Side Sleepers?

“If you are a permanent side sleeper, how do you cope(or not)? I'm one of those that cannot sleep on my back. How do you cope with mummy bags, hammocks, and other of the lightweight gear available?”

“I get twisted up as my bag tries to keep up with my rolling around.”

“I was using a thermaRest but ended up touching the ground because of the weighted points cause by side sleeping.

Then I got a 2.5" BigAgnus (very light weight) and now it's like sleeping on a bed.


I know you were talking about width issues, but this is somewhat relevant hopefully.”

“I just got a thick sleeping pad. It helped a lot.”

“thick pad *does* help. get a bag with generous shoulder and hip/waist girth.
also, consider spring a few extra bucks to get the zipper on the side of the bag
you usually sleep towards-it help with ventilation. also...consider a 'pillow' of
some type(dont tell anyone!) since your head wont be lying flat on the ground
like those silly back sleepers.”

“I'm a stomach sleeper but I find that the zipper on the side I usually turn my head towards is a must. Other than that I think we are much the same as back sleepers.”

“thick pad and soft ground helps, but i rarely sleep well out in the woods”

“I usally don't have a problem sleeping on either side. I use the stuff sack for the sleeping bag to create a pillow with jackets, fleece and anything else that will be "soft".”

“as sarge said the 2.5" big agnus is a blessing for us side sleepers!”

“I’m a side sleeper and I only use a Z-Rest pad and have no problem with that and moving side to side in my bag isn't too much of a problem. My problem is a pillow. At home I sleep with 3 pillows under my head. That’s a little difficult to replicate on the trail.”

“must hike, get inflatable kids water wings type float. Cut them at the seams for a fat flat pillow. Check the dollar store.”

“I use a 1.5" Thermarest and sleep pretty well on my side.”

“I'm going to try that birch.”

“Bit....how much does it weigh???”

“my 1.5" thermo-lite weighs less than a pound and will fit inside.. yes, a nalgene.

i love it.”

“I'm a side sleeper mostly and LOVE my TOR LE 3/4, it weighs next to nothing and very thick.”

“1.5"?????


OMG...I will have to check that one out”

“you can get a 1 pound 13 oz ultra-lite thermarest that is 1.5" thick ...

or a 25 oz. 2.5" Big Agnes REI

The only disadvantage is it's not self-inflatable. But for a nice rest ...”

“specs:
Weight: 1lbs 9oz
Size: 20x47x2in
Rolled Size: 21x4in”

“Didn't mean to be deceptive. I guess that's 1 pound, 9 oz.”

“my 1.5" thermo weighs 17 oz.

i've only heard good things about the agnes, but the new pro-lite thermos are pretty sweet.

http://www.ems.com/products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442584016&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302853680&fromTemplate=navigation%2Fsubcategory.jsp&bmUID=1093486515022”

“The only disadvantage is it's not self-inflatable. But for a nice rest ..."
Sarge
09:34:52 PM
08/25/04

is it just a pad then???”

“I think mine weighs 18oz or something like that, I forget. They don't make them any more, it's a Guidelite 3/4.”

“It's like a heavy duty pool raft”

“Weight
1 lb. 1 oz.

size
20 in. x 47 in. x 1.5"

rolled up
4 x 10.5 in.”

“is the big agnes bulky???”

“Tango is right. bitpusher, that's the exact one I used to have but as a side-sleeper, it didn't cut it.

One more thing, if you get the BA REI with a matching sleeping bag you can slip the pad into the bag underneath which prevents it from rolling off if you move around a lot in your sleep (as side-sleepers do sometimes).

Speaking of sleep ... I'm outie.”

“not bulky - specs on their page, but I think it's about 8.5" x 10". You can roll it into the bag if you have one of theirs (I don't yet, but it's next on my list).”

“I think the best thing is a pillow. My zipper broke on my bag last winter and I still slept pretty well most of the night considering I was freezing. I attribute that to being comfortable.”

“I've got a good pillow. Compresses down pretty small, very comfortable. If I need it a little higher, I'll put my clothing stuff under it.”

“divinity, a Big Agnus REM rolls down to the size of a thermarest 3/4 UL, or about the size of a 1 liter nalgene.”

“When we can tent in the woods, it is soft enogh that a ridge rest works well. ON gravel of bunk house plywood, we take a ridge rest and a thermarest (1 1/2"). That works well. Folded fleece works well for a pillow, and we know where the fleece is on those chilly mornings.”

“Thanks, folks.”

“I'm a side sleeper and I usually wrap myself up in as much of the padding as possible. Then again, a bottle of Amaretto usually takes care of any sleeping problems!”

“does the big agnes have some foamy stuff inside it too, like the thermos?

or is it just air, like a pool raft?”

“Mist Hike

Water Wing Pillow
One of my better crazy ideas. ;-)”

“LOL
Mist Hike = must hike”

“sacco - just air

It's amazing how comfortable it is though.”

“i just got my prolite thermo this spring. (80 beans)and i'm happy with it, but 2.5" does sound intriguing

so i think maybe i'll get her an agnes for x-mas.

ofcourse, she doesn't go bping during the winter so maybe i'll have to *try it out for her*

hehehe”

“where is OIW with all this talk about 1.5" and 2.5"

maybe he's a little intimidated...”

“3/4 thermarest LE model. I just puff it up real hard when the ground is cold or very hard. When its cold outside, I bring a walmart blue closed cell foam pad that I put on top of the thermarest. Added insulation and padding plus full length for only $5.00”

“I’m a side sleeper and I can not sleep for more than an hour before things start hurting and I have to flip. I borrowed a Big Agnis mattress and fell right to sleep on my side and didn’t wake up for five hours. The Stove Stomper Water Wing pillow helps keep my head elevated and a jacket or something stuck between the knees helps align the spine too. As for hammocks I have a poly/nylon on that is very taught and I’m able to sleep on my side with no problems.”

“i love hammocks for cat naps but i can never get a decent whole nights rest in one cause i'm a side/stomach sleeper.”

“stikmon - I've done that when I had the thermarest, but if you're starting for scratch, a BA REI is actually smaller then the thermarest (and lighter) alone. Add another pad and you're in a whole new category of size and weight.”

“A pad in the hammoch helps a lot.”

“i've tried the taut hammock with pad style and found it's passable for side sleepin but just knowing i can't lie on my tummy makes me want to even more, which ruins my night.”

“I do the side and stomach sleeping thing, after starting on my back. I finally gave up on only using my Thermarest Ult. 3/4 last trip and took a full-length Z-rest plus the Ultralight. I always use a pillow, too (stuff a light fleece bag). Slept great. Yeah, the whole setup is 2 pounds but my packed weight was only 21 pounds total so I had weight to spare.

When you think about it, you are on your sleeping system for 1/3 (or more) of the day, so you need to make it count - just as much as your boots.”

“TDale, good question.

I sleep on my back, side, and stomach. :)

I have a mummy bag and I'm able to roll around in it easily although I'm 6ft and 200lbs. I picked the North Face Blue Kazoo for its dimensions...it was a little wider than other bags. I'm able to easily roll around in it. For me, a pad is a pad. My hips don't seem to bother me while on my side.

In a Hennessy hammock, I roll around a bit from my back to my side. If it's cold, I actually squirm around in the hammock and get into my sleeping bag, and yes, roll onto my side. Works for me. I don't see a problem with it...borrow one and test it out.”

“I sleep on my sides, and move from side to side a lot.
I usually just sleep on top of my pad with the sleeping bag unziped and just over me like a quilt.”

“I am a side sleeper and I usually just go without a pad at all except in winter. For winter I am thinking of getting a new thicker pad. Those thermarests dont cut it for me. Maybe I am just getting old.....
15 more years and I will be 40! :(
As for my sleeping bag, I have trouble finding ones that fit me right. As I am a very short person and do not like having all that extra space at the foot end to warm up. I usually just get hopelessly lost in the bags.”