?

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After many variations of sleeping arrangements, I have now (just this wkend) found the perfect combination of things to give me the perfect night.  I have an Outwell Posadas Bed.  On top of that I have a 5mm SIM that is inside a purposely-sewn fleece cover (made from a fleece blanket bought from IKEA for less than 2 pounds) - the fleece prevents any slipping/movement and also adds extra warmth below me.  I then sleep inside a large fleece blanket that I have sewn up on 3 sides - its so wide though that I don't feel restricted in any way.  I then have a single feather duvet over that.  I did that this weekend and had the best nights sleep for ages.  As I said, I've tried all sorts of arrangements over the last couple of years, and am so happy that I found my perfect solution before we go on our BIG holiday in 3 wks time!

Humbird

Ha ha Victoria1 you have had me in stitches reading your posts -  i am so glad i am not the only one who quite often ends up fighting with my sleeping bag! If you do think about getting a new sleeping bag ive just purchased the Outwel-l Camper Lux, cant reccomend enough, its very cosy and seems wider than your average sleeping bag (its not a mummy)

Anyway good luck with it - let us know how you get on - always love hearing new tips for a good nights sleep.

Can be grumpy if i get no sleep

Glad you enjoyed reading the posts Gerr...will keep that sleeping bag in mind. For this holiday I'm definately going with the single duvet instead, but I've got a meet to attend in September and I'll probably need something warmer then.

I found this link which is an interesting alternative to a sleeping bag. It's american of course, but it would be an interesting make your own project even just to encorporate things such as the foot pocket - which I think is a damn good idea for a start!

http://www.rayjardine.com/ray-way/Quilt-Kit/index.htm