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When there’s not even a breeze, sleeping in the summer can be fitful. You end up tossing and turning all night because your legs stick to your sleeping bag and the air feels suffocating, but you need a restful night to tackle more miles come morning. Here are a few tips to help you get comfortable when the mercury doesn’t dip but you still have to snooze.
Increase tent ventilation
If you’re confident that rain isn’t in the forecast, leave your fly off. Stripping off the tent’s outermost layer can ensure you get a cross breeze. Six Moon Designs makes a tent entirely out of net. Or choose a tent that has multiple ventilation points—like extra windows and flaps. “That way, if you’re camping somewhere more humid you can still have the protection from the rain while having your fly on,” says Savanna Frimoth at Snow Peak.
Reconsider your sleep system
Ditch your mummy bag for something lighter. A summer sleeping bag, ultralight quilt, or liner might still be too hot, so the best solution is to sleep on top. You can also choose a sleeping pad that ventilates—like the Klymit Inertia or a Therm-A-Rest Z-Lite SOL trimmed down to the length of your torso. Or, instead of a tent that traps heat, consider cowboy camping or using a tarp.
Choose the right site
Think about where the shade will be in the heat of the day, Frimoth says, and pitch your tent there. If you make camp in a spot that’s in the hot sun at the hottest part of the day, chances are it’s going to retain heat into the evening. Higher spots may also provide a greater likelihood of a breeze.
Take a pre-bedtime dip
If I’m camping near a body of water—ideally a chilly stream or alpine lake—I like to dip my feet in before I tuck in for the night. Our feet contain many blood vessels that help us regulate our body temperature, so peeling off the socks and cooling off the toes can boost blood flow. If you’re really hot and it’s safe to do so, you might as well submerge your entire body.
Freeze a water bottle before you go
The ole Nalgene does it again. Instead of filling your trusty vessel with hot water to tuck between your knees, freeze it ahead of your trip this time. When it’s time to sleep, perch it under your neck to reduce your core temperature. This trick is better for single nighters than multi-night trips since the freeze won’t last. But it has a perk: “As it melts, it’s drinking water the next day on your hike,” says Meg Callahan, a writer and hiker from Colorado living in New Zealand.
From 2024