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  • #1

    Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

    Hi...I am new here but have been reading a lot in the last few days.

    We are going camping soon and the temps are generally about 45 at night, but I am planning on 20 just in case.

    I have read all the tips about what to put underneath an air mattress, generally a foam pad seems the best suggestion. But I also read about wool blankets as an option underneath?

    I would like to buy one or the other, they are about the same price.

    I thought a wool blanket may have more uses for camping and so I was thinking about buying some but wanted to check here first?

    Thanks
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

    If you are talking about the big inflatable air mattresses, then you would want to place something between you and the air mattress. A wool blanket would be good, or an extra sleeping bag. Something between the ground and the air mattress would be a good idea, as well, but if you only have one blanket, I would put it between you and the air mattress.
    Nights camped in 2019: 24
    Nights camped in 2018: 24

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    • #3
      Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

      It's for an air mattress that is low to the ground, not the big tall type. So put the blanket on top of the mattress, then the sleeping bag? That is what my husband and son will be sleeping on.

      I am going to be sleeping on a cot that has springs and a pad....what would be best for that?

      Thanks
      Last edited by MissDaisy; 07-29-2013, 11:25 PM.

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      • #4
        Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

        Absolutely get a closed cell foam pad - THE best thing you could have. It cuts off completely any cold and damp. I even had to use them on a driving trip once to Florida - the year they had extreme cold all the way south - and I had a KOA camping cabin and the mattress on the bed about froze me and I had put a blanket and a twin blow up mattress on top of their mattress. Had to go out and get my foam pads and put them between the mattress and my blow up. Then I was very cozy. I cut them up also and use them in shelters outside for kitties, even newborns, bird houses. Used a piece of one in front of Chiminea outside in 3 feet of snow - feet get too cold.
        Excellent rug. Great for children sitting around the campfire. Easy to clean etc. Walmart has the best price on these. They roll up and you can roll up several in one bunch. Very lightweight. One of the best things on the market I know of. e.

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        • #5
          Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

          Skip the air mattress, like cots they have 0.75 R values, well in the thermo-negative territory. You want either a closed cell foam (thin and uncomfortable) or an open-cell foam self-inflating sleeping pad (best) which will have a thermo-neutral R-value of 5.0 or better. There is nothing you can do with a cot or air mattress to counterract its 0.75 negative r-value, unless you plan on bringing sub-zero insulating gear or a tent heater. Filling the open air space under a cot or hammock with cellular material like soft foam, kapok, pine needles, etc. will break up the heat-sink effect of open air convection.
          Last edited by tplife; 07-30-2013, 01:52 PM.
          “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: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

            The closed-cell foam pad goes under the air matress, the wool blanket on top. Keeps me comfy - assuming a good blanket or sleepingbag - even in high teens temps. Not a problem at all.
            Longtime Motorcycle Camper. Getting away from it all on two wheels! :cool:

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            • #7
              Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

              Here is an article talking about your question. Well worth the read
              http://traildirt.com/cold-nights-in-...h-country-443/
              Nights camped in 2019: 24
              Nights camped in 2018: 24

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              • #8
                Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

                +1 on the closed cell foam. Cheap, lightweight, good insulation, comfy.

                No matter what else is underneath you, the closed cell foam pad goes right underneath the sleeping bag and separates you from your air mattress or whatever

                An air mattress and a closed cell foam pad is bulky, but will make for some very comfortable sleeping

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                • #9
                  Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

                  Thanks

                  My husband just wanted to sleep on the ground! So he at least agreed to some sort of air mattress, but now I just need to make sure it's warm.

                  That article mentioned regular memory foam. I have read though that they are a bad idea for camping, because any dampness turns them into a sponge?

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                  • #10
                    Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

                    Just keep in mind that the "air mattress" that will keep you comfortable when sleeping has an open-cell foam core. This cellular matrix traps air and prevents the convection of cold surrounding air, meaning stopping the old-style tubular inflatables from sucking the body heat right out of you, and it does it from around the top, sides, and bottom, not just from the bottom, and more so since thermodynamic transfer is faster through open air than through solid (but slower than through liquid, that's why you drain the water out of your cooler fool!). Only a science denier would think that they live outside of natural law, and we know you're just not that stupid...
                    Last edited by tplife; 07-30-2013, 09:13 PM.
                    “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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                    • #11
                      Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

                      Would this work?

                      http://www.amazon.com/StanSport-Stan...im_sbs_sg_or_6

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                      • #12
                        Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

                        Yes but the ridge rests, while more expensive, would work better. The self inflating matresses are even better. Look here http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/...0226_200368356 for some ideas.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

                          Something just dawned on me. I am at that stage of life where I often get nights sweats (UGH).

                          So if I am sweaty, along with my sleeping bag, is that going to make me colder?

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                          • #14
                            Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

                            Also.....I am going to be using a self-inflating pad over my padded cot. Do I also need a closed-cell foam pad?

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                            • #15
                              Re: Wool blanket or foam pad underneath air mattress?

                              Originally posted by MissDaisy View Post
                              Also.....I am going to be using a self-inflating pad over my padded cot. Do I also need a closed-cell foam pad?
                              I think that is overdoing it. Personally, I think a padded cot is enough. Try it out at home before you go, then you will know what works and how much is necessary. Turn off the heat or the A/C, open the windows, and give it a whirl

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