Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

[05Kingquad700]

Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

Yep, self inflating mattress can get a hole in them just the same as the "other" air mattresses. If you noticed, they included a patch kit with your alps pad. The difference between the self inflating mats have a foam pad inside of them. So if they do lose the air, or get a hole in them, you are sleeping on the egg crate foam, not the deflated mattress. Plus the foam provides a barrier between you and the ground. If you look at the thermarests they actually give you an "R" factor for the insulation of the foam. The higher the "R' factor, the warmer you will be.

[tplife]

Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

5.0 is "thermo neutral". I had a failure after 24 years of hardcore ThermaRest use and it was easier to use a bit of SuperGlue on the pinhole valve leak. It's been four years to date after that repair and I am awaiting failure to utilize my "lifetime" guarantee. Gotta' like it!

[hwc1954]

Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

I have three of the orignal Thermarest camp models. 25 inches wide, 2 inches thick, self inflating. The damn things cost a fortune. They are all useless with leaks. I've tried the soapy water and have never been able to find them. Replaced the valve on one, thinking that might be it. Nope. Still leaks.

So, tonight I got all three out, blew them up tight, and starting looking inch by inch. Found the culprit on all three. Ordered the patch kits.

Don't think I'll be switching back from my Kelty Sleep Eazy air bed setup any time soon. The Thermarests are just slightly more comfortable than sleeping on a board. The problem I have with all of these single mattresses is that I always end up twisting and turning off the mat in the middle of the night, so I end up sleeping on the floor of the tent.... I guess I could always stack all three of them on top of each other and lash them together with straps. Six inches of Thermarest self-inflatables would probably be comfortable!

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I'm more excited about finding three 1/2 inch thick closed cell foam "yoga mats" that, placed side by side by side, are the exact shape and size of the floor of my tent. No more cold floor. No more little stones poking my knees! Back home, they'll give me a 7 foot square padded area in my basement gym. Same foam as the Airex exercise mats.

[Bigdog57]

Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

hwc1954, I too have had it with the failed "Self Deflating Pads", wasting money on two of them. My old standard air matresses are still going strong, and I am a BIG guy! I just place a CLOSED cell pad under the air matress and I'm comfy. My twin size matress fills most of my 7' hex three-man tent, leaving room for gear on the floor. No worries of rolling off. I am a 'toss&turn' sleeper too, and use blankets or fully opened sleeping bags. Very comfortable even on cold nights. Frost on the pumpkin outside, warm and cozy inside. It works for me!

[hwc1954]

Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

We'll see how the patches go. At least I was able to find the leaks (well, one leak per pad) this time. I did a little temporary patch with a clear vinyl self-stick patch from a bike repair kit last night and the repaired Thermarest at least stayed inflated overnight -- although it took two or three puffs to top it off this morning. Can't tell if it's losing air or just settling in from being inflated for the first time in a long time....

Still, I think of what I would do with these mattresses and I'm not sure I would take them instead of the Kelty Sleep Easy Queen. That thing is pretty nice product. It's polyurethane laminated nylon material (think hiking rain jacket material) instead of PVC. it rolls up smaller than one ThermaRest and, with the little rechargeable pump, inflates and deflates quicker. Of course, it's subject to the same punctures as the ThermaRests...

[hwc1954]

Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

OK, one patch per Thermarest completed. One appears to be holding air. The other two were still leaking. Found and patched one more hole in each of those two. Waiting for the patches to dry and see if I've got to continue the wild goose chase. At this rate, I'll spend more on patch kits than I would have just buying more Thermarests!

So far, the technique for finding the holes is to inflate the thing, place it under a good light, and just slowly run my and back and forth, looking closely at the material to spot any abrasions or imperfections in the material.

[tplife]

Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

I have four ThermaRest pads, two are CampRest and one is a StayTek, all 3 are the large models and I have one GuideLite for motorcycle camping. To make them comfortable, you inflate them and let air out until when you bend to get up, your body contacts the floor. Doing my own repair meant I didn't have to shell out a few dollars to mail it back to Cascade Designs to utilize the transferable LIFETIME GUARANTEE. I sometimes wonder if people who insist on sleeping on a hollow ice cream bar air mattress realize what they're missing, but then it takes all kinds and if that's their ideal of comfort, why not?

[hwc1954]

Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

I'm pretty sure the three I have are CampRest models. They are about 20 years old. 25 x 77 inches. 2 inches thick. Forest Green fabric tops. Brown slick nylon fabric bottoms.

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I finally went to the soapy water on the two that are still leaking. Blow them up, fold them half to pump up the air pressure. Then, use a spray bottle of water with a couple squirts of dish soap to wet a section and slowly run my palm over the surface, distributing the water and looking/listening for bubbles. Found and marked five more leaks that need to be patched. The mistake I've made in the past is thinking that you could just soap up a mattress and the bubbles would just jump out from afar. It takes getting up close and personal and going slowly over the surface. Even with the soapy water, it's easy to miss a small leak.

If I can get them patched up, I'll get some lashing straps and stack two of them as an option for use in a small tent. One Thermarest takes up the same amount of room as my Kelty queen air mattress...and longer to inflate/deflate/pack.

I'm on a mission to get the Thermarests holding air again, just on general principle (and stubbornness). Gotta see what I have left from the two patch kits tomorrow and see how many more I need to order.

[MissDaisy]

Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

***** I am not a Princess, I have Lupus, and I need to have somewhat comfortable sleep *****

I went to Big Lots and bought a full size memory foam, going to cut it half and double it up. Do I need to be concerned about moisture and the memory foam? There is no rain forecasted, but condensation maybe?

[hwc1954]

Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

Miss Daisy:

Seems like the worst case scenario with damp foam toppers is like sleeping bags or tents or tarps or anything else. When you get home, lay it out, let it air dry completely, and then pack it up for storage. Or, on a camping trip, lay it out in the daytime and let it dry as much as possible. Realistically, if you are camping in the rain or getting soaked with condensation, everything is going to get damp!

Therm-a-Rest sells a camping pad with a memory foam topper zipped inside a cover for their pads. That's not going to be much different than a separate topper. In theory, the zippered cover is water resistant, but I wouldn't pack that thing away without making sure it's completely dry.

[Mike]

Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

I dunno.... I understand all the theory about the air mattresses sucking out warmth, and I guess I have experienced it in extreme cold weather conditions.

Still, just this weekend I blew up a big $15.00 air mattress with felt like fuzzy top and it was about as comfortable as anything I have ever slept on anywhere - inside or outside of a tent.

[MissDaisy]

Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

Ok all.....thank you for all the help you have given me.

We are heading out and I will report back when we return.

[tplife]

Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

Don't make the foolish mistake of thinking that the laws of thermodynamics are theories - they are proven facts and that's just the way the world works, like it or not. The good news is that it's almost mid-august, and pretty much anything this time of year is going to be pretty comfortable!

[Bigdog57]

Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

The only problem I have had with the flocked-top air mattress is that it is more difficult to 'roll over' while sleeping. But the GI wool blanket on top of it cures that. The ability to 'adjust' the comfort level is a big bonus too.

[MissDaisy]

Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

Hi .... Last night was our first night, I was comfy and very warm on my cot. My hubby was freezing. He had a plain small air mattress with a closed cell pad under. We have a mylar sleeping bag and was thinking about putting the air mattress inside that? He said he could feel the cold under his back. He had a 20 degree bag and another heavy cotton blanket over him.