bedding options when camping - Bubbablue and me
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Bedding option tips to improve your camping sleep

ByEmma

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Everyone loves nick nacks and intriguing gadgets, don’t they?  Of the kind you find in kitchen shops or outdoor shops?  I could spend hours in outdoor shops, and I don’t even like walking in the countryside. Ironic given I live on a farm.  (I much prefer walking round towns with everything to see than across fields, just don’t tell my OH!). But camping gives you a great excuse to buy (or at least look at) new options each time. And improving my camping sleep options is something I’ve been working on for a while.

Because you never sleep as well as you expect to when you’re camping.

bedding options when camping - Bubbablue and me

Annual camping trips

Each year we have an annual camping trip with friends (mostly mums and the kids), and every time I get out my essentials list and work out what needs replacing or what I’d like to buy.  There’s always something extra to add to your equipment stash – whether we’ve had tent or equipment envy from the previous year’s camping trip, or I’ve spotted something new.

Apart from a love of shopping, I think my love of camping equipment stems from childhood.  Firstly Guide camps. I went on two and neither were particularly successful.  The first I ended up with a flu type illness as we were taking tents down. The second time I ended up being sick thanks to poorly cooked burgers.  But it didn’t put me off. My brother and I spent many a summer pitched out and sleeping in our 2 man tent in the garden. Every week or so we had to re-pitch it so the grass was given time to recover.

As well as bricks and mortar shops, we now have the luxury of online shopping which is always handy when buying bulky things.  Blacks online has plenty of options for everyone whether new to camping and trying it out in their back garden, festival goers or those who regularly go camping.

chilling out on the camping sofa

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Getting a good night’s sleep is so important in enjoying camping. The first night is always hard, but usually I find the rest I get a good night sleep (except maybe this trip because there was so much wind).  So don’t scrimp on bedding solutions.

Tips for bedding options when camping:

1, Air bed, self-inflating mat or camp bed

I’m not a fan of air beds, and wouldn’t use one if I didn’t have an electronic pump to use in the car, but my back no longer copes with a thinner self-inflating mat (and I’m too much of a cheapskate to buy a much deeper better SIM. The days of foam bedding rolls are no longer for me.  A camp bed can also be a good idea if you’d rather be off the ground and don’t mind being restricted to a specific sized bed.

2, Sleeping bag or duvets

Most people go for sleeping bags.  For starters they’re made for the relevant temperatures, are available different sizes (junior, square, mummy, single, double, zip together etc) and take up much less room in a car than a duvet does. Plus you might only need a pillow and blanket, no other bed linen needed.  But some people just take their duvets for a more home from home feel.  Personally we’re sleeping bags all the way (although I do tend to use mine like a duvet over me as I hate being tight in them).

3, Blankets

You may have the best sleeping bag but some people prefer to be ultra-warm at night, and if you’ve room it’s worth taking a blanket to pop over your sleeping bag just in case.  Better to have layers you can take off rather than struggling to sleep when the temperature drops.

4, Insulation

If you get cold or are going camping out of season, insulating under your bedding is a good idea.  You can use interlocking foam mats, and emergency foil blanket or foil backed picnic blanket under your air bed or SIM.

Some people also like to sleep on their airbed or SIM on top of a campbed, so raising the bed up, but also taking the ‘mattress’ above the ground.

Hopefully these tips will make for a warmer night’s sleep.

What options do you use when you want a good night’s sleep while camping?

Disclosure: Sponsored post. All words are my own.

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178 Comments

  3. A good portable light is a must because you will never find anything in the tent in the dark and you might have to visit a bush in the night 😉

  11. A really good torch – helps you find irritating insects in the tent, lights night time visit to the loo, etc.

  14. My camping Essential is a book and a babysitter! I might actually be able to get through my reading list then!

  17. I wish I could take my bed camping as it’s so comfortable! But a torch & a blow-up mattress are my ‘real’ essentials.

  18. A camp bed – honestly they are much better than an air bed don’t deflate halfway through the night!

  22. My camping essential has to be my partner and chief (humane) daddy long legs catcher; it’s the darting about in the tent I don’t like.

  31. a kettle, and tea bags. There are few things in life that cannot be improve with a cup of tea,

  36. Definitely a bed but also a tent that is sound proofed so others don’t hear me snore

  40. A big group of friends as camping on your own is no fun. We just got back yesterday and we loved it, I would recommed taking a big thick hoodie.

  42. A guaranteed source of energy, so that we can cook and make a hot drink, without the gas canister running out halfway through preparing our first meal!!!!!!!!

  50. A couple of good books and a decent camping light, to be able to read when it gets dark.

  54. Gloves – no matter how lovely a day it’s been it gets chilly at night so gloves are great for keeping you warm when you’re holding a chilled glass of something, sitting out in the evening.

  58. I always take my wok so that I can prepare big healthy meals for my large family

  65. Definitely a head torch, so you don’t stumble on your way to the loo! True story, I once went camping in the countryside and saw a bunch of red lights in the sky line up in two perfect vertical lines and stay there still for AGES before disappearing into nothing. I have remained more open minded ever since.

  67. baby wipes as use for everything from personal hygiene to wiping down equipment!

  69. I’ve had 2 big camping trips with my tent this year so far and planning another for October. I’ve bought hot water bottles for that one! My essential is my huge long padded coat, it is like wearing a sleeping bag and absolutely perfect for evenings and night time loo trips!

  72. My camping essential is a bottle of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, with a glass of course!

  74. A good pillow because my neck gets sore, a torch because I hate struggling to find the toilets in the dark and teabags for a morning cuppa

  76. It has to be a really decent inflatable mattress, I find it impossible to get to sleep without one.

  77. Speak Out – the game. Took it two weeks ago when spirits were low due to a washout. Not only had our two families in stitches but half the site with us. It’s become a must have from now on.

  81. Dry shampoo. It’s perfect for those camping breaks when you don’t have facilities near!

  87. my camping essential would have to be a bottle (or three) of wine because once you’d drunk those you wouldn’t care if the weather was terrible or your tent wasn’t put together right!x

  91. A magical king size bed made of marshmallows which goes up or down at a touch of a button

  93. my sleeping bag is my essential. keeps me warm in winter and comfortable to sleep on in the summer!

  102. A camping stove, as I love tea and need to eat healthy food, also effective insect repellant”

  105. The latest addition to our essential camping list is a marquee. I know it sounds over the top, but now I dont worry about cooking in the rain or eating outside the tent. It was the best item we have ever taken camping, and now we dont go without one.

  106. A man!!! To keep me warm and do all the manly things like putting the tent up, making a fire and protecting me from the things that go bump in the night!

  107. My swiss army penknife, you never know when you need to remove a stone from a horses hoof!

  113. A head torch for reading when the kids have finally fallen aswell as for when I invariably need to go to the toilet and it’s dark

  115. First aide kit with lots of plasters as we usually need it at least ten times a day while camping.

  119. I’m a ‘grumpy bear’ if I don’t get my morning coffee so I’d go for that….and equipment for making it.

  124. A thick, comfy, insect repelling sleeping bag because i hate the cold and insects haha

  127. My essential would have to be a portable phone charger – so I could be sure to call someone to come rescue me if the kids go crazy 🙂

  129. A good camping friend, it’s nowhere near as much fun camping on your own, also they’re invaluable helping to put the tent up and other tasks.

  152. A camping essential we learnt from our last camping trip is a stove..our gas ran out on the first night and we had to try and cook everything on a BBQ on skewers very hard for family of 5

  153. First Aid Kit. Burns, scratches, cuts or bumps, one of these is bound to happen on an active camping trip, making a first-aid kit one of the most important camping essentials you could bring.

  158. A large metal garden trolley….essential for carting all my essential camping equipment around muddy fields. X

  162. It has to be a sleeping bag. If you’re not warm enough with a decent sleeping bag, it’s tough to sleep! Nothing beats the feeling of snuggling up warm enough 🙂

  166. Nice pillow – on the top of my sleeping bag – otherwise I won’t get much sleep.

  169. A torch is essential for me, especially as we sometimes turn up at campsites after dark. It’s useful too for when guy ropes come loose during a windy night.

  171. A torch,without one I’d be tripping all over the place in the dark,goodness knows where I’d end up!

  174. Mine is the little camping light bulbs so lightweight, takes up hardly any space and are really bright. Also love the waterproof picnic blanket. Make for great carpet inside tent ☺

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