(How) do you sleep in the backcountry?

[ppine]

Situational awareness is important. Last Wed night I was sleeping with my dog at 8,400 feet with no one around .  At 0300 a large pack of screaming coyotes came close to our camp.  My dog was on alert but did not make a sound.   At 0600 a huge tree crashed to the ground that was audible for miles.  I want to be able to hear things like that. 

Good pad, good bag and something for a pillow. 

[ppine]

In the last 5 and half decades there has been an evolution in sleep technology. As kids we slept right on the ground and just looked for soft grass or pine needles.  Then we got ensolite pads which provided good insulation and were light, but not much padding.  Then we got Thermarest pads which were comfortable and provided good insulation. The early ones were heavy.  They were orange with brass valves.  I still use the big thick blue Basecamp  for truck camping and river trips.  Now we have all sorts of new light, high techs solutions.  I used a Big Agnes pad for a while.  It was light and comfortable but cold below temps in the mid 30s.  Now comes the Nemo Tensor which is pretty cool in all areas.  I found the Neo-Air to be too crunchy. 

[Aaron Zagrodnick]

The orange Therm-a-Rest with the small metal valve was the first inflatable mattress I used - slightly more comfortable than a foam RidgeRest, but seemed pretty high tech at the time!

[PaulGS]

On 2018-10-01 at 9:10 AM, ppine said:

 I found the Neo-Air to be too crunchy. 

I don’t even notice the crunchy sound of my Neo Air anymore, but people camping with me for the first time sure do!