Sleeping systems - bags, pads, matts, liners

For the first few sleeps it gets better

as @spotter said, after the first week of sleeping on them they quieten down to almost nothing

cool, and is the xlite the go-to for side sleepers?

kind of depends on the individual, I sleep on my front and side and I like it.

the xlite is the best sleeping pad bar none if you want light weight and have the ££

I understand the rave about the xlite, I've got a short one.
I mostly wildcamp and prioritise stealth,
the xlite is most of the time not rugged enough to cope, I end up with the zlite most of the time, I live round the Med so grass and soft ground is a rarity.

If I plan a lazy , luxury morning, I even take both, it's my regular car sleeping set up as well.

the xlite is most of the time not rugged enough to cope

don't agree with this unless you are doing very chunky alpine climbing and bivvying on ledges where there is no other choice, etc

Any recommendations for a sleeping mat out of the current crop of discounted items on Sport Pursuit at the moment?

I can't login there, but recommendation is always: thermarest neoair xlite, second hand, £100ish

My snugpack travelpak 1 was very chilly the other night up on a hill in the Gower, even in a tent, on a mat, wearing all my clothes. What's a cheap and as small as possible alternative that's a bit toastier - should I just get a travelpak 2?

Just get a synthetic liner

Something like this?

https://www.alpkit.com/products/masson

what's a cheap and as small as possible alternative

thermal underwear from decathlon

A big companion.

Liner only adds a degree or two of warmth.

I'd get a new sleeping bag. If you want to get a bit crazy you could get another one the same and sleep in both at the same time which will (theoretically) provide double the insulation. My friend slept in two fairly cheap winter bags and was as toasty warm as me in my ~1.5kg Rab down bag that was quite expensive

But you know, try it in the garden or something before you go off into the wilderness with only two thin summer bags

Second time out with my Sea2Summit Ultralight Insulated sleeping mat and second time I've had a near sleepless night.

First time was put down to back pain from an uncomfortable pack and having covered 19 miles and I couldn't lay in a single position for more than a few minutes at a time before it hurt (that was not a fun 8 hours)

Second time I had a better pack so no back issues before going to sleep although sore legs/glutes from doing 20 miles were noticeable through the night. still had major issues with lower back pain and not being able to stay in one position for more than about 10-20 minutes and just not being able to fall asleep at all.

I'm a side sleeper and the S2S pad does stop me from hitting the floor but it just doesn't seem to conform enough to my hips/shoulders so i end up being out of alignment and the aches creep in pretty quickly, even laying on my back didn't really help.

I tried to fold the pad in two and use it as a thicker torso pad. it was warm enough that my legs were fine in just my bag but still could not get comfortable. i could tell i was more supported by the pad didn't get anymore comfortable.

i'm a big lump (114kg) which I am certain doesn't help but there must be a solution that doesn't involve carrying a 15l / 2kg / 8" thick inflatable mattress.

is the neoair any better in this regard? anyone have any experience with a compromise mat where I can get better support but without quadrupling the weight and pack size?

try with less air in it (my neoair is comfier slightly less full of air).
this will make it a little colder tho.

if that doesn't help things just get a different mat, neoair or prolite secondhand.

Anyone tried out the quilts from blueskylavender on eBay? Seem to get favourable feedback on eBay itself, but little else about them on the internet.

Two PHD sleeping bags on ebay at the moment for reasonable prices
Superlight
Verylight

£18 in Lidl

It's a sleeping mat, realise now that wasn't very clear. 500g, reasonable size when packed up. Looks very similar to my Alpkit Numo. Anyone know anything about it?

1 Attachment

Minim 300 on Facebook (stafford) at the moment for £200

My new sleeping pad arrived today, new Big agnes axl long/wide insulated. ideally wanted the reg/wide but it was out of stock and I have a 24 hour race event next weekend where I need a decent nights sleep after I setup camp before the race so splurged for the large instead. glad I did as the pack size and weight is no worse than my regular sea2summit insulated mummy pad.

had a quick afternoon nap on it in the living room today, was comfortable both sleeping on my side (typical) but also on my back. like most pads it bottoms out if you put all your weight in one place but laying out across it it at 70-80% inflation was more like laying on a sprung mattress than any airbed i've used.

going to sleep on it tonight to make sure it's ok but so far feels like a big step up.

I bought one as a backup or for car camping maybe. Seen ok reviews proof will be in use. Not unpacked it yet so not a clue myself!

Think they've actually sold out at my local Lidl! But will be interested to hear how you get on with it for next time they get them in

A few in Longsight Lidl still...

My current sleeping bag fills my whole seatpost mounted drybag and I'd like to drop that down a bit.
Is an aliexpress down bag a legitimate option? Saw them mentioned a few pages back. Anyone with any first hand experience?