Ask the Gear Guy

Stop rolling off the sleeping pad

When I go camping I often have trouble sleeping. I toss and turn and always end up rolling off my sleeping pad. What can I do to sleep better?
Ian the Insomniac, San Jose, Calif.

A. Dear Sleepless in San Jose, have you tried duct-taping yourself to your sleeping pad? That’d work, but it’s a little tricky getting out when you have to pee in the middle of the night.

Here’s some other advice:

My friends at Therm-a-Rest told me that many people tend to overinflate their sleeping pads. Blowing it up bigger will actually cause you to roll off. So once it’s inflated, your best bet is to lie on it, then open the valve briefly to let a little air out — that way the pad conforms to your body.

You can also make the top of your pad non-slip by using a tube of Seam Grip to draw lots of tiny urethane dots or a couple of big squiggles on the top of your pad. Puff paints will work fine, too.

One of my favorite solutions is the Big Agnes Encampment ($159; www.boyslife.org/links/bigagnes) — it’s a 15-degree-rated synthetic bag that comes with a built-in sleeping pad sleeve. Just slip the sleeping pad in and you can roll around all night long and never roll off your pad!

Read 8 comments about “Stop rolling off the sleeping pad”

1. 1 - ntrog8r says:
   November 9th, 2007 at 8:07 am

   I’ve had more success with small dots than than “big squiggles”, the small dots provide a more uniform grip and don’t cause bunching of the bag.

2. 2 - CapeTownBoy says:
   December 8th, 2007 at 1:20 pm

   I’ve never really had any problems with rolling off my sleeping pad. Sorry about your misfortune, Ian.

3. 3 - OldBackpacker says:
   January 3rd, 2008 at 7:33 am

   Good advice about not overinflating the pad, dots work well too. Buy some of that shelf liner (mesh looking stuff) and wrap a section around the pad and tape the ends together. Sleeves on bags don’t really work and lots of bag manufacturers gave up on that idea a long time ago. People toss and turn and often times when they roll the pad ends up in peculiar postions.

   I’m a scouter who worked for years for one of the largest sleeping bag manufacturers in the US - your advice is generally very sound about outdoor gear. Your external/internal advice was right on.The Boy’s Life site is great, wish it was around in the 50’s and 60’s when I was a younger kid.

4. 4 - Campoften63 says:
   February 2nd, 2008 at 4:06 pm

   I have had this problem alot to. I use a nylon sleeping bag and that could be part of the problem. But a buddy of mine in my troop has a cotton bag and he said hes never had that problem but in winter he is cold quite often. Because iv seen both kinds of bags i think ill try the recomended one by the website.

5. 5 - Florda Kid says:
   March 25th, 2008 at 12:10 pm

   Thank you gear guy i have that problem to when i camp out.

6. 6 - PERSON says:
   April 3rd, 2008 at 8:48 pm

   HEY I HAVE QUITE A DIFFERENT PROBLEM I END UP AT THE END OF TENT NO MATTER WAT THE HILL IS LIKE IT COULD BE FLAT AND I WOULD STILL END UP AT THE FOOT OF MY PAD WILL THIS ADVICE WORK FOR ME AND DOES ANYONE ELSE WAKE UP LIKE ME IN THE MORNING OR AM I THE ONLY ONE PLEASE!!!!! POST A RESPONSE THIS IS TERRIBLE

7. 7 - NJScouter91 says:
   April 21st, 2008 at 3:08 pm

   I don’t have an inflatable pad, so waht do I do to,stop the rolling?

8. 8 - $ says:
   April 25th, 2008 at 4:14 pm

   For sum wierd reason i have no trouble at all sleeping on camping trips (i usually have trouble sleeping on the floor and other hrd surfaces.

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