Self inflating beds.

[evoscot]

I need to figure out exactly what mattresses I'm going to use before I build my cabinet.  I have my eye on Alps Mountaineering 30" x 77" x 4" 

http://www.alpsmountaineering.com/products/pads/self-inflating-air-pads/comfort-air-pad

I have found them on amazon for about $99 - $125 each depending on which amazon store you pick.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-lis...rds=self+inflating+sleeping+pad&condition=new

 I need two of them for my build.

I sleep quite comfortably on my cheap walmart twin sized air bed but it is 39" wide and that will just not fit with my plan very well.  It is to wide.

I can live with the 30" width and I want something more comfortable than the inflatable pool toy mattress I carry on my chopper tent camping.

I'm 6' tall so the 77" length appeals to me also.  That leaves 5 inches for pillows and toes.

Anyone tried these things?

 

[BradKW]

Looks like a nice deal...I have a REI Camp Bed 3.5 Self-Inflating Sleeping Pad and would certainly recommend it. 

You say you need two and without knowing how you plan to configure them, I'll just mention that these type pads don't really mesh together too well to provide a single sleeping surface. If that were my intention, I'd come up with a way to keep them together and aligned on a more permanent basis...

 

[Bster13]

Just to put it out there.... "self inflating" is kind of misleading.  Through all the years of backpacking with inflatable pads, I've always had to add at least a few puffs into the pad to have it comfortably inflated.  GL!

 

[evoscot]

Looks like a nice deal...I have a REI Camp Bed 3.5 Self-Inflating Sleeping Pad and would certainly recommend it. 

You say you need two and without knowing how you plan to configure them, I'll just mention that these type pads don't really mesh together too well to provide a single sleeping surface. If that were my intention, I'd come up with a way to keep them together and aligned on a more permanent basis...

They will be separate beds.  one on the floor one on an elevated platform with about 10 inches of overlap

I'll check out that REI.  we don't have one of those stores near me but online is always an option

The only advantage I see to the alps mountaineering is the extra padding on the pillow end on the XXL and the extra 1/2" thick. The REI does claim to pack into a 9 inch roll instead of 11".

 

[LeeRevell]

I need to research these. I have had disastrous results with two different "self deflator pads". Never a problem with standard air matresses. But they need topped off every few days.

 

[Vagabound]

The thread called "Memory Foam - The Sequel" got into inflatable and other mattresses quite a bit as well.

Vagabound

 

[DannyB1954]

I never cared for air beds for camping. The air in them would get cold and shrink. I would end up feeling the ground.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

The good thing about Amazon is that pretty much everything is returnable.  I would buy the two pads you are talking about and immediately sleep on them for a week.  If they don't work for you, ship em right back.

 

[Vagabound]

I never cared for air beds for camping. The air in them would get cold and shrink. I would end up feeling the ground.

Good point.  I remember that from my early air mattress days, too.  I wonder if the same problem exists now, with the thick (3"+) air mattresses with foam inside, like Thermarest's MondoKing 3D?

Vagabound

 

[SUV_RVing]

Looks like a nice deal...I have a REI Camp Bed 3.5 Self-Inflating Sleeping Pad and would certainly recommend it. 

I also have and actively use this mattress, and I can highly recommend it. It's great.

 

[Vagabound]

I also have and actively use this mattress, and I can highly recommend it. It's great.

Seems a good mattress, and one to consider along with the more expensive MondoKing 3D (similar type).  

I've had some Thermarest air mattress in my gear for over 30 years.  I originally got one because someone told me they were the best.  But that's not why I keep getting them.  

The one I have now is still going strong.  However, a few years ago, a friend saw mine and decided to buy a knock-off brand.  It was a lot less expensive.  I wasn't sure if it was or wasn't a better deal.  It looked OK, it seemed to work OK.  I started thinking that maybe I spent too much.  

Well, fast-forward 3 years.  The last time my friend took that off-brand air mattress out of the closet, and started to inflate it, the entire air-inlet nozzle fell out in his hand.  It turns out that whatever rubber-like material that company used between the nozzle and the mattress fabric simply disintegrated.  

That mattress was made in Asia, but not Japan.  I mention that, because I've seen similar outcomes on a range of products.  Simple example, local rubber bands melt and turn into a wad of glue in months, whereas I have rubber bands made in the U.S., wrapped around old cards, etc. and they are still OK after many years. 

The overriding theme is, looks good in the beginning, long enough to get the customer's money, but intentionally inferior materials cause premature product failure.  In many places of that region, it is simply a deep part of the business culture to skimp on ingredients.  By and large, warranties either do not exist at all or are hollow.  The idea of a store refund is crazy to them.  Those things are related.  Might not be PC, but it is a fact.

I bring that up for general knowledge, but also because I noticed at the end of the REI ad about Brad's/SUV_RVing's mattress the word "imported" with no further info.  I love REI and hope they're careful enough with their quality control on this, but I don't know.

This is what Cascade Designs -- makers of Thermarest mattresses -- has to say about their own manufacturing:

In the pursuit of quality, I believe that the strength of our products is a key to the success of our brands and that whenever possible, we should manufacture what we sell. Though much of the world’s manufacturing has shifted from North American and Europe to Asia, we still build the vast majority of our products in our facilities in Seattle, USA and Cork, Ireland.

http://www.cascadedesigns.com/Our-Story

When I started writing this post, I hadn't intended on writing a patriotic commercial.  But there it is.

Vagabound

 

[drysailor]

I need to figure out exactly what mattresses I'm going to use before I build my cabinet.  I have my eye on Alps Mountaineering 30" x 77" x 4" 
I can live with the 30" width and I want something more comfortable than the inflatable pool toy mattress I carry on my chopper tent camping.
I'm 6' tall so the 77" length appeals to me also.  That leaves 5 inches for pillows and toes.
Anyone tried these things?

I used a 3" (?) Thermarest quite a bit backpacking some years ago. Mine was kind of narrow, maybe 20-24" & I'd slide off sometimes at night, but I was happy to have it. Best ground sleeping item I've ever found. If I hadn't gotten old, stiff & fat, I'd still be using it.

 

[Wanderer]

I never cared for air beds for camping. The air in them would get cold and shrink. I would end up feeling the ground.

I never liked that you shift your position and you can feel the ground via elbow.

 

[Suanne]

I need to figure out exactly what mattresses I'm going to use before I build my cabinet.  I have my eye on Alps Mountaineering 30" x 77" x 4" 

http://www.alpsmountaineering.com/products/pads/self-inflating-air-pads/comfort-air-pad...

I have both the Alps pad that you link to, as well as the narrower/thinner REI pad.  I use them both regularly.  I find both, while fully inflated, too full.  So, I lay on them and let air out until "just right."

I couldn't recommend one over the other; both are excellent!

Suanne ... ready to get back into her Prius with the REI pad

 

[LeeRevell]

I never liked that you shift your position and you can feel the ground via elbow.

Air it up properly, you won't have that problem. My inflatable is more comfy than my regular matress in my S&B. Felt so good when my back gave me fits.