I'm sure it's been discussed and I just missed it. Any of you folks have advise on any mods I could make to help keep the bag on the sleeping pad. Velcro, sticky tape, rubber cement, all might help some but what do you folks feel works best. Praying for that perfect flat spot hasn't worked too well yet. Thanks.

Some might want to know what kind of pad and/or sleeping bag you have. I have heard you can paint on to the pad a silicone or silicone/paint thinner solution. ? The last I used, I had to apply powder to dry the paint thinner, it wouldn't dry out completely on its own. Newer formulation I guess. I put a grid on the floor of my BD Hilight to keep the pad from sliding around before I even used the tent. I have never had a problem, but had heard that silnylon is slick. I do tend to move down on the pad if camped on a slight incline, I roll from side to side consciously most of the night.

On my Tarptent Contrail and Gossamer Gear Nightlight I used velcro strips. On the tent floor I had to glue it with silicone and press it down with weights overnight to make it stick enough. It works great!

Haven't done it myself but the solution I've seen recommended most often is painting strips of silicone seal (diluted with thinner) onto the bottom of the sleeping pad. Less work than doing it on the tent floor, and sounds from the reports like it works quite well.

Perhaps more info would help. I'm having trouble mostly with the bag sliding around on the pad rather than the pad on the tent floor. I tend to toss and turn and wind up with the bag and body on the floor. Waking cold and stiff from the hard ground. The pad is a self inflating pad with a slick surface. It's a knockoff from one of the name brands but pretty standard. The bag is a slick material also. I'm a little reluctant to try too many oil base things with materials that may not stand up well to that sort of stuff. Thanks for any ideas that you have seen that work well.

I have used a material which looks kind of like a rubber based window screen.

It is used as a non-slip material for dishes on shelves in RV's, etc

Comes in a roll at the hardware store or RV store, cut a chunk and place it
between your bag and pad. It is not too heavy

Experiment by putting the pad INSIDE your bag. I have tried this before and used a bag liner over the pad.

Thanks all. I'm getting some ideas that sound reasonable. I may have to try to find a spot on the bag that would be out of sight and try some of the materials mentioned. I'm kind of liking the thinned silicone idea for something I could apply and forget. It would have the advantage of not getting lost or another thing to find when setting camp. The down side and it might or might not be a biggie is how the fabric might react to the thinner/silicone. I'm not sure what material is involved but some of the super light synthetics are touchy about solvents, etc. Maybe just a small touch of something to test is in order. I hate to be the guy that finds out he just glued a hole in his bag or pad. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Thinking about the thinned silicone idea. Since the silicone can be spread almost thin enough to read through, what is the purpose of thinning? Anybody tried just some dots of silicone left to dry to create just a bit of "traction"? Seems like almost anything to create some roughness on either the bag or the sleeping pad might be helpful. Still thinking it over here. Perhaps just mental stalling waiting for the rain to stop?

Silicone loses its stickiness after a while because it picks up…. everything.
If you can’t sleep still, then you can try sewing pad loops onto your bag like what Kelty does. They have ‘Sleeping pad security loops’.
From there you can tie your bag to your pad. You can even sew Velcro strips to the bottom of the bag that are long enough to reach around the pad and hook to each other.

Sometimes I use my Western Mountaineering POD 30. It doesn’t have down on the bottom. It has pad attachments built in. This saves weight.

But once you attach your bag to the pad, you can’t readily sit up in it. But this has not bothered me.

-Barry

Thank you, Barry, for the info on silicone picking up junk. I can see that would be a problem. I've had some doubts about velcro doing that as I use it to hold things in my work vehicle and they have to be changed sometimes due to the junk in the works. Sleeping still is not one of my better things, I'm afraid. My sleeping partner would vote for that one. That may be part of the reason I solo camp so much. I don't disturb her when I am at least a mile away. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
Anyone have thoughts on whether the thinned silicone works any better at not picking up so much junk. I thought I had read about it but I have no real reports on how well it works over time.

I used GE silicone and paint thinner, mixed 50/50 to seam seal my Tarptent Squall when new. Still looks great. The silnylon material collects more dirt by static than anything else. Just seems last year when I put the grid on my new Hilight, that the thinner didn't want to dry, even after a week, so I dusted it with foot powder which I have used on my other tent in the past as recommended by the seam sealer manufacturer. Some straight seam sealer might work also, not beaded up very high of course.

Thanks for the additional info from Hiker Duane. Right now I am thinking the silicone is worth a try and maybe with some experimental work I can get the sliding down to an agreeable level. If it doesn't eat the material, etc. I should be able to find some work around to get me by. Thanks to all for the help. I'll be working on this and see where it goes. Going to be a long hot summer on the trail so take it easy out there. See yo'all down the road a bit.

There is only so much you can do to overcome Sir Isaac Newton's gravitational laws. If you are sleeping on a slope, you are inevitably going to part company with your pad at least once during the night, if not more often. Try to select a relatively level site if you possibly can. Practically, though, you often have to get along with what's available. For slippery tent floors (especially silnylon), paint some sealant stripes on the floor and on the bottom of your sleeping pad. For slippery pads, paint some stripes on top of the pad, too. I would not try to paint anything or use velcro on sleeping bag shells, which, especially for lightweight down bags (like Western Mountaineering's ulra-expensive "lite" series), are rather fragile. When I turn over, I take the sleeping bag with me, so I wouldn't want the pad velcroed to my sleeping bag--I'd end up with the pad on top!

When I first got a silnylon tent (Tarptent Squall 2), I painted the sealant stripes on the floor as recommended, but it wasn't enough. On my first trip, every time I turned over, my Thermarest went one way and I went the other. My dog got so disgusted with these shenanigans that he moved to the bottom of the tent, where, as it turned out, he made the perfect foot-warmer. Henry Shires suggested painting stripes on the bottom of my pad and that did the trick. Henry recommends a 2:1 or 3:1 solution of _odorless_ mineral spirits and GE Silicone Sealant, well mixed. This worked just fine for me.

The best solution I've found to sliding around on the pad can be summed up in two words: Big Agnes.

I have a hammock. The CCF pad I resort to in cold weather slipped until I dotted McNett's on the pad at regular intervals.

I don't use a bag any more so no slipping bag for me.....

I'm not familiar with the Mcnett's mentioned. Can Lauie or anybody fill me in on what we are talking here. I like to stand out in the dark but not on this. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Sorry, McNett's is a brand of seam sealer. Specifically Sil-Net. I got it at REI but have seen it in other sporting good stores and many places online.

Thanks, Lori. That is the answer I was looking for. I was thinking there was something other people used and knew would not harm the bag or pad but I was lost as to what exactly to use. I have an REI nearby and will check them next chance I get. Thanks much for the info. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

What's an REI?:)

It's this big building where nice people will take as much money as they can for items you can probably buy elsewhere or make yourself for less $$$. You may also find yuppies but they are not for sale and get cranky when you ask them if they're going to take that Nalgene hiking or just use it at home to look good.

lori,

The yuppies in fact ARE for sale. It is just a pricing issue. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Maybe so, but why would I buy a yuppie when a down quilt is so much cheaper and more packable? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Anybody over thirty is a yuppie that has been bought and sold many times. Some admit it, other protest. Either way nobody pays much attention anyway. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Since the term refers to young urban professionals, I would probably debate that it doesn't refer to anyone over thirty.


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