This title is somewhat deceiving. I can’t promise you a good night’s sleep in the great outdoors. God knows there are some people who simply can’t let their minds go and thoughts of a bear running through camp or a serial killer slicing through tent walls will always be present. This week’s blog isn’t about the internal aspect of sleep like relaxing your mind, taking a sleep aid like Wolf21, or the many methods of counting sheep in your head. I’m focusing instead on the external and how to help you or your spouse get the most comfort out of a traditional tent-camp setting. Keep in mind, this blog is about “tenting it” and some of the concepts presented here can apply to your roof-top tent, truck bed tent, or other similar setup. You may be wondering why the focus on sleep. It is part of our daily cycle and a necessity for life.

Address Cold and Comfort

The most common reasons why I hear people didn’t sleep well while camping is that they were either “too cold” or “not comfortable”. It is your job to address these two and if you think about what causes them, you can put precautions in place. Cold can be caused by various mechanisms (radiation, conduction, convection, etc) and you can carry additional layers and making a hot water bottle to put in the sleeping bag with your camping partner. Comfort can be addressed in many ways including having good socks to sleep in as well as a wool watch cap and even lightweight gloves. Something as simple as a pillow is very useful for sealing off the space between the sleeping bag and the cold world, insulating the neck and elevating the head at the same time. The theme of this blog, if you couldn’t tell already, is doubling down on comfort.

Get the Best Sleeping Pad You Can Afford
I can’t quantify how many nights I’ve shared a tent with someone. I’ve been camping for 30 years plus at this point. I can definitely count on my fingers and toes all the times someone has complained about not being able to get comfortable and the main culprit is pain from below. It is easy to go cheap with a sleeping pad. Plenty are available at bargain stores and compared to more expensive options, it seems like a great place to save some pennies. If you want to exercise frugality, think about doing that with insulation. You can always bring blankets from home in a car camping setup. Focus on spending more on the padding below.
In my opinion, memory foam is the best option for comfort if you are going to car camp and do not need to worry about bulk or weight like you would if you were backpacking. Memory foam won’t pop, it feels closest to your bed at home, and the thickness of it will help alleviate the common issues of feeling high points from below. Recently, I was turned onto the Foamy from the company HEST. This pad is the best pad on the market in my humble opinion and it has an astonishing 8.8 R value (the measure used to rate insulation in pads). You will pay more for this pad than most, but and I do mean BUT, you will be investing in an almost guarantee the person you take camping sleeps well and there is no price you would pay for that if you don’t like the sound of complaining. Keep this in mind too, the Foamy can be linked together with another Foamy and you and your girlfriend, boyfriend, husband, wife, or fling can sleep on the same level. It is not comfortable to have one on a thin pad and one on a thick mattress if you don’t want your arm to fall asleep. The mattress you choose is vital. Make sure you invest in something worthwhile.

Number of People “Plus 1” Tent

Another aspect of good sleep is having plenty of room to move around in. When I worked at an outdoor retail store, I would often suggest couples think about investing in a 3 person tent. This suggestion is what I call the “number of people plus 1” suggestion. If you are a family of 4, look at a 5 or 6 person tent. The added space gives you additional comfort for your belongings and it also allows you the room you need to set up any creature comforts for the person you’re trying to help sleep. Set up a small Rubbermaid bin with some things like ear plugs, blind fold (not for some 50 Shades of Gray stuff), Wet-Ones, dry socks, etc. and use the top of the box like a night stand. Again, try to make the inside of your tent resemble home. You can always remove these items later on as the person becomes more comfortable. There is another reason for the upsizing of your sleeping space. Keep in mind many tents (backpacking style especially) are designed for minimal space to save weight. Internal angles of tent walls can make people feel claustrophobic. The larger the tent, the more room your light sleeper will experience. For someone who may end up shifting a lot in their sleep, this extra space will keep them from hitting the tent walls that could otherwise wake them up.
In addition to the size of the tent, look for a few key features that could be really helpful. If you can, get a tent with double doors that allow you to access the tent from two sides. If you have to get up in the middle of the night for a bio break, you want to make sure you can open the door without waking them. Also, if you find a tent with decent vestibule space, this is where any stinky boots or clothing can go. If your dog is ok with it, this is where you can let them sleep to keep them from hogging your space. Then again, the “plus 1” is more like plus ½ if your dog is considered.

Beyond The Tent

Working from the sleeping pad and tent, the world you sleep in can be made more comfortable with a few little details. These details on their own are not bad but they can quickly add up and the gravity of all the discomfort becomes a much larger problem. Before you call it a night, most people will take a bathroom break to make sure they don’t have to wake up in the middle of the night for relief. This means getting in and out of a tent in the dark. A couple simple fixes will make all the difference.
One of the worst sensations is wet and cold feet. Don’t get me wrong, wet feet are bad and cold feet are bad but wet and cold feet are the worst. Setting out a simple door mat that boots can be taken off and put back on outside the tent will prevent your camping buddy from stepping into the wet ground. If this sounds like too much pampering, remember I use a piece of Tyvek when I hammock camp underneath my hammock to lay my kit on and step on in the early morning. Another inconvenience is crawling out of your tent and having rain or dew roll down your neck as you bump your head on the rainfly. It doesn’t have to be a lot of water for this to affect you. A few good drops that make their way down your neck can really crush morale. The solution is to set up a larger tarp overhead instead of using your rain fly. This works best in warmer weather when the rain fly isn’t used to trap in heat. The elevated tarp gives your camping partner plenty of headspace to move around in. Taking care of your sleep partner above and below will help them find comfort for the night ahead of them.

Address The Nice to Have after Need to Have

Some items are nice to have and some are need to have. That’s how it is with sleep. It’s nice to have a level place to sleep but I don’t need it. It’s nice to have peace and quiet but I’ve fallen asleep when my surroundings have been plenty loud. As you plan for making the sleep your camping buddy should have, make sure you don’t overlook what you don’t need. Perhaps they are truly afraid of the dark. In that case, have some glow sticks or a LED lantern. Perhaps they would sleep better knowing there is protection nearby. If so, show them where you keep the pistol or long-gun at night. Maybe they want something to help them pass out. Consider packing some melatonin, a shot or two of booze, or some of Mike G’s Wolf21. For someone who complains about cold spots here and there, bring plenty of long-lasting hand warmers. All of these measures will work as long as you prepare ahead of time. If you are preparing to take someone into the great outdoors for the first time that you’ve already committed to until death do you part, plan every detail carefully and carry out your plan without failure. Even if you do everything right and they still have a less-than-optimal time, perhaps your effort will impress them and improve your relationship. Depending on how you sleep with your partner in bed at home, you can decide if two sleeping bags or one large one will work better for your relationship. A double bag works great but there are places in that bag where it will be colder as your bodies won’t occupy it all and warm it all. In a perfect scenario, what you invest in gear, thought, and energy, will pay off in creating a long-lasting camping partner for the rest of your travels.