Here’s the part of camping nobody puts on the highlight reel: the first night, I sleep like garbage.
Doesn’t matter how tired I am. New sounds. A pad that’s six inches thinner than my mattress at home. Thin mountain air at altitude. My brain treats the whole thing like a threat assessment until somewhere around 2 a.m. The second night isn’t much better. It usually takes me two rough nights before my body finally gives up the fight and gives me one genuinely good sleep.
By then it’s often time to pack up and drive home.
So when I think about camp gear, I don’t just think stoves and shelters. I think about the most underrated piece of kit there is: a wind-down ritual that actually works. That’s the lens I used to test the Dad Grass Deluxe Nighttime gummies—and they’ve quietly earned a spot in my camp bag.
First, Who Is Dad Grass?
If you haven’t run into the brand, Dad Grass is built on a refreshingly simple idea: low and slow. Their whole thing is mellow, dependable, dialed-in hemp products—not the white-knuckle, “did I take too much?” stuff. As they put it, you don’t have to be a dad or a dude to enjoy it. It’s nostalgic in the best way: the easygoing, hang-out version of cannabis rather than the couch-locked one.
That philosophy is exactly why it works for the outdoors. When I’m at camp, I want to relax and be present—watch the fire die down (responsibly, where allowed), listen to the creek, and actually settle. I don’t want to lose the evening or wake up foggy with a sunrise hike on the schedule. Dad Grass is engineered for that middle ground.
What’s Actually In Them
The Deluxe Nighttime gummies lean on three hemp-derived cannabinoids working together. Here’s the per-gummy breakdown:
- 18mg CBD – the calm anchor of the formula. CBD is the well-known, non-intoxicating cannabinoid people reach for to take the edge off and mellow out.
- 2mg CBN – the “nighttime” character. CBN is the cannabinoid most associated with that heavy-eyelids, ready-to-settle feeling.
- 2mg THC (Delta-9) – a genuinely mild dose. Just enough lift to quiet a busy mind without putting your head in the clouds.
The mix is full-spectrum, which means you also get the supporting cast of terpenes and minor cannabinoids—what’s commonly called the entourage effect. Each bag has 30 gummies in a Midnight Berry flavor that doesn’t taste like a vitamin.
A couple of practical notes that matter for the outdoors: they’re vegan, non-GMO, and gluten-free, and every batch is third-party lab tested with a Certificate of Analysis you can scan from the package. And thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp products under 0.3% THC are federally legal, so this isn’t dispensary-only gear—it ships to your door.
Why They Earn a Spot in the Camp Bag
This is where the testing got interesting.
My usual two-bad-nights pattern is really a relaxation problem. My body is tired; my nervous system just won’t stand down. The CBD-CBN-THC combo is built precisely for that handoff from on to off—and on the pad, that’s exactly what it felt like. About 30 minutes after a gummy, the background hum of “is that a bear or a branch?” turned down a few notches. I stopped fighting the pad and started melting into it.
The 2mg of THC is the key to keeping it functional. It’s mild enough that I wasn’t buzzed or weird around the fire—just relaxed. No racing thoughts, no clock-watching. I’d call it the difference between lying there trying to sleep and actually drifting off.
And the morning is the real test for any sleep aid in the backcountry. I came up clear, not groggy. No melatonin hangover, no fog dragging into the first miles of the day. For anyone who’s woken up feeling worse after a sleep gummy, that distinction is everything.
How to Use Them at Camp
A few field-tested pointers:
- Timing: Take one gummy about 30 minutes before you actually want to be horizontal. Effects tend to start within half an hour and peak around 90 minutes, so don’t pop one and then go re-stake your tent in the dark.
- Start low, go slow: One gummy is plenty for most people, especially if you’re new to THC. You can always go to two on a second night.
- It’s still THC: Mild, but real. Don’t drive after taking one, and don’t take one until you’re done with camp chores for the night—no tending stoves, no driving to the trailhead.
- Build the ritual: Pair it with the rest of your wind-down—headlamp off, layers on, hydration squared away. The gummy is the closer, not the whole routine.
The Verdict
We obsess over sleeping pads, quilts, and pillow systems, then ignore the one variable that wrecks most of my trips: a nervous system that won’t clock out. The Dad Grass Deluxe Nighttime gummies attack that variable directly. The CBD and CBN set a calm, sleepy baseline, and the small dose of THC quiets the mental chatter that keeps me staring at the tent ceiling—without stealing the morning.
They didn’t turn camping into my mattress at home. Nothing will. But they shrank that two-bad-nights tax down toward zero, and that alone makes them some of the most valuable real estate in my pack. If your first night out is always your worst, these are worth a spot in the kit.
This post reflects personal experience and is for general informational purposes only. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Hemp-derived products containing THC may cause impairment; do not drive or operate equipment after use. Must be 21 or older. Check your local regulations before purchasing.