Sleeping Pad? Day pack?

[AndyBorba]

I am doing the Francés Summer 2025. Is it worth ot bringing a lightweight sleeping pad? I will be in albergues and hostels.
Also, is it recommended to bring a small backpack along with the standard pack for meandering about town?

 

[Anhalter]

Pad: I don't think so. I actually carry one in my pack, but its main reason is reducing volume, giving the pack rigidity and pad my back a bit. And i can use it as a sitting / yoga mat if i want to. In a pinch sleeping on it would be better than sleeping on the ground, but just so. Never needed it.

Daypack: Yes, i think it can be useful. I use a 10L folding one from Decathlon. Nice to be able to have something to put stuff into when going out.

 

[Tincatinker]

Also, is it recommended to bring a small backpack along with the standard pack for meandering about town?

I’ve always used one of those bolsa, the plastic carrier bags that are standard issue in every street market and supermarket.

It’s one other way of blending in with the locals. You’re less of a mark if you’ve got your bits in a bolsa. The day-pack, bum-bag, utility pocket are all flags. Scuffed hiking gear and a plastic carrier bag. You can walk right through the wolf-pack and they won’t even notice you’re there

 

[Guneyd]

Pad: I don't think so. I actually carry one in my pack, but its main reason is reducing volume, giving the pack rigidity and pad my back a bit. And i can use it as a sitting / yoga mat if i want to. In a pinch sleeping on it would be better than sleeping on the ground, but just so. Never needed it.

Daypack: Yes, i think it can be useful. I use a 10L folding one from Decathlon. Nice to be able to have something to put stuff into when going out.

I second this.

I had a pad with me, but in the end, I didn’t use it at all and threw it away a few days before reaching Santiago, knowing there was no chance I would use it. Fortunately, it was a cheap one, only around 10 euros. My only regret is carrying it all that way for nothing.

 

[Robo]

I am doing the Francés Summer 2025. Is it worth ot bringing a lightweight sleeping pad? I will be in albergues and hostels.
Also, is it recommended to bring a small backpack along with the standard pack for meandering about town?

No and No.
You would only need a sleeping pad if you plan on sleeping outdoors!

I do carry a small (20L) ultralight day pack. about 25 gms.
I use it as my 'handbag' on flights to and from the Camino.
It's my shopping bag.
It's my laundry bag.
It's my 'tucker' bag if buying larger food items en route to accommodation.

But I do like @Tincatinker 's idea of a 'Bolsa'
Performs the same function.........

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

Sleeping pad no.

Lightweight day pack yes. Mine is a 20 l decathlon pack, weight 120 g. Valuables, water, raincoat and/or extra layer on the outwards journey; room for shopping coming 'home' to the nights Albergue.

My clothes look nothing like the locals so I'm always gonna stand out - I might as well be comfortable

 

[good_old_shoes]

I bring both.

I use a shortened foldable z-lite sleeping pad, but unless you plan to sleep outside at some point, a very cheap and thin aluminium coated one is probably enough. They weigh next to nothing and fold up very small.

Most others will tell you you don't need it, which is probably true. I still like to have mine and use it daily. It's a comfort item for me.

It gets used for rest stops between towns. Great for taking a nap in the shade. Or in the sun. I love taking naps and elevating my feet from time to time. On a rainy day, it is nice to have for putting on a cold, wet bench before sitting down. Ect.

The day pack I use for groceries is used as a dry bag for other stuff during the day. Usually for my snacks, spork and opinel ("kitchen bag"). That way it has a second use other than for grocery shopping. I also use a very light cheap decathlon one.

 

[J Willhaus]

We carry those bags that wad up into a little ball. We have both a backpack type that my husband has used a lot and the shopping bag kind that I usually carry.

Look up the brand Chico bag as an example.

Good for around town, groceries, laundry, etc.

 

[Scoutbuff]

I have no experience on a camino yet, but I always take a small piece of closed-cell foam padding (1/2"x12"x12") backpacking. To my Scouts, I call it "2 ounces of bliss." I use it when sitting on rocks, logs, ground, etc. (In the snow/cold, standing on it reduces cold feet.) It also provides some structure and added padding to my pack. I'm not sure if this is needed on a camino or just another item in the pack. Leaning towards 'no need' right now...

 

[darealdeal77]

No! To the sleeping pad, you don’t need it unless like the others said for yoga, or to sit, but it’s extra weight and there are plenty places to sit! The bag, I had one of those giveaways plastic bag with draw strings that I used like a backpack straps, they are very light and folds like clothes. Hope this helps! BUEN CAMINO!

 

[Kathy F.]

No for the sleeping pad. Extra weight and cumbersome, no need.
Yes for the small pack. I used a small string bag I made myself. For carrying laundry, just a plastic bag that you can find at every store along the way, like Tincatinker said.
However, I never went anywhere without my buttpack on me. If I stood out in the crowd, so be it.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

I have no experience on a camino yet, but I always take a small piece of closed-cell foam padding (1/2"x12"x12") backpacking. To my Scouts, I call it "2 ounces of bliss." I use it when sitting on rocks, logs, ground, etc. (In the snow/cold, standing on it reduces cold feet.) It also provides some structure and added padding to my pack. I'm not sure if this is needed on a camino or just another item in the pack. Leaning towards 'no need' right now...

Whilst I would agree with the no need, it's not a bad comfort item. You could always swap it out for an oblong of bubble wrap. Mine is 60 cm X 30; I typically use it folded in half.
It's incredibly light, takes up very little room, serves the majority of the uses you've listed above, and bonus points: free. ( Packaging material).
I actually have two: one in my camino pack, one in my day pack which comes with me nearly everywhere, and is frequently used. ( Inc. today!)

 

[Jarrad]

My short answer: No on the sleeping pad. Put the day pack in the 'luxury item' column of your packing list. If you're comfortable with your pack weight, then maybe add it. If not, it could be one of those things that stays home with the rice cooker.

I did bring an ultra-sil packable day pack on my first Camino (you can spend too much on one from Sea to Summit). Used it on the plane and maybe 2 or 3 times on the Camino. Even at 72 g, for me personally it was not worth carrying across Spain. But I'm thinking about another solution -- maybe a little butt pack per @Kathy F. -- for the next CdF because I do like to hit the town with a few items that don't fit in my pockets (e.g., packable rain jacket, phone, and my friend Brierley (I know, I know -- I save a few grams on a bag but carry a hardcopy Camino guide)). I've done shorter (~2 weeks) treks and never missed the packable day pack.

I read a popular guide before my first Camino and the one piece of advice I am happy I ignored was to bring a closed-cell sleeping pad. The writer's justification was that it is useful for sitting on at lunch during breaks. I've never brought a sleeping pad or butt pad and never wanted for one. Spain is a first-world country and they have chairs. On occasion, I do eat lunch while sitting on the grass, a log, or a bench. My butt was fine and my guess is yours will be too.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

But I'm thinking about another solution -- maybe a little butt pack per @Kathy F. -- for the next CdF because I do like to hit the town with a few items that don't fit in my pockets (e.g., packable rain jacket, phone, and my friend Brierley

Wouldn't they all fit better in the bag that you already own, and isn't that bag lighter than the butt pack?

 

[Jarrad]

Wouldn't they all fit better in the bag that you already own, and isn't that bag lighter than the butt pack?

Ha -- you are correct! I'm thinking about something a little smaller and that I can keep attached to me. AND I still might bring the day pack!

 

[dbeatriceb]

No for the sleeping pad, it’s just extra weight and probably won’t be used. As far as the town bag / day pack goes, it’s a matter of preference. I have an ultralight bum bag I carry all the time for things I cannot afford to lose, like passport, money, phone. But I also have an ultralight “day pack” from gossamer gear. The model I have isn’t sold anymore. But Sea to Summit has something similar, with wide shoulder straps and it folds up to a tiny ball when not in use. The days I send the backpack ahead, my little day pack holds rain gear, snacks, socks, water. If you buy something for that purpose, beware of the string shoulder strap bags. Those string will cut into the shoulders especially with the weight of water in the bag.

 

[backpack45]

I am doing the Francés Summer 2025. Is it worth ot bringing a lightweight sleeping pad? I will be in albergues and hostels.
Also, is it recommended to bring a small backpack along with the standard pack for meandering about town?

IMO no on the sleeping pad and the small backpack. I carry a cloth shopping bag (that I don't need to bring back home) on the airplane with all the magazines I am going to read while on the flight and the bag is useful when you go to the market. to have a bag if you go to the market. I do not carry a fanny pack, I wear a money belt that goes under my clothes such as this below. It holds passport, currency, credit cards, pilgrim passport, etc.

 

[SureFtWayEli]

I am doing the Francés Summer 2025. Is it worth ot bringing a lightweight sleeping pad? I will be in albergues and hostels.
Also, is it recommended to bring a small backpack along with the standard pack for meandering about town?

I can’t find the one I use, but it is old & maybe no longer made. Here is a similar one that takes up very little room. There are others. This one is $9.99.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51mlG6tJqOL._AC_UL348_SR348,348_.jpg

 

[AndyBorba]

I can’t find the one I use, but it is old & maybe no longer made. Here is a similar one that takes up very little room. There are others. This one is $9.99.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51mlG6tJqOL._AC_UL348_SR348,348_.jpg

So you prefer 20L over 10L? Is 10L too small?

 

[Tali]

Re: the pad, I differ from everyone. I’ve carried a foam pad that weighs practically nothing on each of my 6 Caminos. Every day I used it for stretching/yoga at the end of the day - and met lots of people who borrowed it. I also used it on beds with terrible mattresses - put it inside a silk sleeping bag liner and it improves the whole sleep situation. Once or twice the bed mattress sagged so far into the middle I was bent over! Those times I put the pad in the floor to sleep. $10 from Amazon. I always leave it in Santiago to make room for other things I buy to bring home.