Talk to me about camping beds

We had a self inflating double from Go Outdoors. I forget the name but they don't sell it anymore anyway. It was very comfortable. Way better than an airbed or a cheap sprung mattress and almost as good as a nice pocket sprung. Slept on it a lot during a renovation project. Even got it out when we stayed at a B&B as the mattress there was not good.

It was big, heavy and hard to pack away but well worth it for the comfort. Unfortunately it gave up at the seams and couldn't be repaired.

Not super helpful in terms of specifics but comfy mattresses are out there. There is a world of difference between cheap air beds and good self inflators. Might be worth going to one of the bigger camping shops and trying a few out.

I'd also add, if you want great comfort we add another duvet under the sheet to give a softer, breathable layer and take decent, proper pillows.

It’s not cheap but a vango Shang ri la is the closest I have come to a real bed, I used one regularly for over 2 years. I genuinely think I found it better than a real mattress on occasions 

I use a Thermostat Mondo 

I use a Thermostat Mondo 

Literally anything is better than a double airbed.  Cold as ice, goes down on you in the middle of the night and not in a good way, and has the Blobbing Effect.

We went with these for car camping with the family. Much nicer than the air mattress’s they replaced in terms of comfort and warmth but they do take up a lot of space in the car. 

https://www.worldofcamping.co.uk/outdoor-revolution-camp-star-double-100mm-self-inflating-mat

I use a single mattress sized slab of PU foam for camping trips with velcro straps to roll and compress it.

I happen to make 12k tonnes of the stuff every year so can chop a bit off without anyone noticing.

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I'll second the Vango Shangri La as being as good as a real bed. We have a 15cm single version for my partner.  I have a 10cm Berghaus mat from go outdoors which is fine but I'm very tempted to get another Vango mat for myself. 

We've just got Thermarest Mondo air beds for the van - to be tested in two weeks. Camping we bought some beds (Overmont XL via Amazon) plus cheaper 'Trail' self inflating air beds.

We will still use the beds with the Thermarest mats when camping. The cheaper Trail mat isn't that great when cold, you'll need a duvet or similar under the mattress as you could feel the cold. The Trail mattress was comfy but it was less than £30. The Thermarest are £210 but they are 3 season and much better thermally.

Definitely recommend the beds as it makes getting on and off the bed (with a self inflating mattress) much easier as they are more bed height, plus there is storage space under for clothing and shoes.

I've also got a backpacking mattress by Rambler Peak on Amazon that was fine for three nights bike packing but it's not for big camping.

We use Alpkit Dozer. But I’m sure the above are great to

 Bought when my back was playing up. I  slept on it in a rental cottage as it was more comfortable than the bed

I'll add it's a camping bed and mattress each, not double - ensures I don't wake my wife up as I've a long list of bike injuries that mean I don't sleep particularly well and need to move. We did 7 nights back to back on the beds/cheaper mattresses. With the self inflating ones, let them fill for an hour or so, then puff in a bit of air. Don't have them too hard. Get them right and they are as comfy as a proper bed. We've a big tent so the beds fit fine. We do fill the car for two of us when camping - hence getting the van for our trips now.

Bought the "top selling" (most paid reviews) double off of Amazon and it's been great. More so than the single "top selling" I'd bought for myself (which has had 2 replacement and the third one is just as pants. One job. Stay inflated!!!)

We find that the low robens single beds with one of the self-inflating air mattresses on top are super comfy. The advantage of this setup is that during the day you can stand it upright and get them out of the way

We have a double Berghaus one, 10cm thick. It's going to be replaced by 2 singles. 

The double takes longer to put away than 2 singles and harder to store as it's one huge lump as opposed to two big lumps. 

I wish there was a qr adaptor from the airbed valve and a airbeam pump. Then you could get it rock solid or much thinner.

We have a double Berghaus one, 10cm thick. It's going to be replaced by 2 singles. 

The double takes longer to put away than 2 singles and harder to store as it's one huge lump as opposed to two big lumps. 

I wish there was a qr adaptor from the airbed valve and a airbeam pump. Then you could get it rock solid or much thinner.

You can get a strap that links two Exped Megamats together to make a double bed. The megamats have square sides so ideal to put together, unlike a lot of self-inflating mats. As they are separate any movement won't transfer across to the other mat.

I bought two Megamat 10s (the longer version) and the straps, got a cotton fitted sheet made to the same size, and took pilows and our normal baavet duvet to a glamping trip. Serious comfortable and just as good as our normal beds.

Not cheap but worth the money for the comfort.

We also took some of the Alpkit ones for the kids - they were OK but not in the same confort league as the megamats.

If you are south wales I can demo them.

Been very pleased with the double dozer we have. Like all things alpkit however the price has initiated somewhat!

Exped megamat here.  Not too badly priced when on sale from Exped or via their eBay outlet.

Get one designed with carp fishing in mind. Ultra comfy as they have a thick built in mattress.

Posted by: aphex_2k

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One job. Stay inflated!!!

Camping one time, I discovered far too late that I'd neglected to pack the rubber bung that sits under the airbed end cap.  It wouldn't stay inflated without it.  What to do?

One AA Maglite and a rubber mallet later:

I ended up with the Exped MegaMat duo. I've only briefly tried it at home but it definitely lives up to the hype, it's more comfortable than many real mattresses!