Rab, Integral Designs and Grand Trunk: The Lightest Sleep Systems Out There

Most people can agree that less weight in a backpack correlates with a more enjoyable hiking experience. Whether your 16 or 60, a clunky backpack takes its toll after miles on the trail. If you're looking to cut weight from your pack, check out the lightest sleep systems available: hammocks, bivys and tarps.

For soloists, a bivy can provide ample shelter. Waterproof and breatheable, Rab and Integral Designs' bivys are designed to protect campers from the elements while cutting extraneous pounds and ounces.

Shelters can also be made from Rab and Integral Designs' superlight tarps. String, stake and stay dry from dew, with nothing between oneself and Mother Earth but an extremely durable and protective engineered fabric.



Or for the sleep system that a multitude of my buddies employ, string a Grand Trunk Nano 7 Ultralight Hammock with a Rab Siltarp2 for a fly and dream the night away. I joke when my friends "cocoon" themselves in their as they fall asleep that I'll see them when they're butterflies. One of my buddies also just purchased a Therm-A-Rest NeoAir All Season Sleeping Pad, which he puts right in the hammock, and calls the system his floating bedroom.

So if you've got a backpack that feels less pleasing on your back, consider cutting weight by means of substitution, and enter the world of ultralight, with Rab and Integral Designs Tarps and Bivys, and Grand Trunk Hammocks.

Get Down...Get Down.

On the floor baby. That's right. The holidays are a time to break out the sleeping pads and camping mattresses. With all the new comfy air mattresses out their I've found that I'm more comfortable on the floor than the spare beds at our extended families' homes.

When I'm traveling light I go with my Thermarest NeoAir (pictured above). Smaller than a Nalgene bottle and less than a pound you can take this with you anywhere. But frankly when space isn't an issue Nemo's Cosmo Air Pad with Pillowtop Sleep System just can't be beat. It's an horizontal air pad like the NeoAir, but with an inch of foam on top and a washable microfiber cover. You get the even get a built-it foot pump to make set-up a snap. While it costs as much as a cheap mattress, it's the perfect guest bed that is easy to store and is great for camping.

But if you're really looking for luxury--or trying to convince your spouse/partner that camping is not so bad--then a full size Kelty air mattress is the way to go. Other than having to get up and down on the ground, you really don't sacrifice much over a real bed. Now's the time to get yourself set-up for a good night sleep...on the floor.