Self Inflating Matresses - the size of them!

Seems to me to be a poor choice in self inflators today so I hope ours continue to last. They are very effective.

They are australian Nomad brand and 100mm thick.

Haven't seen them or equivalent around for a while.

We use two singles which have velcro on edges to join together.

You almost need two singles so you can kneel on them and roll them up to about size of a standard pillow each.

Does anyone know of similar product ?

Robin Miller

I found the oztrail self inflatable to be absolutely useless. it was far to bulky to pack (in the pootrol monster truck) and we didnt find it comfortable. the handles on the carry bag are very weak too...

We took it back to BCF and opted for the queen size coleman double height airbed. it is superb! about the same $$ as the self inflatable.

cheers
Tom

We have two single Spinifex '4WD' mats that are self inflating and have 100mm thick foam as well. Two single mats put together are actually wider than the double or queen.

We have a Prado and aren't towing - these going in the bag on the roof carrier. The are fairly bulky, but because they are as long as the queen, don't go the whole length, but sit side-by-side.

Hope this helps.

We have self inflating mats that we got from Kathmandu, they come in various sizes and are very comfy, we travel in a landrover and mostly the mats go in a box on the roof rack....

We had a queensize one (made in bayswater cant think of name), but yea, way too long to fit in either direction the queen size in the GQ LWB in the cargo area!

roofrack is the only go, and expensive option just to carry a materess

Go with the good old airbed, I have for years, and never look back. the self inflating ones are $130 to get recovered if it gets damaged.. I had mine done, then once damaged again, threw it to the tip.

I have a Coleman Queen size that folds in half (Lengthwise) before it is rolled up, I sit it on the backseat behind the driver, strap it in with the seatbelt.

Also have a double swag that is 1500mm wide, it will sit on its end on the floor behind the driver and bend it a bit just touches the roof, again strapped in with the seat belt. This is all in a dualcab Hilux.

We have one of the original 100mm double mattresses - very bulky. But it is the best mattress we have ever used, so we put it in our swag.

In the Prado and the 60series it lived between the rear pillars in front of the cargo barrier. In the current vehicle we have plenty of room in the canopy.

We had two Coleman singles that we put side by side. We used to stick them in a canvas bag that was on the roof rack. They are really light so ideal for the roof rack. The bag stopped them getting dusty or wet. These days have moved to a slide on camper so no air matress required.

we have a 100mm thick and very bulky but so comfortable and never had a problem with holes in them, we run a dual cab and you just stack it on top oif the other stuff, accross, so it pokes out the sides a bit but no real drama. As much effort as they are to roll up etc i wouldn't swap it.

sorry I'm late to reply and may be repeating what someone else has said (forum is long and I don't have time to read it all).
Over the years I have tried the lot. Swags are big and bulky so I moved to blow up mattresses. Great until you get in puncture in a seam (corner etc) so the patches don't work. Bought the self inflating type which is half air and half foam. Brilliant. Best sleeps I have every had (swags are too thin and blow up mattresses bounce).
Even if you rip a hole in them the foam will still keep you above the rocks. Just my 2 cents worth.
ps. we have two singles so they are easier to pack (put in different places etc).

Cheers,

g'day,

thermarest, just roll them up for travelling and the take up a lot less room.

You asked about putting them in a sedan? We have travelled in both. Two singles are far easier to pack (ie. smaller and can be seperated to other places) but the double went accross the back seat in the sedan or on the back floor (fortunate enough that our sedan has no hump in the middle so back floor is dead flat). And considering it was going into a newish civic sedan, I'm tipping it would fit accross a falcon.

As previous poster mentioned I give my vote to the Thermarests. I have quite a collection of them now having used them over many years teaching in the outdoors.

The thing to be aware of is that they come in various guises...ie thicknesses and sizes. I have ones ranging from 'ultralight' which is for backpacking (lightweight) and 'standard'...also for backpacking but just a little heavier, but more comfortable. The thickest and biggest of them (Camprest and Camprest LE, from memory) are still not as thick as some of the "4WD" versions, but they do pack down better than most of the others I have seen and IMHO are equally as comfortable. Thickness of the material does not always mean more comfortable.

I have one of the thickest ones for touring and it's fantastic.....but more expensive than the others. I have had it for 14 years without a single puncture (I look after it though). You get what you pay for and for my money, considering how important a good night's sleep is and the number of hours that you spend on the thing, they are worth every penny.

But as usual, check them all out for yourself and buy whatever you think suits you for the number of nights you're likely to spend per year sleeping on it and the value you put on comfort for those nights.

Cheers and happy sleeping............zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Mark

To get them rolled tighter, roll it up twice - after rolling up the first time, screw in the plugs, then unroll, then without undoing the plugs roll very tight and when about a foot away from the end, open the plugs, finish rolling then close the plugs.

A roof box makes for easy carrying (we have a double and a single but only take one or the other). Without the roof box, we fold the queen in half after deflating and roll both ends to fit on top a storage system in the Pajero ie o__o

We used to use air mattresses but they get too cold in winter.

Adrian

We have a Thermarest style 25mm foam self inflating mattress and it is great to sleep on.

It is queen size but when you open the valves to let the pressure out it quite easily folds in half. This makes it perfect size to just slip into the cargo area of the Prado on top of all the stuff in there so it is always the last thing packed.

Would be a bit harder in a sedan I suppose. While it ends up being fairly wide and long it is only 50mm thick even folded in half.

I looked at the ones marketed as "4WD mats" and they seem incredibly bulky at 100mm thick. Much better trying a good quality one at 25 to 50mm.

Muddy