Camp Mattresses - again!

John ,

In June I spent 15 nights on a thin 1.5 cm half body length Thermarest and we were camping on rock shelves .

I was quite comfortable , so with the thicker longer jobbies you should be in heaven . You can get them up to 7.5 cm thick and they are really comfortable .

Willie .

PS Trick is , don't overfill them .

No way would I be happy with a 35mm unit John.

My type , an Australian made Nomad type is 100mm thick.
Alas to my knowledge its not available anymore.

Was looking at an 80mm thick thermarest today at Anaconda, it seemed reasonable.

Agree that correct inflation helps a lot in getting most out of any unit.

Robin Miller

We have 2 x Thermarest brand mattresses - 1.5 inches (37mm) nominal thickness. Top quality product - have used them a lot in the past. Though not in a the same league as your bed at home of course, they are surprisingly comfortable - couldn't see it myself, but other users assured me they would be fine - that's how it turned out. The sales person told me that Thermarest recommend the 2" model for sleeping on frozen ground ! - said that the 2" is no more comfortable than the cheaper 1.5" model - probably true, because even though I'm a buffalo, I don't bottom out on 1.5"......... we let them relax for awhile to fully auto-fill ......then blow a couple of psi in to top them up. Bought ours many years back for about $135 each - the competition now may be just as good, and cheaper.

John I'd buy the Coleman in preferance to the Thermarest as there would be little or no difference in the quality yet Thermorest are considerably dearer. (Paying for the name) Colemans 2 brass valves are are bigger in diameter making them quicker to roll up.
The 35mm Thermorests are probably just a little thin, your hips digging in when sleeping on your side. The Coleman Procore mat is nearly twice as thick (for less money) & certainly more comfortable. You'd have to buy a Thermorest model well over $200 to match it.
Check the Freedom Camping site for a couple of quality mats that are available. Prices there are a bit steep particually for the Coleman stuff as they can be sourced from Rays camping for $120 at times.
Cheers Craig.............

Thanks to all who replied. To explain a little more as to why a thicker one is not really an option and, trust me, I have it fixed in my mind that thicker IS better...but I own a 2002 Troopy with a roof conversion which is where the main sleeping is. The roof hinges up from the front of the vehicle so the length is limited by the sleeping boards but further, because of the hinged roof and this is where the feet go, any additional height over about 30-40cm restricts the feet as they are now rubbing on the roof at that end. A 10cm mat would certainly restrict my 6 foot frame from stretching right out! Also there is the problem in this vehicle of where to stow it during the day. Two small thermarests would be less of a problem here.

So ..next step will be to see if my friendly camping shop will loan me one their 3.5cm thermarest matteresses to try. Stay posted as I will let you know how I get on. With any luck they might let me try a Coleman as well :-)

Again - thanks for the replies.

John

Try an Exped mat instead.

Their Deluxe one is 10cm thick inflated, and has velcro bonded down the side to join two to make a double.

This was our alternative (at higher cost) to the 4wd double selfinflating matresses from disposals stores. I'm not suggesting they are a bad product, but they are far too big when rolled up.

These are great. Not much bigger when rolled up than my 25mmm & 35(ish)mm Thermarests.

Very comfortable, and about 2 metres long if you are tall.

Bogong Jack in the Melbourne CBD have them. Not sure who else.

Dave

We have recently purchased 2 Coleman mats BUT I would seriously consider the mats available from Freedon Camping. The foam inner is fixed to the outer and there is no movement between the two. Still happy with the Coleman mats though