Sleeping bag: REI Co-op Helio Sack 50
Ok, I know I said I invested in a lot of high-quality gear, but this is an exception. I figured 70 straight nights in a sleeping bag would do some damage, and I knew we would be sleeping mostly indoors or camping in warmer climates so I wouldn’t need a low temperature rating. This is a light and relatively cheap sleeping bag and probably has the lowest customer rating of anything else on this list, but it got the job done. Most nights I used it unzipped as a quilt over my travel sheet, but zipped it up fully on colder nights. I was only truly cold one night, and that was mostly because I slept in a hammock– if I had been on my insulated sleeping pad with this and some layers I would’ve been fine. I’m 5’7″ and the ‘regular’ size is a great fit.
Travel sheet: Cozysilk sleeping bag liner w/ zipper
Travel sheets are meant to add some warmth to a sleeping bag, but as someone who sleeps hot I just slept with this most nights. This particular liner is a little expensive for the quality but I wasn’t looking for too much added warmth and wanted one with a zipper (and it’s cheaper than most of the ones from REI). It has a funny little hood thing to go over your pillow which is actually quite handy for keeping it in place. It’s not as soft as I hoped (but feels much better than a sleeping bag to me) and it’s difficult to turn over in, but it’s easy to wash, packs up nicely, and helped keep my sleeping bag clean.
Sleeping pad: NEMO Quasar 3D insulated air sleeping pad
This one took some searching but is arguably the most important part of my sleep system, and it’s a dream! I started out with the NEMO Flyer self-inflating pad but returned it because it was a little too thin for sleeping on my side and the deflation process was too complicated to do each morning. I went with the more expensive Quasar air pad and it was well worth the upgrade. It’s 3.5 inches thick when inflated and the ‘regular wide’ size gives me enough room to toss and turn. I did end up with a ‘long wide’ because my first pad got a hole in it, which caused a few nights of poor sleep and was pretty surprising considering it happened in a church, not a rugged forest floor. I was able to make a trip to REI in Reno and returned the damaged pad under their incredible one-year warranty, but they only had long wides in stock so I got a little extra room! It does require manual inflation but comes with a handy little pump sack, and packs down very small when deflated.
The insulation wasn’t a huge deal on this trip but man, does it work. After a few nights of warm, high-quality sleep while camping in Delaware last September I spent a night without it so I could get out of camp quickly the next morning and spent the entire night shivering! I slept with the pad uninflated in my hammock on the one truly cold night I had in Bryce Canyon and it definitely helped– I could feel cold spots when the pad folded up under me. But, it didn’t make me overly hot on warm nights!
Pillow: NEMO Fillo
NEMO has about a hundred different Fillo options so I went with one that seemed to strike a balance between comfort and affordability. It’s no MyPillow, but it’s easy to inflate to your desired firmness and comfortable for the size. It packs up pretty small but is a little difficult to get in the built-in stuff sack, so roughly folded it and stuffed it in a compression sack with the rest of my sleep things. My grandma sewed an adorable pillow case for it which was comfier than the provided case and easier to wash.
Compression bag: REI lightweight compression stuff sack, 15L
I wanted something waterproof to hold my sleep stuff to avoid any spills from ruining a good night’s sleep, as well as a compression bag to save space in my bag. I tried a few dry bags but this water-resistant compression bag ended up being the best option for my sleep system. I can fit my sleeping bag, sheet, and pillow in here and strap it down to a compact cube. Plus, shoving everything into one bag meant I didn’t need to worry about packing each individual item into their own bags, which saved me some time in the mornings!
Eye mask & ear plugs: Lewis N. Clark comfort eye mask & EarPeace MUSIC original ear plugs
I lied when I said the sleeping pad was the most important part of my sleep system. This is the most important part. I’m pretty sensitive to noises (especially snoring, which we heard plenty of on my team) and light when I’m falling asleep, and an eye mask and ear plugs help so much. This eye mask is super cozy and has added fabric at the bottom to keep light from creeping in. Plus, it has a handy little pocket on the front to store the ear plugs. I didn’t like the corded ear plugs that came with this set so instead I use some EarPeace buds I got in college marching band. I made it the ENTIRE trip without losing an ear plug only to lose one on the plane ride home :(((((((
Lauren Bikes America 