Need ideas for cold air mattress bed

[CampinLady]

I have a full size, 22" high, air mattress that is too cold for me to sleep comfortably on at night when I do not have electricity. When I have electricity, I actually have an electric mattress pad, but w/o electricity the mattress is just too cold for my aching body with just that mattress pad. (Yes, I like my creature comforts. ) Would one of those emergency blankets work? I would be grateful for suggestions. Also, I am limited on storage space in my little car.

[MacGyver]

Re: Need ideas for cold air mattress bed

Putting emergency blankets under you really doesn't do too much due to the fact that heat rises. I use a self inflating backpacking pad as the base on my cot in Fall temperatures and recently added a Pendleton wool blanket to my list of gotta-haves so I can use it to wrap up in. Wool doesn't compress as much as things like mattress pads which lose a good deal of their R-value when you lie down on them. It would help to know what kind of temperatures you're talking about, but as long as it's not Winter cold, I would imagine adding a couple of wool blankets under you (and maybe around you) would help things nicely without adding a lot of bulk in your storage space.

[CampinLady]

Re: Need ideas for cold air mattress bed

Thank you for your reply & great suggestions. Unfortunately, I am allergic to wool. Do you think a thermarest type pad between me & the mattress would do the trick? I won't be camping in Temps hopefully lower than 40 degrees at night & I will be using a Mr. Heater. Even trying the bed out in my house at ideal temps, the mattress just made my body ache more.

[wiiawiwb]

Re: Need ideas for cold air mattress bed

About a month ago, I went camping into a desolate area accessible only by off-road vehicles. The weather called for a night time low in the high 20s. It got into the low 20s. I brought along a standard air mattress with three wool blankets. I started feeling chilled after a hour or two on the air mattress. The three wool blankets weren't enough. I had the foresight to bring my ExPed Downmat 9 which I inflated and put a RidgeRest Solar pad beneath it. These are used when I backpack in really cold weather. I was warm as a bug in a rug.

You may not need a DownMat (good to way below zero) but if you go out in cold weather you should have something that can keep you warm. Look at an Exped Synmat 9. The good news is you can probably pick up a down mattress at a discounted price this time of year. For a couple, there is the ExPed MegaMat.

http://www.exped.com/usa/en/product-category/mats?f[0]=field_mat_line%3A1120

In terms of what insulating value you need, in general I believe you need an r-Value of 5.2 below you to be thermoneutral at 32F during the night. Here is an in-depth discussion about it...

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/39138/

...and a list of commonly sold mattress r-Values in one list, albeit a bit outdated:

http://sectionhiker.com/sleeping-pad-r-values/

[NYCgrrl]

Re: Need ideas for cold air mattress bed

Wondering if placing the insulation material under and over the air mattress would give you the comfort of an air mattress with better insulation w/o a manmade heat source? Say the space blanket under the bed followed by the wool blanket on top?

[wiiawiwb]

Re: Need ideas for cold air mattress bed

It would be better than not having them but the issue is whether it will provide the necessary insulating value. You'd have to find out the r-Value of each item to determine if it would reach the required total given the conditions you'd be overnight in.

[terasec]

Re: Need ideas for cold air mattress bed

I havent tried it in very cold weather
But i made a sleeping pad out of extra flooring underlayment i had
Has been great in moderate temps

[tplife]

Re: Need ideas for cold air mattress bed

The only insulating value a "space blanket" offers is if you make it into a bag and get inside, allowing as little ventilation as possible at the top. A ThermaRest between you and the mattress will offer less warmth than placing the Thermarest right on the ground. Heat will be conducted away from you at a slower rate on the less-conductive solid than the gas-conductive air mattress. If you can keep the inside air warm all night, as with a heater or mattress pad, you will not have the heat loss. Like cots, hollow-tube air mattresses are designed to be used inside heated enclosures, not outside where sub-50-degree-F temperatures will ruin an otherwise fun experience.

[a65hoosier]

Re: Need ideas for cold air mattress bed

Good advice here on the need for proper insulation between you and the ground/air under a cot/air tube style mattress. I wouldn't recommend using an air tube style mattress when the temps are expected to be below 50. My opinion and my personal experience. I shoot for at least an average 5.0 r value in what I have below me. Lower r value is ok for warm summer camping and I'll go much higher (over 10.0) for cold winter temps (below freezing).

Most of the year (except summer/warm temps), I use a Therm-a-rest Luxury MAP self inflating foam pad with an r value 6.8 (I think MacGyver uses the same). In winter, I will supplement that pad by laying it on a closed foam cell pad, the Therm-a-rest Ridge Rest Solar (r value 3.5). Combined, that gets me over a 10 r value. I have slept in temps down overnight in the single digits and slept fine (the sleeping bag also plays a part in that). In those bitter temps, I'll also put a 6 lb wool blanket down on the floor of my tent. I like a warm feeling floor during cold temps and....if I get cold at night, I can pull it over me.

[sparty121]

Re: Need ideas for cold air mattress bed

I once put an old blanket under my air mattress because I was freezing. It made a huge difference and I was cozy warm all night. I've used a yoga mat out of desperation, too.

[CampinLady]

Re: Need ideas for cold air mattress bed

I really appreciate all the good suggestions that have been given. Thank you very much.

[tplife]

Re: Need ideas for cold air mattress bed

CampinLady, you're more than welcome. Anything we can offer to add to a fun, cozy camping experience is worth a discussion. As you can see, everyone on the forum has something to offer of value!

[JoeN]

Re: Need ideas for cold air mattress bed

I rarely camp in temps below freezing and I sleep on a cot, not an air mattress. I usually place a 5/8" closed cell foam pad on the cot and then place my self-inflating Therm-A-Rest on the foam pad. I car camp so I am able to carry 2 sleeping bags with me - one a rectangular bag rated to about 40 degrees and the other a bag rated to about 20 degrees. So far I have camped in temps down to freezing or just below and have managed to stay warm.

[tplife]

Re: Need ideas for cold air mattress bed

You'll sleep a lot better by getting that air space out from underneath your sleeping pad, like stuffing it with cotton or pine needles or something with a lot of small pockets or cells to trap the air and slow movement. A cot will suck the heat out of you a lot faster than the solid ground. Cot , 0.75 R-value. Pad on ground, 5.0 R-value.

[JoeN]

Re: Need ideas for cold air mattress bed

tplife,
You're saying that a cot topped with a 5/8" closed cell pad and then topped with a 1.5" Therm-a-Rest mattress only has an R value of 0.75? With that combination I have slept fine down to about freezing. However, I may do some winter camping where temps might reach mid 20s which is cold here in the south. If I do that I am considering hanging a sleeping bag just under the cot much like I have seen hammock campers do.