Compact Airbed

[ZenMan]

If you're an old fart with a bad back like me, those self-inflating pads just don't cut it.

I got one of these from Cabela's, the double size. It's super heavy-duty and sorta heavy... about 12 lbs. But it rolls up really small, and will fit easily into your saddlebags or tailbag, or just roll it up in your sleeping bag. $49.99, fits perfectly in the Eureka tent I got (see "Compact Tent" thread"). :mrgreen:

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/ZenMan33/Airbed.jpg

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0013104513723a&navCount=7&podId=0013104&parentId=cat601643&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat20075-cat601643&catalogCode=IH&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601643&hasJS=true

[peterh]

Trouble with air beds is if it's cold they actually draw the heat away from your body and you end up freezing. A good self inflating matress will not only insulate you from the ground but will also be more comfortable than an air matress.

[aps45819]

Trouble with air beds is if it's cold they actually draw the heat away from your body and you end up freezing.

If it's that cold, my azz will be camping in a hotel.

[Big B]

It is a "cot" that will cause you to freeze your ass off when it is cold. I haven't had any issues with an air mattress making me chilled. I put a blanket on top of mattress AND sleep in my bag. Seems pretty cozy to me!

[ZenMan]

Each to their own, but the air mattress works best for my rickety bones too. When I was young and indestructable, just a thin foam pad was luxurious. :rolleyes:

What I don't like about the self-inflating pads is they're just too thin... my hips and shoulder touch the ground and it's too flat on my back. The air mattress gives me 3-4" of air up off the ground, and in my thick sleeping bag I don't feel any cold under me at all.

Hell the older I get the more everything hurts... and a good night's sleep is of the utmost importance if I'm logging a lot of miles the next day. ;)

[Berserker]

have worked well for me except when they leak. Cabela's and others have very thick compression pads out there some as thick as 4".

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/index/index-display.jsp?id=cat601642&navAction=jump&navCount=1&parentId=cat20075&parentType=category&cmCat=null

[stevewz]

The old cowboy wisdom:

If you have three blankets, sleep on two and under one. The ground (or a cold air mattress) will steal your body heat faster than the air will (assuming wind isn't a factor, of course).

As an avid backpacker, I take a "Thermarest" self-inflating pad and a 1/2" thick closed-cell foam pad. I lay the Thermarest on the ground and the closed-cell foam pad on top. I don't have my hips or shoulders touching the ground, I stay warm, and it's _almost_ as comfortable as sleeping on a 4" thick open-cell foam pad. Plus the two pads weigh about a pound, total. Rolled up together they are about 8" thick around and 28" wide.

[madstrom]

If you're an old fart with a bad back like me, those self-inflating pads just don't cut it.

I got one of these from Cabela's, the double size. It's super heavy-duty and sorta heavy... about 12 lbs. But it rolls up really small, and will fit easily into your saddlebags or tailbag, or just roll it up in your sleeping bag. $49.99, fits perfectly in the Eureka tent I got (see "Compact Tent" thread"). :mrgreen:

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/ZenMan33/Airbed.jpg

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0013104513723a&navCount=7&podId=0013104&parentId=cat601643&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat20075-cat601643&catalogCode=IH&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601643&hasJS=true

I use a similar air mattress and throw a Thermorest on top of the air mattress for insulation. Problem solved. It's a bunch more comfortable than a plain
Thermorest. My hips and shoulders need somthing to sink into.

[NoVA-Strom]

Intersting. 12lbs, that is pretty heavy for just a pad. My tent weighs less that. You could also look to the thicker self inflating pads like a Therm-a-rest Luxury Camp. They are much thicker and only weigh just over 3lbs. Or if you really want to pony up some dough the DreamTime. I need to get a thicker pad for car/bike camping. I have and air matress with a battery pump, but think I just want a pad.

[ZenMan]

Intersting. 12lbs, that is pretty heavy for just a pad. My tent weighs less that. You could also look to the thicker self inflating pads like a Therm-a-rest Luxury Camp. They are much thicker and only weigh just over 3lbs. Or if you really want to pony up some dough the DreamTime. I need to get a thicker pad for car/bike camping. I have and air matress with a battery pump, but think I just want a pad.

12 lbs. is for the double size, the single one only weighs 6.5 lbs. and costs $29.99 + shipping.

It's a true inflatable mattress, not "just a pad". And it packs up way smaller than a pad. The weight isn't as big a concern on the bike, as opposed to backpacking.

I chose the double because I'm a big guy and being able to sprawl out comfortably is important to me, it's worth the extra weight. Plus it's big enough for when my Honey comes along with. ;)

[GreenMtnDave]

If you're an old fart with a bad back like me, those self-inflating pads just don't cut it.

I got one of these from Cabela's, the double size. It's super heavy-duty and sorta heavy... about 12 lbs. But it rolls up really small, and will fit easily into your saddlebags or tailbag, or just roll it up in your sleeping bag. $49.99, fits perfectly in the Eureka tent I got (see "Compact Tent" thread"). :mrgreen:

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q13/ZenMan33/Airbed.jpg

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0013104513723a&navCount=7&podId=0013104&parentId=cat601643&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat20075-cat601643&catalogCode=IH&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601643&hasJS=true


ZenMan,

Can you fold this pad in half for an approximate width of 15" without damaging it?

Dave

[ZenMan]

I'm sure you can with the single size mattress easily.

What I do with the double one is fold it lengthwise in thirds, place my rolled-up sleeping bag on it and roll it up around the sleepin bag. It only adds about 2" to the diameter of the bedroll and helps keep the bag dry too.

[Glider]

I, too, am an experienced backpacker who has recently decided to combine that passion with my motorcycle. In December I had a week off that my girlfriend couldn't get, so I decided to depart Michigan and do a bike camping tour of Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

When assembling gear from my "outdoor crap" closet I noticed a Thermarest self-inflater I hadn't used in years. I had created a lighter, custom dual closed-cell foam pad that I was using for backpacking.

I blew up the Thermarest, stared at it like a moron for a while, and then said, "It's fine."

Well, you know the end of the story. About two hours into my first night, I awakened pretty uncomfortable. (I should add that -- to the delight of my girlfriend -- it was even colder that week down south than it was in Michigan.) I realized that the mattress was not holding air. No repair kit with me, of course.

Moral of the story ... although Thermarest makes a fine product, any mattress that contains air must HOLD that air to work.

[stevewz]

Just in case anyone is wondering, putting two Thermarests on top of each other doesn't work; they're too slick. You wake up in the middle of the night and they're in an X configuration, or one's off to the side, or the whatever. They claim one side is "non-skid" but that's more marketing hype than reality.

[madstrom]

Check out the Exped Down Air Mattress link below. It's not cheap but after 50 years of camping on the cheap I figured I was entitled. It sleeps like a real bed with 4" of loft. Air it down a little and when you lay on your side the hip just soaks right in without bottoming out. The pump sack makes a good pillow, especially after a cut a portion of a viscolastic foam pillow and stuffed it inside. The large pad packs down to about 8" x 11". The foam compacts down to a piece about the size of your fist but sweels right up to fill the sack. I then stuff it the foam and sack into a Thermo Rest fleece pillow case. For the ultimate in comfort I take my Byers Trilite Cot. See the link below.


http://www.moontrail.com/sleeping_pads/exped_downairmattress.html

http://www.byerofmaine.com/ct-trilite.htm

[freecat]

I'm with the air mattress crowd. It probably does suck more heat out of your body, but there are ways to deal with that. I spent one night on a Thermarest and that was enough for me. It keeps me warm, but it's hardly better IMO than sleeping on the ground (comfort-wise). My Coleman air mattress is the size of a twin mattress, is actually comfortable to sleep on, and packs up smaller than the Thermarest. It's heavier (especially if you consider the weight of the pump). So what?

[Bright Side]

12 lbs. is for the double size, the single one only weighs 6.5 lbs. and costs $29.99 + shipping.

It's a true inflatable mattress, not "just a pad". And it packs up way smaller than a pad. The weight isn't as big a concern on the bike, as opposed to backpacking.

I chose the double because I'm a big guy and being able to sprawl out comfortably is important to me, it's worth the extra weight. Plus it's big enough for when my Honey comes along with. ;)

Since I fit that old fart category I have to agree with a good night's sleep and resting the old bones and what's left of the muscles and brains. I have tried the self inflatables, hate them. And they cost alot.

So what I do is I go to one of the Marts (K, Wal, Target) and buy the cheapest double wide sleep air mattress I can find. Cheapest, because when they spring a leak, they are history, trash city. I just go get another. I do carry a air blower to blow them up, they take a lot of air. But comfy is the word. I also carry a sleeping bag and a form fitted sheet. It all packs in my duffel along with my pop up tent. I am still looking for the perfect pillow though. I do pack my home pillow without a problem, all of these items I fit in my duffel.

Oh if they spring a leak, no problems, next town go to the Mart stores and get another.

The cost of these mattresses run between $14 to $20 and will last one to two seasons. Well worth the price when all considered.

Bright Side :cool:

[Jstrom]

Two words for y'all, "Big Agnes". Google it if ya don't know what I'm talkin' about.

[BumbleBee]

+1 on the Big Agnes!, I've been using one the last couple of years, and it's the best compromise between a blow up and a full thermal. I also sprung for the Big Agnes sleeping bag with the sleeve for the mattress (stays put!), a good sleeping system is a top priority for me. If you can't get a good night sleep then the trips going to head south quick. was definitely worth the investment.