TikTok Explains The Easiest Way To Fold Your Sleeping Bag

Breaking down your campsite after a fun weekend in nature is always a bummer. What makes it even worse is all the rolling. Rolling up your tent and stuffing it back into its impossibly tiny bag; folding up the sleeping pad and getting it to fit somewhere in or on your backpack; and — the worst of all — rolling up your sleeping bag.

There's really no perfect way to roll the thing up, is there? We just do our best and hope it'll fit in its bag. However, TikTok comes through with yet another way to make our lives just a little bit easier. TikTok creator @tablemomentspod shares his surefire way to get that sleeping bag rolled up and ready to hit the road:

Take the sleeping bag and lay it out with the top or head of the bag facing you and the bottom with the elastic straps facing away. Make sure the bag is fully zipped up and then fold it in half lengthwise. Now, you'll begin rolling the bag as usual, but make sure to grab just a little more fabric on the open edge as you do. This way you'll prevent the bag from getting all wonky and sliding open as you're rolling. This method works best for any shape of sleeping bag, though it may take a smidge more effort to keep things lined up with a mummy shaped bag due to its odd shape.

It's important to properly roll up your sleeping bag when you're breaking camp so you can maximize the limited space you have in your backpack or car, especially if you're headed to another site or on your way home and have a bunch of other stuff to cram in there. However, you should not leave your sleeping bag rolled up like this once you get home. Leaving a sleeping bag compressed can begin to break down its structure and make it difficult to decompress when it comes time to use it again.

So, when you arrive home, make sure to take your sleeping bag out of its compression bag; leave it open to completely dry for a while; and then gently fold it up and place it in a bag somewhere it will stay cool and dry and won't get snacked on by bugs. This will extend the life of your sleeping bag.

Additionally, when setting up camp, don't wait until you're about to go to bed to crack open your sleeping bag. You want to lay it out a couple hours in advance of bedtime to give the sleeping bag a chance to decompress. This allows all of the little air pockets in between the bag's fibers to open, making it more effective at trapping your body heat and keeping you warm throughout the night.