Inflatable camp bed vs. foam

[AntiGroundhogDay]

For my RAV4 Hybrid, trying to decide on an inflatable mattress, specifically the $100, 2.5in, REI C[url=https://www.rei.com/product/148193/rei-co-op-camp-bed-self-inflating-sleeping-pad]https://www.rei.com/product/148193/rei-co-op-camp-bed-self-inflating-sleeping-padamp Bed[/url] vs. a 3in latex mattress topper like this $160 one.

Goals:
Sleep comfortably.  It will be my full time home after all.
Minimize cost. Retiring on a budget of course.
Preserve height inside the SUV.  I'll have a shelf over the area where my size 11 feet with lie.


Why latex?
-I can cut a latex foam mattress to fit.
-Latex holds it's shape over time vs. memory foam and regular foam I've learned.
-Can get it in firmer variants for my side sleeping self.
-Will not need adjustments in cold/hot/higher/lower elevations like air mattresses.
-Will last the longest out of all the products I am considering.  Won't delaminate.
-I'm worried I'mm pick the wrong firmness.  No way to try them out locally.

Why Inflatable camp pad?
-Cheap
-Minimal height (2.5in in the model I am considering)
-Adjustable to my personal comfort by inflating/deflating
-I tried the exact one in the link above, and with the memory foam inside, it was pretty darn comfy.
-I worry about delamination as referenced after about 300 nights here.  Then again, the pad I want is not made with uber light materials, focusing on comfort.
-I worry about the pad breaking down with the heat that can generate in a car.


Do any side sleepers have experience with these types of pads?  I'd like to stay at 3in or less of thickness.  Thx.

 

[B and C]

Since memory foam compresses down to next to nothing, why not glue a piece on top of the latex. This is what I did and I sleep better on it than I do on the good mattress in the S&B but my latex is 10" thick and heavy. I sleep on my side in the S&B and toss and turn but on my back in the van. In the van I usually wake up in the same position I fell asleep in and the covers aren't ruffled so I don't seem to toss and turn on it.

 

[highdesertranger]

I have used both. now-a-days I use foam almost exclusively. here's why,

sooner or later all air ones leak. a lot of time you won't notice the leak until the middle of the night. makes fo a poor nights sleep.

you can't leave the air one inflated when going from a low elevation to a high one. to extreme of an elevation gain and you will pop a weak seam.

in the high desert where I spend a lot of time it might be 95° during the day but it might cool off to the 40's or 50's at night. you will be constantly fiddling with the air pressure. actually for me this is the number one pain in the butt and the main reason I switched to foam many, many years ago.

highdesertranger

 

[OkieDreamer]

For my RAV4 Hybrid, trying to decide on an inflatable mattress, specifically the $100, 2.5in, REI Chttps://www.rei.com/product/148193/rei-co-op-camp-bed-self-inflating-sleeping-padamp Bed vs. a 3in latex mattress topper like this $160 one.

Goals:
Sleep comfortably.  It will be my full time home after all.
Minimize cost. Retiring on a budget of course.
Preserve height inside the SUV.  I'll have a shelf over the area where my size 11 feet with lie.


Why latex?
-I can cut a latex foam mattress to fit.
-Latex holds it's shape over time vs. memory foam and regular foam I've learned.
-Can get it in firmer variants for my side sleeping self.
-Will not need adjustments in cold/hot/higher/lower elevations like air mattresses.
-Will last the longest out of all the products I am considering.  Won't delaminate.
-I'm worried I'mm pick the wrong firmness.  No way to try them out locally.

Why Inflatable camp pad?
-Cheap
-Minimal height (2.5in in the model I am considering)
-Adjustable to my personal comfort by inflating/deflating
-I tried the exact one in the link above, and with the memory foam inside, it was pretty darn comfy.
-I worry about delamination as referenced after about 300 nights here.  Then again, the pad I want is not made with uber light materials, focusing on comfort.
-I worry about the pad breaking down with the heat that can generate in a car.


Do any side sleepers have experience with these types of pads?  I'd like to stay at 3in or less of thickness.  Thx.

I have a 6" single bed regular foam mattress that is at least 50 years old and I sleep on it nightly on top of my regular mattress. It spent most of it's life rolled up in the attic of a boat house and thrown in a storage shed later in it's life. I slept on it when I was a teenager on top of plywood and I slept well and I am a side sleeper. I could be different foam, looks like regular yellowish foam to me and it is fine and quite comfy FWIW.  Anything that inflates can deflate IMO, foam is pretty tough. I haven't tried memory foam

 

[Weldman]

Got a 8 inch foam mattress and I can say I don't feel my partner getting up, I'm pretty sure "if" you have a partner you will feel them getting in out of bed on a air mattress. I'm a light sleeper too war has made me paranoid so I use what doesn't trigger me.

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

I have used a high quality air mattress with memory foam on top, and I used to think that was the best combination I had ever slept on. But it does trap moisture and mildew does develop between the air mattress and the foam, even with a thick afghan between them to allow for air circulation. I didn't use this combination in my van, but HDR does make a good point about needing to watch the pressure when going up in altitude, or when it gets cold at night. In addition, an air mattress does not provide much insulation.

I now use a 3" layer of green cushion foam from Jo-Ann's Fabrics (I don't know what type of foam it is, other than it is open cell and pretty firm) with a 3" layer of memory foam on top. These are then just laying on top of a board. This is really the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in.

I am a side sleeper, and I also have very wide shoulders compared to my rib cage, but this is still very comfortable for me.

The Jo-Ann's foam was $80 (with one of their ubiquitous coupons) and the memory foam cost $100 (as a full size topper). I trimmed both of them down to fit in my minivan. They are 24" wide for my upper body and only 18" wide for my legs. I have plenty of room.

This bed is also my "sofa" and "lounger" and "office chair." I am sitting on it now working at my computer. 

Yes, both layers of foam do smush down when I am sitting on them, but it is still really comfortable. It's like an extra wide office chair but even more comfy.

 

[LoupGarou]

I’ve been using an OzarK Trails full size air mattress until I can the build done. It’s light and makes changing sheets easy. I do have to use a heated mattress pad on cool nights.

 

[Dingfelder]

I'm never more comfortable than on a quality air mattress. That said, I've slept on many of them, and they tend to give out in spectacular fashion within a year or less. I couldn't guess how many times I've gone to sleep on the most comfy mattress I've ever encountered, floating on a cloud, and woken up flat on the floor with the wings of my air mattress looming up by my side and sometimes folded up around me.

You fight, you fight, you fight. You try to patch. It's incredibly cumbersome and not what you wanted to do. Especially so soon. Especially when you've taken such extraordinary care, having been burned before on other air mattresses.

Within a year you are terrifically disappointed and looking for a new solution.

Stay away from air mattresses. They are not up to daily use. They are the most comfortable thing you will ever sleep on. You will love them. And then you will wake up on the floor with the sides of them like wings around you, and the love affair will be over. It may take twice if you're as dumb as me. Or more. But yeah. That's the pattern from cheap glory to flat on your back on the floor.

 

[ckelly78z]

I have never had good experiences with inflatable mattresses. Every one I have ever been on starts losing air in the middle of the night, and ends up with about 1/2 the air it started with. Placing an air mattress in any position but flat, and wide open will end up puncturing it.

 

[lenny flank]

I tried a wide variety of air mattresses. Alas, I found that they all inevitably pop a leak.

Foam mattresses don't leak. Ever.

 

[RoamerRV428]

same tune with us. air mattress always leak and sooner than ya think...they don't have staying power for use over and over again, and extras, like just sitting on it and using it as a seat for whatever. We weren't buying cheapies either, we put some bucks into a few good ones til we decided to never spend money on an air mattress again in my lifetime

 

[kaBLOOnie Boonster]

Like somebody mentioned, it is easy to spend a lot of money on a foam mattress and then find out that it is too firm for comfort. Or you can err on the side of cheaper, softer foam and find that it takes a "compression set" after 6 months. I've made both mistakes.

I also went through a long series of air mattress disappointments. They were purchased in the camping or household section of Walmart, Target, etc. Like several commenters have said: you will be disappointed in a year or less.

Then I bought a SELF-INFLATING SLEEPING PAD from Alps Mountaineering. (Open cell foam is inside it.) "Alps" competes with Therm-a-Rest, the original and more expensive brand. They both have lifetime warranties. 

The "Alps" sleeping pad is nominally 4" thick, but is really more like 3".  They make a variety of sizes and thicknesses. I have slept on it every night for over 5 years now. No leaks. Even if it did leak, it is still 3 or 4" of open cell foam, so you won't end up with a "dead flat" in the middle of the night.

Altitude changes produce visible changes, as with potato chip bags from a sea level factory. But these changes are merely amusing, and easy to adjust for. I don't drive from sea level to 10,000 feet in one day, and if I did, I would just open the valve before driving.

The 77" x 30" x (nominal) 4" self-inflating sleeping bag is not only the most comfortable sleeping "platform" I have had in my life, but it is cooler than sleeping on (denser) foam, and that is important to someone who struggles with heat more than cold.

Almost forgot: my 42 pound dog jumps up onto the self-inflating sleeping pad every day. You'd think that would kill the pad for sure. Not so. Maybe the double layer of fitted bed sheet deserves the credit.

 

[highdesertranger]

yeah I forgot, a few people mentioned it. an air mattresses can be very cold. highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

We use both Thermorest and a Walmart dual density 4" mattress topper encased in a cheap 4o degree sleeping bag depending on the season. In colder climates I like the foam but in warmer climates I use Thermorest and make it a little firmer. I have found encasing the foam with a nylon sleeping bag makes it much more durable and if the bag gets torn or dirty for less than $20 and if I watch sales $10 I can replace it. The best thing I use is a cheap comforter that is thick and fuzzy I bought at Sam's to either sleep on top of or climb under when it gets really cold in addition to several cheap sleeping bags and a quilt. A good night's sleep is really the key to making this lifestyle work!

 

[RoamerRV428]

interesting on the self inflating sleeping pad
gonna go google that thing, never heard of it, huh

 

[AntiGroundhogDay]

Ok, no self inflating pad or I-inflate-it pad for me. I'll have to try a firmish 3in mattress topper and give it a go.

Question about foam toppers... PIA to air out? The inflatable would be a piece of cake the flip over or remove from the vehicle to air out when I launder the sheets... but the heavy foam I think would be more of a PIA to move, be more of a PIA to clean if I found mold, and be more fragile when moving. How do personally you work that out with foam? Thx.

 

[B and C]

Latex foam in a mattress cover is tough. I got some stuff I put under mine that is made for boats where moisture buildup is a bigger problem. Ventilation is key. In a van, it can be as simple as making the bed platform look like swiss cheese or built out of slats but it can't be closed off from the main area.

 

[AuricTech]

What are the dimensions of your intended sleep area? That affects any advice about inflatable mattresses.

 

[SheepDog]

I’ve had http://www.militarysupplyhouse.com/sleepus3.htm make me several mattresses!

He has been able to do what I’ve needed so far. He ask a bit about what it will be used for and a bit about you and your sleeping habits.

He can do numerous sizes, foam densities and combinations.

He shrink wrapped and rolled up my mattresses and shipped them to me in a week or two!

He makes mattresses for homeless shelters, prisons, military and other heavy use folks so he has good information on wear, toughness and preferences for many different populations!

SD

 

[AntiGroundhogDay]

After emailing their customer support with my desire to sleep on plywood p) with only a 3in mattress, they recommended their Medium firmness for my side sleeping self. https://www.amazon.com/Green-Natura...s+topper&qid=1560903085&s=gateway&sr=8-4&th=1

I will let everyone know if their guess was right! Thanks for the help.