# Air Mattresses for camping



## cassiem

Do you think its worth the extra money to get an air mattress instead to put the sleeping bag on top of? How well do the air mattresses hold air over the long run? Or do you prefer to stick with a self inflating foam pads, or the rollout of pads?


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## winpiper

I have used several different brands of air mattresses for camping, and I find over time they dont hold air like the should. I always have to add more air to them throughout the trip. Also, they dont provide much insulation on a cold ground, since air is not an insulator, so a pad would work better for that as well.


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## ctfortner

Back when we were tent camping, we didnt use much, other than some blankets or comfortors up under us. I have some air beds and have slept on them a time or 2 and they are ok, but if I was a full time tent camper I think I would look for something other than an airbed. Maybe I just had a cheapy, but it wasnt that great and I had to add air to it also.


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## grace

I think that some things weren't meant to be slept on. One of them is water, and the other is air. Two substances that I am doubtful of. Water beds are horrible and air mattresses are the same. They don't don't up well under your body weight. Air mattresses often deflate or need extra air. I don't think it's a good solution for sleeping and camping.


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## mariahdawn

I agree, all the air mattresses that I have tried have always deflated. I too, have the same dilema. I am tired of sleeping on the ground, not ready for a camper yet. What to do??


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## kiteri

Has anyone ever tried the mattress up on a frame like this one:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...ode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=air+mattress&noImage=0

I am leary because of all the negative reviews.


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## mailfire99

Havent ever tried this, but have looked at them in the stores. Looked like a good idea and I think it would work good if you have a good quality air mattress. If not, I could see that being uncomfortable, if the air did not hold welll, you would feel the frame your laying on. But I would think this would work good, with a good bed to go on it


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## glfortner

Okay I am putting in my two cents. I am all for the airbed. I agree you have to pump more air into it every couple of days, but it isn't too bad if you have one of those foot pumps. I don't like to sleep on the ground so to add a little air every couple of days is worth it to me. If you have a blanket on top of the airbed it isn't cold.


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## sandyza

Yup, we ALWAYS use air mattresses - last one we bought was the double high. And yes, they do tend to need refilling, but we bought a little thingy that plugs into our car lighter and has an AC/DC plug on the other end - use that to refill the mattress (the mattress comes with an AC/DC plug or you can use an alternate method of pumping it up) and it fills up within just 5 minutes. Also deflates it automatically in the same amount of time and really sucks the air completely out so it's easy to fold up. It is colder to sleep on than a mat or roll, but we just put a sleeping bag on top, cover it with a sheet set that's made for it... just perfect - never had a problem yet!


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## roadhouse

We tent camped for 13 years before buying a camper. Me must of bought 15 air mattress' over the years. Seems after a few trips or one season they would start to leak. I also used those self inflating pads, and think they are more comfortable than an air mattress. Cots are also nice, we've had a few of those.

we also always used one of those to fill the mattress, takes less than a minute to fill a queen size.
Intex Quick-Fill AC/DC Rechargeable Pump from REI.com


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## sandyza

We also carry that rechargeable pump as well.... comes in handy sometimes.


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## grace

That's the first air pump I've seen, but it looks like a perfect answer to deflated mattress. It's very small and recharges the battery at the same time. That's just the ticket when you don't want to sleep on the floor. Doing it when you're a child is one thing. But now that I'm older, I'd definitely do not want to sleep on the floor.


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## campingforfun

When we tent camped we always used air mattresses under the sleeping bags. It wasn't much but at least you were up off the ground a little so it wasn't so rocky in the back - lol

Later we graduated to cots and sleeping bags.


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## grace

When we went camping we used regular sleeping bags on the floor. There were no air mattresses. Having an air mattress would have helped to keep you from getting sore. Even when we were young, it was still sore from sleeping on the floor. The air mattress cushions you from the bottom, and should help.


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## bill0830

You can also get one of the fold up Cots and they work great. If you put a egg shell foam on top of them, they work really nice. I'm not much on air mattress as they don't seem to last very long and there is nothing like waking up sleeping on the hard floor. The cot I'm speaking of don't take up much room when folded up. My sister is able to store it under her jack knife couch in the camper.


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## xisle

Yep, there are few things ruder, than waking at three in the morning on the cold ground, because your air mattress deflated on you in the middle of the night. Cold and sore. There is a queen sized air mattress with a memory foam pad on top. I always use a footprint under my tent. Very important. And a piece of carpet can roll up easily and take little space. I put that on the inside, between the tent floor and the air mattress. No leaks so far. I use a pad for primitive camping though.


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## frank6160

I've been using Coleman air matresses for about 6 years now. No problem with losing air. As others stated an extra sleeping bag or blanket on top will insulate from cold,which is usually not a problem when we camp.


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## southrnbound

Here is my 2 cents. Go with the air mattress even if you have to put a little air in it before going to bed its better than sleeping on the ground. :thumbup1: We tent camped for years and even did a 2 week trek through Maine and our air mattresses in tow. We found that an egg crate under the mattress protects its ok. Not saying that we didn't go through several mattresses in our day but my poor back was greatful :10311:


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## orangecamper

I have a Coleman air mattress with a built in pump. Works on batteries. Yeah, we have to put more air in every other day or so, but I don't wake up stiff or sore. Tent camped this past weekend, it got down to about 25-30 at night, had a sleeping bag and blanket between us and the mattress, and blankets on top, we stayed nice and warm. I have used self-inflating pads, I still woke up stiff, even in the middle of summer. Never going without an air mattress again!


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## greekdudes

Hi everyone,

I think there are a lot of good points here - all-in-all, it depends on the type of camping you are doing and if there is hiking included. If there is hiking included then clearly you will not want to haul around the weight of an air mattress and pump and a pad will be the way to go. Otherwise, a solid air mattress is a great way to get a good nights rest!

All the best!
+ Will


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## mark

for what it's worth (if anything) when I backpack and tent camped my bad back couldn't stand the cold, or hard ground. Being inventive (and cheap) I took an eggcrate pad, fastened an "emergency blanket" (the silver foil) to the flat side with adhesive, sewed a blanket slip-cover to slide over it- the whole thing weighed less than 5 pounds when rolled up. strapped to my backpack or thrown in the car, it was warm and comfortable, and since I got the better part of 10 years of service from it, was well worth the $20 investment.


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