Seasoned Campers Swear By This Dead Simple Sleeping Bag Hack For Warmer Nights

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Camping is a rewarding experience, as it teaches you adaptability and planning. Seasoned campers know many little hacks to make camping easier, such as how to pack everything into one backpack or when to splurge on essentials like Costco's camping lifesaver — the meal assortment bucket. For those who haven't camped as often, the best way to learn the tricks of the trade is by drawing on the experiences of other campers. One of the hacks frequent campers have discovered is a simple way to repurpose existing equipment to keep warm during colder nights: Putting your sleeping pad inside your sleeping bag rather than under it. As one camper on Quora explained, "it keeps the pad from moving, it keeps you warmer, and it can make sleeping in a hammock easier."

Sleeping pads have two main uses: Cushioning and insulation. They provide a layer between your body and the ground, preventing heat loss to the cold floor. While some people have created cheap, temporary solutions for keeping warm, like a DIY water bottle heater to warm your feet, you still need an insulating layer in extreme weather. Many campers have found that placing the pad inside the bag not only keeps it secure but also traps more heat. This hack also seems especially popular with campers setting up hammocks. "Because the job of a sleeping pad is to trap and circulate heat, it seemed to make sense that ... the bag, with my body heat and the pad, should be extra warm," one user on Hammock Forums reported.

Not all sleeping pads can be used for this hack. Some may be too big or too thick to fit inside your bag. Also, depending on your bag's ventilation, adding a pad inside could increase condensation, leaving you wet and cold.

For this hack to work, you'll want a sleeping pad narrow enough to fit snugly inside your sleeping bag while still leaving room for you to slip in. It also needs a high R-value – a measurement of how well it insulates against heat– and a higher R-value indicates better insulation. This technique also works best in dry weather, where you can warm up without worrying about excess condensation.

There are three types of sleeping pads: Inflatable air pads, self-inflating/insulation pads, and closed-cell foam (CCF) pads. For this hack, insulation pads tend to work best, as they're less stiff than CCF pads and have less air movement than standard inflatable pads, allowing them to trap warmth better. To get the best results, match the shape of your sleeping pad to the shape of your sleeping bag. You can even add extra insulation underneath by using a yoga mat under your sleeping bag.

If you have a rectangular sleeping bag, consider something like the Therm-a-Rest LuxuryMap Foam Sleeping Pad. This 3-inch-thick pad has an R-value of 6 and offers generous cushioning, making it a strong choice for cold weather. It's also comfortable for back, side, and stomach sleepers, thanks to the air pocket on top. If you have a mummy-shaped sleeping bag, check out the Nemo Tensor All-season Ultralight Sleeping Pad, a 3.5-inch-thick pad with an R-value of 5.4 that fits well with the narrower profile of mummy bags. The advantage of pairing a mummy-shaped sleeping bag and pad is that there's less excess air around your legs, helping you stay warmer than in a rectangular configuration.