Review: Zenbivy Ultralight Bed

In Zenbivy's never-ending quest to make sleeping in the woods more comfortable, the company has released a suite of new products for 2024, along with a few makeovers of existing items. We tested out a grab-bag of goodies, giving us an excuse to hike up into the mountains, stay overnight, and do some "research." Life's good.

First up in the Zenbivy sleep system—yep, that overused word is apropos here, as it's made up of a half-dozen individual, modular components—is the Ultralight Bed. This two-piece set includes an astonishingly featherweight sheet ($89) and quilt ($409) that, when combined with the Ultralight Mattress ($189), make for the comfiest, coziest, warmest, lightest backcountry bed imaginable. No more restless nights in the tent, tossing and turning, waking up groggy, fumbling for an immediate caffeine infusion. The design allows for both ultimate cushion and ample freedom of movement—no sarcophagus-like claustrophobia here. Just a pleasant night in the clean alpine air—exactly as it was meant to be.

Essential to this improved sleeping experience is a pillow that's big enough and stays put under your head—and Zenbivy's new SoftTop three-piece pillow ($65 or $70, depending on size) packs down small and is light in the pack, all while offering suitable support and comfort for your neck and noggin. It works like this: blow up the inflatable bladder ($17), stuff it in the pillowcase ($15), then slide in the soft, fluffy topper ($33). Special clips hold the pillow to the bed, no matter what kind of crazy dreams you're having. Gone are the days of packing a stinky, lumpy fleece and rain pants into your tent's stuff-sack and shifting it 17 times over the course of the night. Nope, this pillow is all you need, and it takes up about as much space in your pack as a Nalgene.

There you have it—Zenbivy's new ultralight sleep system for people who want to go deep with a light pack and still sleep well. One can only wonder, what's the next classic backcountry deprivation to be neutralized by outdoor-industry innovation? I sure hope it's cold beer.