I’ve never had a good night’s sleep on the trail. I wake up every hour with lower back and neck pain, tossing and turning all night. Every time I go solo, I end up cutting the trip short because I’m so exhausted I just hike out instead.

The only time I’ve ever slept well on a hiking trip was a hut-to-hut trek in the Austrian Alps, where I was given a mattress, a thick wool blankets, and a warm room every night.

I’ve tried: - Self-inflating pads, 20” vertical baffle insulated air pads, 25” insulated air pads - Air inflated pillows, foam pillows, rolled up clothes - Usually a freestanding tent, but I also did one night in a hammock and couldn’t sleep

Now I’m experimenting with training myself to sleep on my gear at home. My plan: • Sleeping on my inflatable pad in my bed with my normal pillow. • Sleeping on my pad on the floor • Testing different pads (Z-lite Sol, Xlite) and a new pillow setup.

Has anyone successfully trained themselves to sleep well on a backpacking setup at home? What worked for you?

Edit: I have learned a few things: 1) the first night is going to suck, try to keep going for the next couple nights instead of turning back. it’s ok to keep going with only a little rest. 2) for bigger hips, get the best spinal alignment with a CCF pad; try sleeping on the floor 3) get a warmer quilt; 20-30 warmer than temps (no more pushing a 20F EE enigma to 18F overnight, I’ll wait until it’s 40F out) 4) try a hammock!