Do-It-Yourself Backpacking Bedroll

Vacationers driving from campsite to campsite can cheerfully bring along large quantities of gear, from lavish cooking equipment to the most complex and comfortable of camp beds. Hikers and backpackers place a higher value on low weight and compact size, since every pound carried on your back makes the trip less enjoyable. Backpackers favor sleeping bags and bedrolls for sleeping purposes. Good sleeping bags can be costly, but a comfortable bedroll can be assembled easily and inexpensively at home.

Things You'll Need

  • Waterproof tarp, either plastic or waterproof canvas
  • Foam mattress pad or inflatable mattress, optional
  • 2 to 6 blankets as needed
  • Sheet or fleece blanket
  • Ropes or straps
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Instructions

    • 1

      Lay out your tarp on a flat surface. Mentally divide it into thirds, with the middle third being where you'll sleep. If you're using a foam pad or inflatable pad, put it in that middle third.

    • 2

      Place a blanket with its left edge at the left side of that mental middle third of the tarp. If you're using a pad or mattress, the blanket should overlap it slightly.

    • 3

      Line up a second blanket from the opposite side, lining it up with your mental right edge of the middle third of the tarp. If you're using a pad or mattress, the blanket should overlap it to the same extent the first one did.

    • 4

      Add as many additional blankets as comfort and the weather dictate. If you have a mattress or foam pad, two blankets might be adequate. Otherwise, you might prefer four or six. In the absence of a foam pad, the overlapped areas of blanket in the middle of the bedroll provide the cushioning you'll sleep on.

    • 5

      Fold a sheet or soft fleece blanket to fit the middle of the bedroll and lay it on top of the overlapping blankets. Fold the blankets from each side over the top of the sheet, beginning with the top blanket and working backward.

    • 6

      Finish your bedroll by folding the tarp's sides over the blankets, making a weatherproof "envelope" of bedding you can enter by sliding in from the top. Roll it tightly from the bottom to the top and tie it with ropes or straps to make a tight cylinder. Attach it to the bottom of your backpack, where most brands have a place for a bedroll or sleeping bag.