Air Mattresses And Cool Temperatures Camping air mattresses don't insulate wellAlthough camping air mattresses are great cushions, they are poor insulators.A sleeping bag on an air mattress works well for most summer camping and in moderate temperatures. Keeping excess heat from building up allows campers to sleep more comfortably.However, on cool evenings or at higher elevations, campers may find themselves struggling to stay warm, while lying in a sleeping bag on an air mattress.The large air cavity in the mattress allows air to move around inside, transferring heat from the body to the ground, and warm air cannot build up against the body to keep it comfortable.On cold nights, a sleeping bag or blanket on an air mattress probably will not insulate enough. The bottom of the sleeping bag will be compressed by body weight and will not be able to trap warm air between the fibers or down. The air mattress cannot trap warm air, either.This has been an ongoing problem with air mattresses and cold nights: even though campers may be in a very well insulated sleeping bag, the body chills from below.
A tip to stay warm on an air mattressCamping equipment manufacturers have developed a solution to the problem of compression defeating insulation: the self-inflating pad, which does not compress much and therefore retains its insulating property.By placing a thin, self-inflating pad on top of an air mattress, the pad will insulate by trapping warm air against the body, and campers will sleep warm and very comfortable, even on a cold night.Even a fairly narrow, 20" wide, 3/4-length, self-inflating pad, which does not extend under the lower legs, can insulate enough to make a camper comfortable on an air mattress on a cool night. These pads would normally be too small to be used as a sleeping cushion by most leisure tent campers, unless they are children. Socks and a few unneeded clothes under the foot of the sleeping bag can assist in keeping your feet warmer.A quality sleeping bag will loft and trap warm air above the camper.For campers with good circulation, some of the excess heat retained in the trunk of the body will be transferred via the bloodstream to the extremities, and that is often enough to keep the lower legs and feet comfortable.
The self-inflating pad also does not need to be as wide as the air mattress. The gaps between the pad edge and the mattress edge can even make for more comfort by allowing a bit of excess heat to escape so campers don't get too warm—especially if they are otherwise well-insulated.If the self inflating pad has a smooth top, the gaps to the sides allow the sleeping bag to rest on the flocking of the air mattress and stay in place better.Other solutions for sleeping warmerIn a bind, laying clothing between the sleeping bag and air mattress will improve the situation.In an emergency, a sheet or corrugated cardboard or several sheets of newspaper will also help. These can be placed under the air mattress to reduce heat transfer from the body through the air mattress to the ground.Air mattress losing pressure on cold nightsA big drop in air temperature between the time of day when the mattress was inflated and the coldest part of night may cause the mattress to become noticeably less firm.If you are expecting a drop in temperature of 20-30 degrees or more, inflate the air mattress more firm to compensate.
On a cold night, some of camper's perspiration will pass through the bottom of the sleeping bag and condense on the tufted points of the camping air mattress.The body perspires even while sleeping, and some of the perspiration will condense on cold surfaces.Since the tufted dimples of the air mattress are drawn away from the heat of the camper's body, they can become cold enough for perspiration to condense there.In the morning remove the sleeping bag and let the condensation on the pad or mattress evaporate.This will keep camping sleep gear in good condition for more camping trips.Outdoors / Buying Guide Comfort Under the Stars: A Guide to Sleeping Comfortably in Camp Items discussed in articleKid’s sleeping bags are not just smaller adult sleeping bags, and instead are completely different models with a child’s growing After a long day on the trail, you will need to rest up for the explorations of the next day. When the great outdoors calls, you faithfully answer.
Sometimes, though, that call is for an overnighter. When it comes to Getting used to being in the hammock comes quickly. It’s easy to adjust your position and raise/lower your legs a bit to get comfy, and you can shuffle back and forth to let the material give you support where you want it. And if you’re sat up and want to read at night, there’re little hanging loops for your light. I got used to it after an hour or so of playing and I’ve fallen asleep in it many a time now – some intentionally! The swinging cocoon feeling just makes me nod off! The Travelpak’s party piece is a mesh covering for your entire face. It means that the mosquitoes which buzz around in your tent/hostel can’t make a meal of your mush or crawl in during the day. And actually I found it really comforting when I had to sleep in my car – so people couldn’t see me sleeping. Possibly a weird paranoia, but hey ho. What makes it so much more of a good night’s sleeper than an ordinary mattress is that the Cimelia combines the best of camping tech, with the best of home-mattress tech and gives you a bed that comforms to uneven ground, insulates you from the cold and hugs your body like a hotel bed.
Having had enough of my self-deflating, plastic flock coated camping pillow from a dubious source I took one of Trekmates Assembly, once finished, results in a lightweight and surprisingly rigid bed frame. There are a number of spare struts and rings supplied so you can fettle the bed to your own comfort – if you have big hips or shoulders, or find that a certain pole location is irritating. It’s designed with straps on the underside that fit a specific Therm-a-rest sleeping mat. As such, there’s no down in that area. The theory is that the marvellous Therm-a-rest mat you will buy fits this space perfectly, and thus provides the required insulation in that area. There’s a couple of really nice touches to the Montana 2 sleeping bag. The main zipper pull has a little message on it which says “Sleep Well” (the dog certainly did) and the water-resistant (read “splash proof”) carrying bag has a sort of mountaineering snakes and ladders game printed on it for when you’re stuck in a tent and the weather is against you.
I am a big fan of airbeds – double airbeds to be precise. They aren’t always the most reliable things, but when they work, they work well! We’ve tried various versions over the years, including offerings from Coleman and Outwell, and always end up returning to the trusty ‘Argos red & blue airbed’ – the only variety that seems to not go soft overnight, needs the minimum of topping up during a holiday, and lasts for multiple trips over a couple of years. The sales point of the Biker sleeping bag is its drybag pouch. This is a nice little bonus and it’s easy to get the bag in to. With a couple of rolls this seals out any rain (and seals in any smells!) and then a purge valve allows you to sit on the bag, squeeze out any air and minimize the size of the pouch for packing on the bike – brilliant. Camping pillows are generally terrible. The options are almost all inflatable, which means you’re either sliding off them as they ping around the tent, or trying to get the right level of softness so that your head can stay fixedly in one position all night…