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  • Air mattess alternatives/suggestions

    Desperate for sleeping ideas...

    We go camping once a year for the last 14 yrs with friends,and it seems like every year, we have an air mattress that springs a leak. And while the 14 yr old can tough it like we used to, the 50+ year old parents?..not so much. It especially stinks when it happens on night #1. Finding a leak is next to impossible, and it never happens in the middle of the night. Is there anyone out there that found an air mattress that lasts more than two years? or even a more green alternative? I would love a cotton futon mat, but our vehicle limits the space we would need for transport.


    At the present time we travel in a Honda pilot and usually go for about 3 nights beach camping.

    thanks in advance,
    karen

  • #2
    Re: Air mattess alternatives/suggestions

    I have been using air mattress beds for the past 15 years. I have found the same problem that you have. After 2 or 3 years, the mattress developes a slow leak. My response has been to pack a spare new mattress and junk the old one when it starts to fail. They cost me about $30 each and last two years.
    FlashLantern turns your flashlight into a lantern!

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    • #3
      Re: Air mattess alternatives/suggestions

      I've also experienced the slow leaking air mattress problem. Was also concerned with the transfer of cold from the ground, as I was planning on doing some cold weather camping this past winter. Apparently air mattresses are conducive to hypothermia, from what I've read. So I picked up these ALPS self-inflating foam filled mattresses off Amazon. I'm quite tall, so was pleased to be able to choose a size that fits me. Haven't used them yet, but have tried them out in the living room and they seem to be comfortable.

      http://www.amazon.com/Mountaineering...236158&sr=8-22

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      • #4
        Re: Air mattess alternatives/suggestions

        Originally posted by Dust Devil View Post
        I've also experienced the slow leaking air mattress problem. Was also concerned with the transfer of cold from the ground, as I was planning on doing some cold weather camping this past winter. Apparently air mattresses are conducive to hypothermia, from what I've read.


        My solution to the cold air in the mattress is a feather mattress pad I lay over it. It keeps me perfectly warm throughout the night and if my air mattress has a slow leak, I'm not directly on the ground in the morning. It does take up space though, I roll it up like a sleeping bag and wrap it with a cargo net I have that came with my car. Works for me!
        My Other Interest

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        • #5
          Re: Air mattess alternatives/suggestions

          Originally posted by SilverMaggie View Post
          My solution to the cold air in the mattress is a feather mattress pad I lay over it. It keeps me perfectly warm throughout the night and if my air mattress has a slow leak, I'm not directly on the ground in the morning. It does take up space though, I roll it up like a sleeping bag and wrap it with a cargo net I have that came with my car. Works for me!
          Maggie, 50 Points! At least you're thinking about it, but the pad of course sags some and you come into contact with it and the mattress. As an insulator, the pad retains heat/cold longer than nothing at all, that's it's purpose, so as the air mattress gets colder and colder through the night laying on the mattress, so do you laying on the pad, aka convection. You lose calories while your body works to overcome the heat sink effect of the air mattress, but it never actually does. At best you don't get as good of a nights' sleep, at worst, you risk hypothermia due to the laws of thermodynamics. You're a good candidate to ditch the pumps, air leaks, wasted space and comfort issues and invest in a decent sleeping pad. Air mattresses and cots aren't intended for use camping, that's why the US military and the Boy Scouts only use sleeping pads in unheated enclosures. Big Box retailers and sporting goods outlets should be severly spanked for selling these for camping, IMHO. BTW, ThermaRest has every comfort level of sleeping pad and they are LIFETIME guaranteed, so you buy them once and forget about it.
          “People have such a love for the truth that when they happen to love something else, they want it to be the truth; and because they do not wish to be proven wrong, they refuse to be shown their mistake. And so, they end up hating the truth for the sake of the object which they have come to love instead of the truth.”
          ―Augustine of Hippo, Fifth Century A.D.

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          • #6
            Re: Air mattess alternatives/suggestions

            I didn't know ThermaRest has a lifetime warranty. I will have to look at that. I HATE air mattresses anymore. I have woken up one to many times to a flat air mattress. I am throwing the ones I have out as they go bad and I am not replacing them.

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            • #7
              Re: Air mattess alternatives/suggestions

              Thermarest is the place to be!
              Get campin', Renodesertfox A canvas campateer
              Campin' Here Between Campouts! Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult

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              • #8
                Re: Air mattess alternatives/suggestions

                I think REI makes ThermaRest knockoffs and I've heard good things about them. If on a budget, or you don't like buying used stuff off Ebay, that would be a reasonable alternative. REI (and EMS too!) doesn't sell junk.
                “People have such a love for the truth that when they happen to love something else, they want it to be the truth; and because they do not wish to be proven wrong, they refuse to be shown their mistake. And so, they end up hating the truth for the sake of the object which they have come to love instead of the truth.”
                ―Augustine of Hippo, Fifth Century A.D.

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                • #9
                  Re: Air mattess alternatives/suggestions

                  I always avoid the air mattress problem and go straight for foam mattresses. I've been using them since I was really young because my dad cared about his back. Plus they are super easy to just cut up and alter based on your needs. At the end of the trip you just roll them up and tie them off with a bungee cord. They typically last me about 4-5 years, with about 6 camping trips a year (two of which are long, meaning two or more weeks). The one disadvantage is that they are too bulky for backpacking, but so long as you aren't doing that they work just fine. Unfortunately, it is now kind of a pain in the bum to find listings for it on the internet because google thinks that you want to take a memory foam mattress when you go camping. But typically, I use stuff like this: http://www.foambymail.com/campad.html. But thicker.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Air mattess alternatives/suggestions

                    I camped a few times this year over the winter and found a great way to keep the cold away. I use one of the foam mattress pads from wally world (the thicker blue one), lay a Campmor self inflating mat over that and then my 20 degree bag with me in it. If I take my dog with me, she sleeps in the sleeping bag with me. It really worked great with keeping the cold from transferring to me. I don't use air matresses anymore because of the leaks and the cold transfer.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Air mattess alternatives/suggestions

                      The much-feared and misunderstood "cold transfer' is easily defeated with proper prep. Use a closed-cell foam pad UNDER the air-matress, then a good wool or other blanket atop the airmatress. Then you are under another blanket or in a sleepingbag. I have been warm and comfy in the low twenties, and as low as 17 degrees one night - no problems. I do NOT camp out in arctic conditions, so that is another problem entirely. Keep your body fueled, and it will provide the warmth you need when properly set up in bed.

                      Finding a good airmatress that won't leak - that is a hit-or-miss proposition. I have had worse luck with 'self-inflating' pads myself - they are too often 'self-deflators'. :cool:
                      Longtime Motorcycle Camper. Getting away from it all on two wheels! :cool:

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                      • #12
                        Re: Air mattess alternatives/suggestions

                        self inflating pads should work even with ten holes. They just won't compress for storage.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Air mattess alternatives/suggestions

                          Bigdog, I'm sorry you can't understood the principles behind thermodynamic law and the heat-sink effect, but I'm glad you're able to ignore it when you camp and have fun. Most hypothermia occurs between 30 and 50-degrees F, hardly ARCTIC conditions. You can reduce the effect of conduction by placing another object between the mattress and the ground, and you can slow the effect of it by adding more insulation between you and the mattress or cot. However, you cannot stop the effect of the mattress being a heat sink as long as the outside air is cold enough to need cover for sleeping. No matter how many layers you add, your cot or air mattress is continuing to get colder and colder until the inside air temperature is the same as the outside air temperature. As long as you're sleeping on it, you're sacrificing calories, energy, and comfort to help it become the same temperature as the outside air. You're the heat sink now sucka! :cool:
                          Anyway, the "proper" way to indulge is clearly the RDF way, with a Mr. Buddy heater running inside the tent, maybe a cordless margarita mixer, and the sound of the whippoorwhill for a good nights' sleep! :rolleyes:
                          “People have such a love for the truth that when they happen to love something else, they want it to be the truth; and because they do not wish to be proven wrong, they refuse to be shown their mistake. And so, they end up hating the truth for the sake of the object which they have come to love instead of the truth.”
                          ―Augustine of Hippo, Fifth Century A.D.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Air mattess alternatives/suggestions

                            Inflate. Close valve. Lay down on pad. Air leaks out and won't support weight. Nope, not a good pad. Wasted thirty bucks on it.
                            Have four good air matresses that have NOT failed me, and hold air. Sometimes, "Old School" is best. Works for me.
                            Longtime Motorcycle Camper. Getting away from it all on two wheels! :cool:

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                            • #15
                              Re: Air mattess alternatives/suggestions

                              Originally posted by Bigdog57 View Post
                              Inflate. Close valve. Lay down on pad. Air leaks out and won't support weight. Nope, not a good pad. Wasted thirty bucks on it.
                              Have four good air matresses that have NOT failed me, and hold air. Sometimes, "Old School" is best. Works for me.
                              Sorry to hear that BD. Of course, a quality sleeping pad costs close to $100. Having two that are '87 vintage and don't leak, I'm not actually spending any more money buying quality.
                              “People have such a love for the truth that when they happen to love something else, they want it to be the truth; and because they do not wish to be proven wrong, they refuse to be shown their mistake. And so, they end up hating the truth for the sake of the object which they have come to love instead of the truth.”
                              ―Augustine of Hippo, Fifth Century A.D.

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