Ready for a brand new take on an outdoor sleep system? The Zenbivy light bed is essentially a zipperless sleeping bag that can transform between quilt, mummy bag, and rectangular bag, depending on your mood, the weather and terrain, or your standard preference of sleeping position.
The Zenbivy Light Bed is a two-piece sleeping system that gives you the feel of sleeping in a bed instead of in a bag. The bottom ‘sheet’ piece with hood fits over standard-sized lightweight sleeping pads (not included), which ensures you won’t slide off your slippery mattress in the night. Then, the top piece floats over you like a quilt, or can be secured more snugly in either a mummy bag or rectangular bag configuration with a series of hooks and loops.
The quilt is super light, but still uses 800 fill power of HyperDry down. It comes in two temperature ratings: 10 degree or 25 degree, and in regular length (20″ x 72″) through extra-large (25″ x 77″). The regular is 2 pounds 6 ounces. If you want versatility AND like to use a pad sheet to keep from sliding around, the Light Bed can’t be beat for compact-ability. It fits down very, very small.
The first time you configure your Light Bed, there is a learning curve. Start with this instructional page, and be sure to watch this video that walks you through the process. Once you set it up once, it feels more organic: basically, you just color match the hook and loop system into the preferred system you want. I definitely recommend setting it up in the backyard or living room to get familiar with the design before you take it into the wild. Now that I have it figured out, I’ll be bringing my Light Bed system with me on my next backpacking trip, as in Southern Oregon, I never quite know whether I’ll get stiflingly hot nights (during which I’ll use the quilt option) or chilly nights (mummy for sure).
The Zenbivy quilts start at $259 on the Zenbivy site (and remember, you can always use this separately as a stadium blanket or picnic throw) and the sheet piece starts at $100. You also get a surprisingly comfortable pillow that comes with sheet part. You have several color combinations to choose from, depending on the temperature rating you opt for. Enjoy the outdoors with Zenbivy!