What are the essentials in a good sleep system.

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Sep 30, 2025
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What are the essentials in a good sleep system. Doing my first back in hunt for 10 days and want to have great rest. Need to be light weight.
 
A thermal break from the ground is top priority.
I carry an ultralight self inflating sleeping pad for that.
This! My first fly in Alaska trip I froze my ass off. I read all the cool ultralight quilt and pad stuff and bought in. What a big mistake for me anyway. I had to sleep at night wearing everything I had and was still cold. It was only around 30 degrees but the ground soaked up all the heat I could produce. The next year I went back with the appropriate Western Mountaineering bag and an Exped insulated inflatable pad to put underneath me and slept like a baby.
 
^^^ THIS!
Along with a pillow that actually works for you. I go so far as to grab a cotton fitted sheet for a kid's twin (?) bed that stretches over my sleeping pad and the flat sheet that I use between me and my quilt since I sweat at night despite the temps. After 7 or 10 days it makes a difference for my pad and quilt. Grab a pad that is thicker and has a higher R value than you at first think that you will need.
When we use the pack goats I take in a 2# UL Thermarest cot to get up off the ground just a bit. After 40 years old it makes a real difference to my sleep quality.
 
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