Stopped in at CampMor
on de way home fro' work an' low an' behold they had de 25" wide Big Agnes aar mattress. Fits Fat Elmo quite well so ah' shelled out some big wampum an' now gots me a new aar mattress. Thanks fer de lowdown on Big Agnes.
(Prepare for Warp Factor 12, Scottie! We're leavin' CampMor's parking lot)
FE
Army Issue.
I have had the good fortune to find US Army issue cold weather insulated air mattresses on 2 different occasions. Found 2 at a thrift shop and 1 at an antique shop. They are a good 2-1/2 or 3 inches thick, rubberized fabric, heavy duty rubber bite valve, felt insulated (inside), and very comfy. I have used it inside an unheated tent in 15 deg Wisconsin temps and slept very well on it. Patch them like an inner tube if needed.
ThermaRest plus Crazy Creek Chair
I use my 3/4 length ThermaRest with my XL Crazy Creek chair laid out flat underneath.
Having two separate pieces takes up some a little room, but the chair is super comfy for camp and adds a lot of comfort on rocky and gravel sites.
I’m definitely going to check out the Big Agnes though. Sounds luxurious.
Air Mattress ( army )
The military air mattresses have a big rubber bag attached. they do cost upwards of $120.00 but they don’t normally get punctured easily and are great in warm places. they also weigh about the same as my 3/4 size thermarest.
A mummy sleeping bag fits nicely on top of one.
They will all treat you well but no one else seems to have used this particular mattress.
It is not o be confused with the Wal-Mart Electro blow up China stuff. It packs down nicely.
I don’t use it in winter because of cold transfer and the snow makes for a comfy bed under a light thermarest.
I second the big agnes inflatable pads
The big agnes pads pack very small, which makes it very easy to stuff into kayak hatches. To me, the big agnes inflatable pads are just about as comfortable as an air mattress. Plus, it is built to provide insulation even when the temperatures dip. I used mine on a paddling trip and the temps got down to the low 20s and it worked just fine.
Jamie
We love the Sevylor model.
We bought two Sevylor singles cotton/rubber inflatables from Cabelas (#51-3723). Product gets 4.5 of 5 stars on customer reviews. Heavy for backpacking but for paddling not a problem. They were everything as advertised “soft, comfortable, airtight, and durable”.
swordfish
I have the Thermarest self inflatable pad and for the bigger full sized blow up mattress have tried Coleman and now have an Ozark Trail that’s holding up pretty good so far.
If you keep the box especially for the big beds, you can return the beds if they have a slow leak, even if you have it a year. It’s not that I punctured anything in my case. They just leak.
-Capri
Exped Downmat 9 Dlx
I have had a Thermorest standard long and a Mountain Hardware Trailhead 72. They were both great pads. But as a side sleeper I would find that an hour after I fell asleep, I would awaken to my arms having fallen asleep.
I bought an Exped Downmat 9 Dlx and I would buy another if something happened to this one. It is almost 3 inches thick and filled with 700 loft down. It blows up with the bag acting like a bellows. It takes a couple minutes, but I can sleep through the night on it. It is smaller than the Thermorest and the MH Trailhead and weighs almost the same.
It is pricey though, but I figure if it keeps me going to the woods and waterways for more years then it is worth it. Besides, if I work hard canoeing and portaging all day, I want to sleep well at night. Again, its pricey, but worth it. They make other versions without down etc, but in doing late fall and early spring camping and it going down into the 20s at night. It provides great insulation as well; R8 I think.
thermorest
4 season. packs down to a bit larger than a nalgene and is comfy enough. from -30 alpine camping to being stuffed in the boat, it’s so far insulated me well enough.
well…and there are really, really different sleeping bags involved.