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  1. #1
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    Default Sleeping pad noise

    I'm struggling with any sleeping pad that is not completely flat on the bottom (like a self inflating or close cell foam pad) -- the bigger they are, the more ridges they have -- the more they seem to rub against the nylon in the tent floor and make louder and louder noises when I move around.

    I was wondering if anyone tried talc or something similar to quiet things down?

    Thanks!

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    Big Agnes sleeve.
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    Usually folk complain about the noise a mat itself makes when tossing and turning, unrelated to the type of floor.
    That is apart from the sliding mat problem...
    To verify the source you may want to try at home having the mat over a carpet or say a blanket .
    Something that might help, if indeed the tent floor vs mat is the cause, could be the anti-slip mat used under glasses on shelves , sold often by $2 stores.
    (I have one under my keyboard to stop it from sliding)

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    Thanks for the replies.

    @Franco the mat does not make the noise on carpet or tile. But it does on tent consistently.

    @BirdBrain makes sense but I don't have a BA bag. Hate to have to switch that out for a pad.

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    Registered User Gray Bear's Avatar
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    Take some Benadryl, you'll be fine
    The best journeys answer questions that in the beginning you didn't even know to ask.

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    I take it this is one of those noises that for what ever reason really bothers you?

    How much do you inflate it? I usually have mine with just enough air in it that I don't touch the floor. That may help, it may also help you sleep better if the air mattress is softer, but that's personal and could work the other way around for you. You could also make the switch to a cuban fiber tent. Or just get some material between the pad and the floor, plastic, tyvec, cuban tarp, experiment with the cheap light weight options first.

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    Quote Originally Posted by punchcard View Post
    Thanks for the replies.

    @Franco the mat does not make the noise on carpet or tile. But it does on tent consistently.

    @BirdBrain makes sense but I don't have a BA bag. Hate to have to switch that out for a pad.
    True. Very true. I think I answer these that way in part to help me feel better about my heavier sleeping bag.
    In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln

  8. #8
    Registered User Venchka's Avatar
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    Therm-A-Rest Ridgerest and/or self-inflating pad on polyurethane tent floors. Silence. I'm asleep in nano seconds after a good day on the trail.

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  9. #9
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    It won't stop the noise, but ear plugs do make for a better nights sleep in shelters so I would think they will do the trick for you in your tent. As I got older I need a good nights sleep to get the most out of the next day and I never used ear plugs till this year, they work so well that now I have made them a permanent addition to my backpack wherever I am going to be sleeping.

  10. #10

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    Ear plugs are usually all I need. I find after a long day hiking I'm out pretty fast. The plugs are nice after you get up to pee in the middle of the night and don't fall back to sleep quickly.

  11. #11
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    This is the anti slip mat I referred to :
    anti-slip-mat.jpg
    it grips on silnylon, if it does stop the noise I don't know but I am guessing it should.

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    It is good that you are looking into how to quiet down your sleeping pad. I bought a sleeping pad a few years ago - super light weight - packed small - great thickness! However, when I rolled around on it, it made so much noise! (Think of those nylon jackets that are really loud when you move your arms). It was impossible to sleep, and I even heard complaints from other people in the shelters I stayed in on that hike!

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    Earplugs

    Seriously

  14. #14
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    Wonder how long a dose of baby powder between the tent floor and pad would last? It might work, and buy you some time to come up with a permanent solution. I find that ear plugs make too much noise of their own, plus I'm not comfortable without "situational awareness".
    I've learned....
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    Quote Originally Posted by ocourse View Post
    Wonder how long a dose of baby powder between the tent floor and pad would last? It might work, and buy you some time to come up with a permanent solution. I find that ear plugs make too much noise of their own, plus I'm not comfortable without "situational awareness".
    Baby powder may quiet the noise, but it may cause the dreaded slippage.

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    Seems to me that, the combination of the material on your pad and the tent floor is the problem. You said it only does it in the tent. Place a piece of Tyvek between the two. It will only be a couple ounces more.

    "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands."
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  17. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by Franco View Post
    This is the anti slip mat I referred to :
    anti-slip-mat.jpg
    it grips on silnylon, if it does stop the noise I don't know but I am guessing it should.
    I had this same problem.
    My BA inflatable pad made so much noise, like rubbing a balloon, it kept me and my wife wake.
    It was comfy, just noisy.
    BA doesn't make the pad sleeve anymore, from looking at their website.
    So I tried 2 thin, light-weight, sleeping bag liners over the pad and now it's virtually silent!
    I happened to have the 2 liners so that's what I tried.
    One liner alone didn't seem to help much but a 2nd liner makes it totally quiet.
    I didn't realize the noise was from the pad rubbing on the tent floor.
    I thought it was the pad itself.

    The anti slip pad may work too but haven't tried that yet.

  18. #18
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    I use a 1/8 foam pad to keep pas from sliding around, noise never an issue with dyneema floor.

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    Another way to look at it: When I sleep well, I don't toss and turn - so the noisy sleeping pad is almost a non-issue.
    In a shelter, several other people will have noisy sleep systems, then there will be snorers.
    I bought the thermarest neoair xlite, which many say is very noisy. I don't inflate it "firm". I sleep so well on it, I toss and turn WAY less than any other sleeping pad I've tried. I also don't think it's as loud as some say it is... but I do have some hearing loss in the 8khz range.
    .
    As others have suggested, the baby powder sounds like a bad idea. Not just the sliding against the side of your tent when (not if) you have to pitch on a slight slope - but when it gets damp from condensation, then you roll up your tent...

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    Taking out the hearing aids works also.
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