USmilitary(left) andex-UKarmySafaribeds (1.)

address different uses.The US design, 8kg+, is

well-made, butneeds a crowbar toassemble (2.). Anexcellent base-camp bed. Cheapgarden lounger (3.,4.), 6.4kg, with DIYmods converts to achair, awkward topack. Therm-a-rests LuxuryLiteMesh Cot (5., 6.) isbrilliantly designed,can take 159kg,packs to 45x18cm,

weighs an amazing 1.8kg, gives good anti-camel-spider ground-clearance. Slow toassemble. All require a sleeping mat topreclude downward heat-loss.

Things to sleep on

Expedition Guide 2.2 - 21

Cushioning hardground andprovidinginsulationagainst cold(sometimes hot)ground are aims.Mats: a millionbackpackerscan’t be wrong –or are therealternatives?

2.2 CampingSection 2 Equipment planning

Expedition Guide2.2 - 20

Clumsiness offolded sunbed

for packingcontests its

sleepingcomfort. Usingthis or a Safaribed, you’ll still

need a foamsleeping mat to

preventdownward heat

loss.

Currently-available (2013) military-design, Afghanistan-conflict camp beds areexceptionally robust – very well-designed,probably, for an 18-stone US marine in fullcombat gear crashing onto it after agruelling patrol. They’re extremely wellmade, weigh around 8.5kg and pack toabout 100cm by 20cm. But the tensioning isso extreme it can require a crowbar toposition the end-bars. (Hint: damp the nylonbed fabric first, leave it a minute or two andthen it’ll stretch over the tensioning bars;but you’ll still need the tyre lever. And weargloves, for when the crowbar slips!)

Ex-military Safari beds (old UK armyissue) of spring steel and canvas (3.6kg)stow quite small (about 95cm by 10cm), arecloser to the ground – arguably too close –easier to pack. They have sprung bar-typefeet (four) but these, being small-diametersteel bar, will sink into sand; simple load-spreaders are needed. Cardboard works OK.

Vango on their extensive but ratherlaconic website show a beefed-up, higher-

bivvy-bag with a single pole and mosquito

net built-in. This latter (possibly as aseparate one-point suspension type) isanother approach. It will often also stopenough breeze to double as an ultra-ventileform of tent to slow down any chilly winds.

Killing radiation. Because of thecontrast with day temperatures and the veryhigh radiation rate it feels very cold indeedunder clear skies at night. This is especiallynoticeable in the desert despite ambienttemperatures being no lower than 0 to 10°C.

A ‘space blanket’ – the type with oneside aluminised – spread loosely over thesleeper and weighted on the ground withstones, bright side towards the wearer, issurprisingly effective in reducing warm-body radiation under clear-night conditions.

Sleeping off the ground – camp beds.Camp beds – cots (US) – have come on a bitover the years but. usually at the behest ofthe military: fold-up, portable, light ... havealways been the aims. But over the yearstoo, people have got heavier.

Things to sleep on

Dual role. The temptation was to labelthis section ‘sleeping mats’ since this is whatmany people use. Again, at the risk ofstating the obvious, the role of ‘thingsto sleep on’ comprises:

• Insulation from heat and cold.• Cushioning hard ground.It is worth remembering to

separate these functions; they arecarried out by a number of differentequipments under the general headingof ‘things to sleep on’.

In anything that comes betweenyou and the ground or your bed the

first function, insulation, is as vital to awarm night as a good sleeping bag. A

Traditional sleeping matcarefully cut and folded,concertina-style, takes upless room than roll and canbe used as a kneeling padtoo. Therm-a-rest self-inflating mat (left) – like allinflatables – is vulnerable topunctures from burrs andthorns. Note patch. Spaceblanket is useful as agroundsheet and to keepradiation heat losses down.

altitude version of the traditional Safari

bed – a compact folder stressed for 120kgand weighing an appropriately beefy 9.2kg.

An ordinary buy-it-at-Argos lightweightaluminium alloy garden sunbed/loungerthat converts from a chair into a bed is asimple off-ground solution too and, in chairmode, respite for aching backs around campin the evenings. Such a bed will keepsleepers 20 cm off the ground and awayfrom crawling wildlife. Put a storage boxunder the head-end when you get into it orelse you will find the bed will tip as you getinto your sleeping bag.

Smart 21st-century-material tech comes

in the form of the Therm-a-rest LuxuryLiteMesh Cot (pic 5 and 6 left) which, in effecttakes the old UK army concept, uses new-spec springy-aluminium spreaders and sidebars and six (instead of four) wide nylon‘feet’ as load spreaders. Design-ingenuity isat Rubik-cube level and you have to smilewhen see how clever they have been. Even ifyou are not a design aficionado you will stillsmile when you find the whole thing weighsunder 1.8kg, packs neatly to about 45cm by18cm and will take the above-mentionedmarine and kit (claimed max 159kg, 350lb,25 stone!) to slumberland without collapse.

For its small packed size and lightness it ispopular with motorcyclists and backpackers. The only downside is it takes aboutfive-plus minutes to assemble.

Sleeping on the ground. If weight ornumbers of personnel preclude tents or thechair/bed approach there will be timeswhen it is possible to sleep on the ground(biker, p.2.2.19) though many will prefer thesecurity of being raised above it. If you dosleep on the ground, a bivvy-bag is a goodway of discouraging warmth-seekingwildlife since it is just that – a bag – and canalso be zipped right up if required. Thisarrangement has been used withoutunheralded visitations from insects onlightweight motorcycle trips in the Sahara.

Sleeping mats (see next section) arewarm and comfortable on most surfacesespecially if a shallow ‘grave’ is scooped outinitially with a shovel; try this during pre-expedition training. A mosquito net tuckedin well around the under side of thesleeping mat is further protection againstlarger insects if the operation is conductedthoroughly. (When getting up in themorning, be sure to pull out the tucked-inmosquito net with an energetic flourish todislodge with the requisite speed anynocturnal visitors who might have droppedby for the warmth underneath.)

www.vango.co.uk

www.cascadedesigns.com

www.bcbin.com

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3 4

5

www.thermarest.com/cots/mesh

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