Self Inflating Mattress

Submitted: Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009 at 18:20

ThreadID: 73371 Views:12538 Replies:13 FollowUps:6

This Thread has been Archived

donk

Looking at options to sleep on (the old 2 inch covered foam matress is getting a bit thin or perhaps i am getting old ) & considering a Self Inflating Double Mattress around 100mm thick

Looked at a few today (Coleman,Oztrail,Offroad Mat,etc) & the seem to be similar in construction but some have a few more valves than others

Any experiences or thoughts would be appreciated

Regards Don

Back Expand Un-Read 0 Moderator Share

Reply By: Brett007 - Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009 at 18:43

Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009 at 18:43

if only looking at a single size , Black wolf (super delux)are very comfortable, easy to roll up, unfortunatly a bit expensive , but shop around there are some stores that are cheeper .

AnswerID: 389137

Reply By: rumpig - Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009 at 19:33

Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009 at 19:33

we have a queen size Offroad Mat, slept on it 5 weeks straight whilst up the cape (amongst other times) with no problems at all, very comfy also. they are quite big to store in a queen size which can be abit of a problem if space is limited.
you can roll them up abit smaller if you roll it once, then unroll it and do it a sceond time to get abit more air out.

AnswerID: 389148

Reply By: burnsy - Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009 at 19:36

Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009 at 19:36

We used to use an air bed but gave up on it during a trip to the cape last year.
(It kept going flat) We now have a Coleman Queen self inflating. We find it very good to sleep on with a lot more insulation on cold nights, Sometimes forget to put the plugs in and don't really notice the difference. Down side (1) is the queen is difficult to roll up by yourself, you really need two people for this task.
(2) It is quite bulky to carry round with you. However we are very happy with it & would never go back to an air mattress.

regards Mike.

AnswerID: 389150

Follow Up By: viz - Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009 at 21:16

Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009 at 21:16

Ahhh a subject close to my heart...

You can see from our camp storage area the story of our (camping) life...

First the thin thermarest self inflating mattresses. Got a bit thin once we hit our thirties, but did the east coast of Oz and three months in Europe.

Then 50 mm self inflating - much much better, but a leeeetle too narrow (we are getting wider too you know) and our hips hit the deck all the time... But they lasted through our 30's to our 40's

All right - time for some comfort. Got a queen self inflator , abouut 2 1/2 inches from memory. This proved to be an expensive disaster - I am 1 1/2 times the weight of the missus, and as soon as I hop in bed she pops up like a pimple on a pumpkin. If I deflate (the mattress that is), my hip hits the deck. You both gotta be the same weight at least to have one of those, and have a lot of room in the car. They are a serious pain in the hip, wallet and bum.

Then we got two cheaper 3" self inflator singles (large - I think they are called King Singles) from a camp store; we put a mattress protector on them and then a fitted sheet. Can't feel the gap, no hip pain, the missus is happy. We are in our 50's now and really comfortable.

One big thing. Air mattresses (the pump up kind as against self inflators) are a big no-no for camping. If the temp drops they will suck the heat out of you; a good sized bindi will puncture it - they are a bigger pain than the queen above. Been there done that...

viz

FollowupID: 656866

Follow Up By: Member - Nolo (Brisbane) - Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 10:24

Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 10:24

Ditto Viz
We used two 4WD 3" King Singles with mattress topper and fitted sheet for our 5 week trip to Lawn Hill and Gulf and found it very comfortable. Singles also compensate for weight differences (me heavy, she light), and suitable for solo trips when I just take one mattress.

Cheers

FollowupID: 656929

Reply By: Member - MUZBRY(Vic) - Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009 at 22:10

Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009 at 22:10

Gday Donk
I use a self inflater that has been attacked by Rocky.A cross, great big brown thing owned by my son little Ben.With the bomb craters and no plugs, not necessary any more,i find it very comfortable.
Murray

Muzbry
Great place to be Mt Blue Rag 27/12/2012

Lifetime Member
My Profile Send Message

AnswerID: 389176

Reply By: Atta Boy Luther - Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009 at 22:36

Wednesday, Oct 28, 2009 at 22:36

I like a super comfy nights sleep so i have an oztent goanna stretcher and on top of that i put a DMH 100mm off road self inflating matress .

AnswerID: 389180

Follow Up By: Rip64 - Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 07:22

Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 07:22

Gday Donk,
we got Two single Self inflators - much easies to roll and store, and side by side in a fitted sheet jobs right.Thinking of a single slipped into swag as well.

FollowupID: 656910

Reply By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 08:16

Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 08:16

Hi Donk
By the sounds of things above, there are a few varied ideas. It still sounds like they are not compact to store when travelling, so if that is the case, have you ever considered a double swag with a good quality mattress.. Will never go down, prickles will never let it down, no plugs to worry about and treated it with respect, will last you for all your camping years. Our double swag is over 15 years old, gives the most comfortable sleep and sets up in seconds. I know this is off what you have asked, but is simple and easy to use.

Cheers

Stephen

Image Could Not Be Found

Smile like a Crocodile

Lifetime Member
My Profile My Blog My Position Send Message

AnswerID: 389200

Follow Up By: Member - Danielle T (WA) - Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 21:17

Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 21:17

Yes we love ours. Best thing we brought. Its great for quick comfy weekends away! Slept in it, in August on a frezzing night in WA. Ice on ground in the morning, and we were snug as a bug. Just had cheap Kmart sleeping bags. Nothing worse than not being able to get a good nights sleep.

FollowupID: 657037

Follow Up By: Member - Stephen L (Clare SA) - Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 21:36

Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 21:36

Hi Daniel
We love our old sway, it is great. Our coldest night out was -5.5C on Googs Track. There have been many other times when the swag has been white with frost, and every time we have been as warm as toast.

Cheers

Stephen

Smile like a Crocodile

Lifetime Member
My Profile My Blog My Position Send Message

FollowupID: 657045

Reply By: Member - Ingo57 (NSW) - Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 08:50

Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 08:50

Agree with above post, double swag is the best If just two of you travelling.

Last year we invested in some Therma rest mattresses and have found them to be exceptional, Although they are not as thick as you require don't rule them out for us they disguise any uncomfortable rocks etc under them and they roll up very compact.

Hope this helps

Cheers

AnswerID: 389206

Follow Up By: DesF - Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 11:17

Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 11:17

Hi, have to agree with the Thermarests , we have two singles full length , and have been used constantly, when the wife comes we just lay them together and put an old style cotton sleeping bag on top and then the sheet and use the good sleeping bag as a doona, as you say uneven body weights can be a problem on a double,
They roll up fairly small and weigh nothing.
they were $145.00 each 14 years ago , but worth every penny.
Cheers Des.

FollowupID: 656935

Reply By: jothefw - Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 09:45

Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 09:45

I guess I'm just doubling up on a few posts ... we have a 100 mm thick self inflating mattress in queen size. It was fairly expensive.

It is very comfy. One value has broken, with over tightening I suspect however it doesn't seem to make too much difference for some reason.

30 kgs difference between me and OH and don't notice that effecting the balance etc

ONLY down side is the size! It rolls up only about 6 inches shorter than our double swag. I don't think it would be possible to roll up successfully with just one person, I help but my hands aren't a) big enough or b) strong enough!

AnswerID: 389215

Reply By: austastar - Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 10:26

Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 10:26

The trick with the self inflating mattresses is to do a quick roll up first, then put the plug in.
Then unroll it, and start again. It is now easy as you are only pushing a bit of air to the other end of the mattress, not forcing it out the vent.
Once you get it rolled up about 25% you hit the pressure of the air remaining.
Now open the vent and continue.
Roll a bit and put your knee on it, roll a bit and put your knee on it etc.
It is now easy to roll as you now have a nicely shaped roll to work with.
cheers

AnswerID: 389222

Reply By: chisel - Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 14:39

Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 14:39

We have a 5-yr old mattress and a more recent one. Brands are oztrail and dmh though can't recall which one is which.
We tried the thinner oztrail ones (single, 75mm) ... no good.
Tried spinifex 100mm ones (anaconda) ... no good.
Tried Coleman 100mm ones ... think we got a dud mattress ... no good. Coleman, strangely enough, was cheaper than DMH/Oztrail when we looked recently ... and turned out to be worse.

AnswerID: 389256

Reply By: BenDiD - Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 19:40

Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 19:40

I use a therm-a-rest style matress (mine is a Katmandu copy) under the foam mattress in my swag.

Gives it a bit more warmth and gets rid of all the bumps etc that I have started to feel with old age (or maybe I just need to have a few more tinnies before bed).

Good Luck!

AnswerID: 389287

Reply By: AlbyNSW - Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 20:08

Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 20:08

We have the 100mm self inflating 4wd mattresses from Rays outdoors as well as the thinner Katmandu premium ones.
The Rays style ones are definately more comfortable but are not as compact.
Suggest you get two singles over a double as apart from being wider overall when layed together they are easier to handle and roll up as a single.

We ave been using them for about 3 years no troubles. Did a 5 week Cape trip with them as well.

Alby

AnswerID: 389289

Reply By: Member - Mark E (VIC) - Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 23:09

Thursday, Oct 29, 2009 at 23:09

Don,

Coming from a background of lightweight camping prior to getting married, kids etc.... I have a number of 'Thermarests' of different thicknesses.

"Cascade Designs - Thermarest" were the first company to come up with the idea of self inflating mats and are by far the best IMHO. They have mats of differing weights and thicknesses and they generally still fold or roll up fairly small.

This is what I have for car camping:
Thermarest Luxury Camp

Looks like this:
Image Could Not Be Found

I also have a slightly thinner version
Thermarest Basecamp

The Luxury camp is better, thicker warmer and more comfortable, dearer and rolls up marginally thicker, but still well within the limits of reasonable car camping.

I have compared these to many of the cheaper versions much copied by many other companies and the Thermarest seems to always come out better in terms of quality of materials, valves, ease of rolling them up and packed size v comfort.

Honestly you cant go past these. They do cost more than the others, but will probably outlast you....

Cheers,

Mark

AnswerID: 389344