So, if your job is the design and manufacture of air beds, why oh why do they not work?
I mean, all they are required to do is stay up.
By what other measures do they need to perform?none.
Staying up is all they need to do. Not deflate.
I’ve paid money time and time again for an inflatable bed. Only to be deflated not on demand. Is that so difficult?
I spend a lot of money on all the other camping bobbins, but actually, the thing I want most is some sort of half decent sleep, so I don’t get up the worlds most irritable father, on what should be a magical family holiday.
Is that okay? I buy a bed, an inflatable bed, that doesn’t deflate. Is that possible?
I’m off to Go Outdoors to flip a table over.
Really, Jesus, I want to swear so bad.

😀

What you need is a foam matt

Mine is fine if that helps at all.

Poor rant.
No misplaced capitals.
No swear words.
Plus you’re wrong.
Plus why blame the designer? Maybe they were designing to a marketing spec.

We got a fairly basic thing from Decathlon and it’s been just fine.

Used Therm-a-rest’s for years, never had an issue. Maybe time for an upgrade? http://www.cascadedesigns.com/en/therm-a-rest/mattresses/category

My asda one has been fine for the last 4 years…

Exped or aerobed.

Not cheap, but they stay up.

Exped – warm comfy and last for days. Stop buying cheap from Go Outdoors.

Gelert 10cm self inflating mattress – most comfortable camping sleep ever. They do a double too.

Damn your reasonable replies.

Get one of the tubular lilo style ones from somewhere like Argos. Take ages to fill, but seem more robust than the cheap blue ones you can get just about everywhere.
Only issue with them is they have a stupid small hike so take ages to fill and empty.

We’ve had one for quite a while now.

Don’t buy a Hyalite Peak Elite AC mat (or do if you enjoy attending anger management). 2 nights into my Iceland trek and it springs a leak. The ground on a mountain in Iceland is pretty cold and stony.

If you do carry on with the cheap route intex ones are the best of a bad bunch

Alpkit

endofthread

always found airbeds to be crap,mats obviously reliable but not great for longer trips, We got 2 gelert?self inflating ones about35mm thick quite heavy and dont roll up very well but well comfy and have the foam core for if the air disappears in the night (go outdoors)
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Vango one from towsure.

Flock covered, non stinky, stays inflated.

Op are you sure you are inflating it right? 😛

Has any tried putting sealant in them? Reckon it might solve the air loss?

I saw a program called I shouldn’t be alive or something on discovery where a guy was in a liferaft for 76 days. At one point it started to deflate as it got a hole in it. He ended up fixing it with a fork! Due you have any cuttlery to hand? Maybe have a go with one of those spoony fork things.

Seriously, get a Thermarest.

As used by a big Ambrose shaped biffer in Iceland, Scotland, Wales, Alps. Summer and winter. Team Ambrose is just back from a three week camping trip, I slept comfortably every night.

There are loads of Thermarest clones out there but judging by the above comments they just don’t hack it. Mine is years old now and still going strong.

Buy cheap, buy twice.

I have a double that I bought from Tescos I think (head scratch, erm..4 years ago) and on the box it said something like ” once inflated you may need to inflate it again due to the heat generated from warm air cooling down and hence less pressure. Once inflated again it should be fineif mot top up ” the reason I know this is I’ve just had 2 bouncing Nephews stay with us and I needed the bed again, inflated via a track pump, sure enough following day felt like it’d gone down, pumped back up following day and all was well.

Just saying like.
HTH

I’ve swapped the kids to campbeds like in the pic from Geoffj. But they aren’t wide enough for me.
I might try the Alpkit ones SIM seem to be the way forward.

Stop faffing about and get a Thermarest. They are pricey but work very well and last and last and last. If it does leak their warranty is legendary. I have a 10 year old one that is used regularly and it doesn’t leak, and a newer one that also doesn’t leak. My dad also has a 10 year old one that he uses loads and it doesn’t leak. You get the picture.

EDIT: The closest I’ve come to killing it was leaving it in a hot tent. My firend’s brand X inflatable mat had exploded and my thermarest was banana shaped with the pressure but never burst. It’s been fine the 5 years since.

Stop buying airbeds.

Sleeping Mats

As good as the Thermarests and half the price.

LOL – I just came in to work to the same from a colleague. I pointed her to the exped site for the ‘best possible solution’ then to Alpkit for the ‘pretty good but probably won’t last quite as long… at a third the price’.

This……

Stop buying airbeds.

Sleeping Mats

As good as the Thermarests and half the price.

I’ve tried an aerobed, which is very comfortable, but there’s so much air under you, you’ll end up cold. Alpkit mats are excellent. comfortable, warm, and good value.

Sam, agreed, it can be cold.

But as you’re car camping (which you would be with an aerobed!), take a wool blanket, and stick it on top of the mattress, fitted sheet on top of that, with the duvet and pillows from your bed at home = a warm and very comfy night’s sleep!