Pacific Crest Trail hiker Katrina ‘Kit Kat’ Hemingway reckons a good night’s sleep sets you up for a good day’s hike. Conversely, a good day’s hike sets me up for a good night’s sleep.
Eight hours was the norm for me on the Pacific Crest Trail. Covering great daily distances with a heavy load is exhausting. After setting up camp, finding water, and cooking my evening meal, it’s hardly surprising I fell asleep in an instant. But did I stay asleep?
Let’s talk about sleep systems. A sleep system comprises an insulation and warmth layer. Insulation refers to your sleeping mat or inflatable pad. Warmth refers to your sleeping bag, quilt, and clothes layering. Ultralight hikers favour high warmth-to-weight ratio products to keep pack weights low but never compromise on safety to save a few grams. All up, my sleep system weighs a tidy 1.1kg.
To work out your sleep system you need to work out your sleeping style. Are you a cold or warm sleeper? Side, tummy, or back sleeper? Deep or easily disturbed sleeper? And do you have aches and niggles that need extra cushioning?
Insulation: Therm-a-rest’s Z Lite SOL reflective closed cell foam sleeping mat is light, cheap, and quick to lay flat. According to the manufacturer, it’s ‘virtually indestructible’. Is there any point in considering other options? Have you heard of ‘R’ values?
‘R’ stands for Resistance and is a measure of how well a material resists the transfer of heat. It becomes a very important consideration when you set up on wet or icy ground. The Z Lite SOL mat has an R value of 2. This rating is perfectly acceptable for warm weather, but if you’re a cool sleeper or hiking in winter, you’ll need a minimum rating of 4. I use a Therm-a-rest NeoAir XLite Women’s Sleeping Pad with an R value of 5.4 weighing 360g.
I’m getting old too. Inflatable sleeping pads comfortably cushion my knees and shoulders. My pad is 6.4cm high compared to the 2cm Z Lite SOL mat. I admit the 70 faint-inducing inflation breaths aren’t fun, but I can cheat with a mini pump. Other brands use customised stuff sacks to hand-inflate their pads. I love my pad. Never any back pain and so comfortable. It does sound a bit crinkly when you turn, but it’s not a deal breaker. Use ear plugs if you wake easily or you’re sleeping next to me. And pack a puncture kit or tenacious tape, in case of leaks. Another option, if you can find two conveniently located trees, is to use a hammock and elevate yourself from the ground.
Warmth: I refer here to your choice of quilt, sleeping bag and layers of clothes. Goose down is the optimum fill choice for its ease of compression and superior warmth-to-weight ratio. Duck down is a little cheaper with synthetic bags cheaper still, more water repellent, but heavier. Which bag should I choose? Look closely at their comfort and survival ratings.
A bag’s comfort rating is the temperature at which a cold sleeper might feel comfortable. The lower limit or survival rating is the temperature still comfortable for a warm sleeper. Cold sleepers should focus on the survival rating for optimal comfort. If you’re still hot in a sleeping bag, consider a quilt. No claustrophobic hood to fight with and many methods to attach them to your sleeping mat or pad to make sure warm air doesn’t escape when night-time temperatures drop. Quilt sleepers can put beanies, hooded puffy jackets and buffs on to simulate a sleeping bag hood. For the PCT, I used a Zpack 10F (-12C) 900 fill goose down full zip sleeping bag weighing a neat 638gms. It combines the best of both worlds with full zip and sewn-in toe box and no hood constraints.
Comfort: Comfort items are your luxury items. Nice to have, but not mandatory. My sleep system is not complete without a pillow. A stuff sack padded with soft clothing works. I prefer my Sea-to-Summit Aeros inflatable pillow weighing 60g with a buff pillowcase to catch those nighttime dribbles.
Words_ Katrina ‘Kit Kat’ Hemingway