Inflatable mattresses: what is awesome?

[Savannah]

I never could completely make my peace with the cold and low seating of air mattresses, though I slept on them for my first four Burns and it certainly didn't kill me. I love the Liberty Mountain Swedish folding cot. Has a 2 inch thick mattress and a lattice of springs underneath, so it's neither firm nor completely squishy under one's back. (However, someone who prefers a very firm sleeping surface would do better--and spend a little less--with a more traditional cot). I asked for it as a either a Christmas or birthday present, and I love to shove my stuff underneath it to help keep my tent tidy. It's one of my favorite all-time pieces of Burn equipment.

This is what plagiarism looks like!

Of myself? Or do you have the same cot?

[Krokodyle]

He then looked at me like I'm an idiot and in a "duh, everyone knows" sort of fashion that twin air mattresses last longer than queens or doubles, pushed side by side they are large enough for two people, but when one person moves it doesn't bounce the other person around, and if you stack them even if one goes flat you don't wake up on the ground. Hence 4 mattresses for him and his wife, plus a spare.

My mind = blown.

[theCryptofishist]

I have a seat cushion that is (probably) made out of memory foam with a polyester cover. To reinflate, I just leave the valves open overnight and it inflates. The trick is not to sit on it the next morning without closing those valves...
Thread drift

[Zhust]

It looks like my best bet would be two (five?) Coleman ComfortSmart Twin Extra Coil airbeds (like this) to make a queen-sized bed.

Thanks for all your help!

Now, commence with thread drift ...

[Hondovious]

I've never been one to want inflatable mattresses. There seems to be no way to determine if the one you get will be any good — regardless of price. But I'm trying to increase confort and cut down on weight and space.

So what do people use that is astonishingly good? What is easy to set up and take down? What stays inflated? What resists punctures?

This bed is fantastic. Queen size. High off of the ground. Only needs to be topped off about once during the week. I use it in a yurt and it is the perfect size. Comfortable for seating as well since it is high off the ground. It is a Simmons Beautyrest Skyrise. About $100 bucks.

[Earthwalker]

i suggest one of the fancy backpacking pads that self-inflate (or you can blow into them if you want)

i got a thermarest BRAND one last time and it was the best i had slept on the playa.. really comfy.. and it didnt deflate!




they are kinda spendy.. but for such a small compact item, its hard to beat..

expect to pay $80-100+ for one

It always boils down to what you like. To me, the picture above does not look comfortable in any way, shape or form. It's way too close to the cold ground. It would be fine for backpacking the Appalachian Trail, or just doing a few nights out with the guys, but for a whole week in a hostile environment? I just don't understand why you'd go with any option other than the one that makes you most comfortable (which of course can be a Thermarest if that's what you like, but...) For me, that is NOT a self-inflating air mattress. I'm just saying....little sleep as is, dehydrated, super exhausted, may want to have sleepover guests, etc. I don't want to make life worse by basically sleeping on the ground.

I'm debating between several flip n fucks (those foldable foam pads for guests) and a large inflatable air mattress from Costco. The latter folds up a lot smaller, but I have no desire to have to worry about filling a mattress mid-week. There are so many things I want to do there; worrying about the comfort of my bed, or whether or not it's losing air, is NOT one of them.

I want to believe in air mattresses-they make sense in many ways-but I also am of the group that has never once had a good experience with them.

Best of luck...

[lemur]

thats as comfortable as it can be for the size of stuff im willing to bring in basically carried on my back from 2000+ miles away. ..circumstances determine what is awesome! in this case, the way i pack for my trips.. its certainly way awesome.

but.. then again.. my camping gear probably takes up less space than some peopels costumes.


i would not be sleeping that way if i was one of the many people round these parts that bring in carloads of shit for themselves alone...

id have a tent i could stand in.. and maybe a cot... hell, if i had a trailer id bring a real bed (as some people are wont to do)



if youre someone who wants to fit your whole burn into a 40 pound bag that fits into an overhead compartment on a plane ?....... youre gonna be wanting a thermarest.

[Earthwalker]

Sorry, forgot you may have mentioned flying. Then definitely I'd go thermarest route. If you get a good one you can make it work just fine

(I don't believe any of that. I"m just trying to make you feel better about what will likely be absolutely horrendous sleeping conditions)

[illy dilly]

He then looked at me like I'm an idiot and in a "duh, everyone knows" sort of fashion that twin air mattresses last longer than queens or doubles, pushed side by side they are large enough for two people, but when one person moves it doesn't bounce the other person around, and if you stack them even if one goes flat you don't wake up on the ground. Hence 4 mattresses for him and his wife, plus a spare.

My mind = blown.

Thats what I said!
We're going to Apogaea for 5 days this year, and probably wont have room for the futon mattress (Boooo!) so I'm thinking that we're gonna give this a try. Not sure if we'll try stacking them or just putting them side by side and bringing 1 spare.

[Captain Goddammit]

I use this, it's the most comfortable air mattress ever.

[unjonharley]

I use this, it's the most comfortable air mattress ever.

And I know it's true..

[Eric]

He then looked at me like I'm an idiot and in a "duh, everyone knows" sort of fashion that twin air mattresses last longer than queens or doubles, pushed side by side they are large enough for two people, but when one person moves it doesn't bounce the other person around, and if you stack them even if one goes flat you don't wake up on the ground. Hence 4 mattresses for him and his wife, plus a spare.

My mind = blown.

Back when I slept on an air mattress, I did the same thing. Two twins stacked on top of each-other, taught to me by one of my fellow Rennies. As comfortable as I ever got without being on a real mattress. Never even woke up with the inevitable deflation - I just made sure that the mattress that deflated more was on the bottom. That way the part I was sleeping on didn't fluctuate too much.

[TT120]

I put a Big Agnes Insulated Air Core mattress on top of a XXL Thermarest pad and it's very comfortable for me. They keep me well insulated from the ground and quite warm at night. I've useed them for years and never had either of them deflate.