Air matresses

[campgirl]

How many people use tents and take an air mattress to sleep on?

I have to admit I'm one of those people. We tent it at times and use the camper for other times. I can't imagine sleeping on the ground without the mattress. Yes I used to do this when I was younger, but now that I've used the mattress I wouldn't go back!

We have 2 Queen size air mattresses that we take with us.

How about you?

 

[Newanderthal]

get a Thermarest sleeping pad. They're lighter and offer more support. Also, you don't need a heavy air pump to inflate them.

I found mine to be so comfortable that I sold my bed. I sleep on a Thermarest pad at home and on the trail.

 

[2coastcamper]

New, which thermarest do you have? I've got the green trail light, but I've heard great things about the Base Camp (being that it's not much bulkier to pack and way more comfortable).

For mine, I fold it in half lengthwise before rolling it up, and it packs together about the size of a football. It almost disappears in my pack.

 

[Newanderthal]

I also have a trail light. After my trip I'm probably going to get one of the Pro Lites. When I go on multi-day trips, I usually take a 3/4 length foam pad that I got from Academy.

 

[looey]

A friend came to visit me and since we are in the middle of setting up the "spare room" here at the house, she brought an air mattress and I have to say, it looks very comfy, but it lies. I have no idea the brand name but it was worse than sleeping on gravel (which in younger years, I have had the chance to do).

 

[failghe]

I to use a air mattress but never liked it much. After reading posts about the thermarest I do believe that I will like that much better.

 

[popupgirl]

I've never heard of the thermarest things. They do sound pretty great though.

We use air mattresses. I love them. The only problem is sometimes in the morning, there is little air in them and the ground is hard. No idea why the air comes out either.

 

[Uber]

We use a queen size air mattress that comes with a small, light inflater built into it. It fits perfectly in our tent. If it's a one-night camp we may not bother to set it up and just sleep on the ground, but anything more than that and we're air mattress people.

 

[Newanderthal]

If your air mattress is leaking, I'll tell you how to solve the problem. Inflate the mattress. Stand it up in the shower. Spray the entire mattress with water and then look over every inch of it. The air will make little bubbles on the surface as it comes out.

Circle the hole with a marker and then get a patch for it. You can find patches in the sporting goods section of Wal-Mart.

Or, get an inflatable sleeping pad and throw the air mattress away.

 

[jesse]

I used to have a queen size double high air mattress, but got tired of waking up with it getting deflated. I recently purchased an ALPS pad and love it! i'll never use an air mattress again. here's my review and some pics of the pad if you are interested:
ALPS Mountaineering Comfort Series Air Pad Review and Pictures

 

[Smokey]

I used to use an air mattress but when the air gets cold, the mattress loses its support. Now I just use a foam pad.

 

[Outdooruser]

I used to have a queen size double high air mattress, but got tired of waking up with it getting deflated. I recently purchased an ALPS pad and love it! i'll never use an air mattress again. here's my review and some pics of the pad if you are interested:
ALPS Mountaineering Comfort Series Air Pad Review and Pictures

This looks comfortable. I like the fact that it has the slip dots on the bottom of it. I wonder why this is more comfortable. You would think the air mattresses would be because they have you up off the ground.

 

[campgirl]

Wow, sounds like air mattresses have come a long way since I bought ours. I don't mind ours too much, they are quite comfy. I could look into the other ones though! Sounds like they are easier to inflate and carry!

 

[Mandy]

In my younger days, I slept in a sleeping bag directly on the ground. Now I use a cot and air mattress as it's harder to get up and down off the ground since developing arthritis in my knees.

 

[Longrunsolutions]

Big Agnes makes a great air mattress that both my wife and I use. We ended up going with blow up models because the "self inflating" mattresses we had did not exactly self inflate. We also have had good luck with Therma Rest mattresses.

 

[Adventurelover]

I have one because it kills my back to sleep on the ground anymore. I got one with a foot pump so it is easy to blow up. I just put the mattress down then I put our sleeping bags on top of it.