A Real Packing List: Sleeping Gear

The Unnecessary Stuff For Ultra-Light Packers

A good night's sleep is important when you are on the road, jet-lagged, or in high altitude places. Quality sleep allows you to feel alert, keeps your immune system in top condition, and stabilises your emotional state. Clean, comfortable bedding can be a refuge from the outside, a piece of home that is the same each time, somewhere safe when you're sick with the flu.

Sleeping Bag

Accommodations provide linen and blankets, and sleeping bags can be rented in many places, but the idea of sleeping in my own lice-free sheets is hard to resist. My bag was found on eBay; it is a Vango "Venom 225", a super compact down bag with a temperature rating of -10C (extreme limit).

Retrospect: The travelling that I did rarely required the use of a sleeping bag. Only during the extreme cold of the high altitude Bolivian winter (-20 degrees Celsius) did I really use it. Travel with multi-day hikes would benefit more from packing a sleeping bag.

Sleep Sheet or Sleeping Bag Liner

A simple sack made of cotton or silk can extend the life your sleeping bag. Alternatively, it can be used by itself on warm days, or as a barrier between you and hostel bed bugs. Silk is the better material; it dries quicker, keeps you cool on hot days, and packs smaller than cotton. Silk sleep sheets can be expensive at adventure stores, but they can be found for under AU$30 on eBay.

Retrospect: Packing a sleep sheet was a waste of space. I used it once, and even then didn't really need to use it. I highly recommend researching the current thoughts on sleep sheets, as there are concerns that their use transmits bed bugs and other critters from hostel to hostel.

Accessories

Bed socks for cold nights may help increase comfort, and for noisy places and on the road, ear plugs, a sleep mask, and travel pillow can help too.