The dreaded 'Slidies'

[Tsuga8]

I often pitch my tent in what seems like a flat spot, or as near flat as I can find, but pretty darn level. But I roll around in my sleep a lot. And invariably, if there is any slant at all, I find myself waking up having slid considerably off my sleeping pad. The combination of the slick sleeping pad (thermarest self inflating or Big Agnes inflatable) and the slick sleeping bag just slide me right off with any movement. Numerous times during the night I wake up with my feet jammed into the tent wall and a spare foot of sleeping pad past my head (and I'm short).

Laying a very thin cotton cloth between the two helps a little, but it's still an issue. Anyone encounter this? Solutions? I thought about bringing a level for the tent, but some camp sites really don't have a level spot (how often are the woods dead level?). So maybe something frictional btwn my pad and sleeping bag?

 

[yellowcanoe]

Walmart carpet gripper Cut to size

 

[Cruiser]

Elevation ... move up to a hammock

 

[recped]

I just stuff stuff (English is great, the same word has two meanings) under the downside of the pad

The stuff I stuff is often my pfd! When it's really bad I also use a jacket or anything else handy.

I don't mind the linear up and down but hate the side to side tilt, I have a Mondo pad 3.5 inches, for a slight tilt just not inflating it the normal amount really helps.

 

[yknpdlr]

A number of years ago there was a spray product specifically meant for spraying on Thermarest pads that made the surface grippy, but it was not sticky to the touch. It worked well at the time, but i have not seen it for a long time. I used it for a while until I discovered hammocking, which I been doing for at least 15 years now. Another solution is to integrate your pad with. your sleeping bag. This can be done by using an external bag - I used an old thin bed sheet sewn into a large light weight overbag that held my pad and sleeping bag together. Big Agnes sleeping bags (maybe others too) have a bottom slot to insert a pad to hold it under you. Very useful to use in a hammock to keep the pad in place as well.

 

[stripperguy]

My NeoAir pad has a non slip top surface, it really does work!
Also, slightly less inflation helps me sink in and not shift too much.

 

[lowangle al]

I just stuff stuff (English is great, the same word has two meanings) under the downside of the pad

The stuff I stuff is often my pfd! When it's really bad I also use a jacket or anything else handy.

I don't mind the linear up and down but hate the side to side tilt, I have a Mondo pad 3.5 inches, for a slight tilt just not inflating it the normal amount really helps.

Good idea for fore/ aft leveling. For sleeping on a side hill I had a guy I was guiding tell me to use my shoes as “wheel chocks” on the downhill side. He learned it from a guide on a horse packing elk hunting trip. I never tried it but it sounds like a good idea.

 

[Cruiser]

If it is just a matter of creating a nonslip surface ... there is a very easy solution for that.

I have been contemplating making a light weight emergency tent backup and the solution for pads sliding on the "slippery" materials used on a tent bottom is to add a couple of silicone bands ... let me explain.

This is a by product of seam sealing your tarp/rain fly using silicone. Get some 100% Silicone II (100% is important), mix it about 50/50 with mineral spirits, it doesn't look like it will mix, but just keep stirring and it will loosen to a solution that looks like corn syrup.
Normally, you would put this on the seams to waterproof them, but if you use a foam brush to paints bands/stripes on the interior tent bottom, then you create strips of nonslip material on the tent bottom. Let it dry for 24 hours setup and ventilated and you are done.

Brian

 

[Microtus]

Tear mender fabric glue is an adhesive that has a grippy soft rubber like texture to it, sort of like nonslip silicone. Our local ACE Hardware carries it.

https://www.amazon.com/Tear-Mender-Instant-Adhesive-TG-2/dp/B001RQCTUU/ref=asc_df_B001RQCTUU?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80333120120427&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583932712912113&th=1

 

[Cookannapurna]

Dots of either aquaseal or seamgrip.

 

[Erica]

I use various bags, boots, Pfd, etc to level up the floor or brace my back or feet. Usually works.

 

[Tsuga8]

Great suggestions, thanks folks! For a long time I've been using my pack to 'chock' myself on the downhill side. It works decently well but doesn't solve the head to foot slide. Next time I'll try the PDF under the feet as a chock in that axis as well.

I let a bit of air out of my mat for comfort, but hadn't considered the added benefit of keeping me centered. Makes sense though!

For adding friction, the carpet pad was my first thought as well, but I'm still chewing on how much one would need and, if more than a couple square feet, if I want to carry it with me. Not sure about drying speed on those if they get wet either. But I have a few small squares around (I cut them to experiment with knee pad placement prior to gluing) I can play with.

Adding some strips or dots of friction with the various products suggested above is something that hadn't occurred and I like the sound of. Will have to experiment....I have silicone and mineral spirits, and probably some seam sealer somewhere.

When I next get new sleeping bag and mat I'll look for some integrated systems, which sounds ideal....but most of my gear is 20yrs old and going strong at this point, so that may be a ways off.

As for hammocks - I got a Hennesey Hammock many years ago, and have used it a handfull of times. They're fabulous when there's really no level ground - in a swamp, or dispersed camping in areas without designated sites where a tent-sized flat spot is really hard to some by. But again my tendency to move around in my sleep a lot leaves the hammock swaying all night, which I don't really care for. I do wonder if there are hammocks less prone to sway, but at the same time I like the simplicity of being able to take a pack into the tent to keep it dry and get changed without stepping out into the bugs etc. Plus the tent keeps the dog out of the bugs and contained against night-time visits from bears, porcupines, skunks, raccoons, etc.

 

[dogbrain]

If it is just a matter of creating a nonslip surface ... there is a very easy solution for that.

I have been contemplating making a light weight emergency tent backup and the solution for pads sliding on the "slippery" materials used on a tent bottom is to add a couple of silicone bands ... let me explain.

This is a by product of seam sealing your tarp/rain fly using silicone. Get some 100% Silicone II (100% is important), mix it about 50/50 with mineral spirits, it doesn't look like it will mix, but just keep stirring and it will loosen to a solution that looks like corn syrup.
Normally, you would put this on the seams to waterproof them, but if you use a foam brush to paints bands/stripes on the interior tent bottom, then you create strips of nonslip material on the tent bottom. Let it dry for 24 hours setup and ventilated and you are done.

Brian

Yes Brian. I was wondering if anyone would mention this.

Mark

 

[yknpdlr]

tendency to move around in my sleep a lot leaves the hammock swaying all night, which I don't really care for. I do wonder if there are hammocks less prone to sway

You say you have a Hennessy. It should have come equipped with stretchy side tie out lines that you need to anchor to ground with stakes or to trees to the side. I most often tie to small bushes or saplings on either side, since I am often hanging over that type of unflat non-tentworthy terrain. I have never noticed any large tendency to sway whatsover. By the way, I never use my PFD as padding and have long taught scouts the same. When I need it for its intended purpose, I will want the filling to be fully expanded, not compacted in any way.

 

[Tsuga8]

@yknpdlr I do indeed use the side guy lines on my Hennesey when I use it. The sway isn't large, but it's enough that it doesn't suit my restless slumbers....plus the other reasons I prefer a tent. But, to those for whom hammocks work, more power to ya! I certainly see their upsides.

Fair enough on the PFD!

 

[scratchypants]

If it is just a matter of creating a nonslip surface ... there is a very easy solution for that.

I have been contemplating making a light weight emergency tent backup and the solution for pads sliding on the "slippery" materials used on a tent bottom is to add a couple of silicone bands ... let me explain.

This is a by product of seam sealing your tarp/rain fly using silicone. Get some 100% Silicone II (100% is important), mix it about 50/50 with mineral spirits, it doesn't look like it will mix, but just keep stirring and it will loosen to a solution that looks like corn syrup.
Normally, you would put this on the seams to waterproof them, but if you use a foam brush to paints bands/stripes on the interior tent bottom, then you create strips of nonslip material on the tent bottom. Let it dry for 24 hours setup and ventilated and you are done.

Brian

I do this on my tent bottom. I was hesitant to offer the suggestion on an inflatable in case that it may cause issues/weakness on the sometimes delicate material which is often stuffed quite tightly while packed. But then I have a (perhaps misguided) mistrust of lightweight sleeping pads.

 

[LanceR]

I can't speak from experience of treating the mat but I have both Six Moons Designs Lunar Solo Explorer and Lunar Duo Explorer tents, among others. Both are silnylon and I have treated the entirety of the floors to make them less slippery.

Just as you dilute 100% silicone caulk 1:1 with paint thinner to treat the exterior of silnylon seams you can make a dilute solution of 1:10 silicone caulk to paint thinner and coat the interior tent floor. Then let it dry overnight or longer. It may have a wee bit of tackiness which will dissipate with time. If it bothers you give it light dusting of talcum powder. That effectively make the entire floor "low-slip".

Talcum powder can be hard to find as most has been replaced with corn starch so I ordered a can of "technical talc" online to dust the floors.

I did the tents in our yard with the wind at my back and was able to do nearly all the tent floor from outside the tent so didn't need a respirator but you may need/want a respirator. And be sure to not have any ignition sources nearby.

While I can't guarantee it, I suspect the same 1:10 dilution applied to a Thermarest pad would make it low slip if not non-slip......

Good luck and please keep us in the loop on you quest!

 

[Tsuga8]

Yeah, per the last two comments I was wondering about putting something permanent on my inflatable pads, or something mixed with thinner....might the manufacturer glue seams weaken with thinner? Might the added substances interfere with rolling, inflating and/or deflating? Maybe a grid of dots would be better than strips or a zone of coating. I could add the dilute silicon, or the fabric adhesive mentioned, to the very thin cotton I'm currently using between the two.....but maybe at that point I might as well use the carpet matting. In cases like this I like to experiment with the non-permanent before trying the permanent and potentially regrettable. I'll report back with any learned experience.

 

[LanceR]

@Tsuga8, sometimes we tend to overthink things (at least I know I do).

The seams on your mattress are almost certainly either heat or RF welded (radio frequency welding.... essentially microwaves) and anyway, you would only need to coat the portion in contact with the floor, which likely has no seams as the seams are generally halfway up the thickness of the mattress. And dots or strips of silicone or other adhesives that, by definition, also have solvents in them would present the same issues as any dilute solution would to the mattress materials.

As I wrote, I have no firsthand experince with coating a matress but I wouldn't hesitate to do so. I'm not the first person to use dilute silicone caulk to coat a silnylon tent floor. I'm sure that hundreds and probably thousands have done it as more than one tent maker recommends the same method or something very similar.

As we don't read about hoards of unhappy tent owners bemoaning their sticky tents it's safe to assume that the method and methodology are both sound and you wouldn't have a sticky mess on your hands.

Best regards,

Lance