Sleeping Pad Straps

[Aldaron]

Okay, I'm losing sleep over this, so I need some feedback...or a reality check.

I'm a side sleeper, and I toss and turn a LOT when I sleep, so I always wake up with my sleeping bag twisted around me.

This is what I love about the Big Agnes bags: they don't twist around me. This dramatically improved my sleeping.

But the Big Agnes bag I have is not warm enough (as a 15* bag, it gets cold around 35*), so I really want a Western Mountaineering bag. I could get warmer BA bag, but then it just becomes heavy.

Now that I have a WM bag, though, I'm worried about the twisting that will inevitably occur. So I want to try to get pad loops sewn onto the bag like you see in these Kelty bags or these REI bags.

But despite hours of research, I can't find any useful information on how to do that. It seems that either people don't really use those pad loops much, or maybe they don't work well. In fact, REI used to put them on nearly all their bags, and now it looks like they almost never use them.

So, my questions:

1. Does anyone use pad loops on their sleeping bag? If so, how well do they work?
2. Has anyone ever sewn pad loops onto their sleeping bag? If so, how was it done?
3. Does anyone know anyone who might be able to sew pad loops onto a sleeping bag?
4. Is anyone else a big tosser? How do you deal with getting tangled?

My big fear with putting the loops on is that it has to be done right so that the loops don't tear the fabric of the bag in the middle of the night. And I certainly couldn't do it myself. But I'm also having a hard time figuring out what supplies I would need to do it and where to get those supplies.

Anyway, I thought I would see if anyone has any insight that can help me sleep better at night.

Keith

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Have you contacted Wm about it? They will sometimes modify their bags if you send it to them. Just a thought...

 

[Nick]

I have zero advice on adding loops. I too am a side sleeper and get way twisted in my bag. The best solution for me has been using my bag as a quilt. Even when it gets really cold out, I'll only zip it up half way or so and then I'll wear my down coat to keep a bit warmer. Perhaps not a great suggestion, but I've been enjoying the result. Another option might be to wear less in your bag. Seems like it twists less when there's more room for me to slide around inside.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

I constantly switch sides in my WM Sycamore and don't have problems getting twisted up in the bag....there's plenty of room in that semi-rectangular shape for me.

 

[leatherman]

Aldaron what is the R rating for your sleeping pad? I don't immediately recall where, but I remember reading that you actually lose 3X as much body heat downward than you do up through your bag. So perhaps you could upgrade your pad to retain more heat and keep using your BA bag. Just a thought.

 

[Aldaron]

Have you contacted Wm about it? They will sometimes modify their bags if you send it to them. Just a thought...

That's tomorrow's plan. They don't have an email contact, so I was going to call them tomorrow and see what they suggested. I'm hoping they'll tell me they do it all the time.

I constantly switch sides in my WM Sycamore and don't have problems getting twisted up in the bag....there's plenty of room in that semi-rectangular shape for me.

I'm just a little guy...maybe I need to learn how to turn around better, as weird as that sounds. I can sometimes be a bit of a thrasher.

Aldaron what is the R rating for your sleeping pad?

It's the BA Insulated Air Core, so it looks like it has a 4.1 R-rating. I have a warmer Exped, I just don't like carrying it because it's bulkier and heavier.

 

[Aldaron]

From a Google search, I found a guy on another forum talking about sewing loops onto his bag. As luck would have it, I was an old member of a forum he was on and I emailed him. He said he simply sewed fabric for the loop onto the outside of the sleeping bag at the seams. I was worried that I would need to remove some seams in the bag to put some sort of backing material inside the bag to sew the loops to in order to keep the loops from tearing the bag fabric. But he said he sewed the loops directly to the outside of the seams, and he hasn't had any problems at all in five years. He also said the straps work well at keeping the bag stationary on the pad.

I've got an old Campmor bag that I'll probably experiment with first, but I'm starting to get emboldened that I can make this happen.

I probably still don't trust myself to do the sewing, so I'll need to track someone down to sew for me.

 

[Jimmy Olsen]

I know those who use quilts use straps that go underneath the pad. Have you thought of using a quilt? I use one in my hammock. Unfortunately it wasn't wide enough for me to use on the ground. So I use a Feathered Friends Osprey 30° bag when I tent. There are, however, quilts made much wider—specifically for use with a pad. The added benefit of a quilt is that they are lighter than bags.