A camping air mattress offers tent campers the comfort of sleeping at home—many trailer campers do not have as comfortable a bed.The main purpose of an outdoor air mattress is to cushion a sleeping camper from hard ground and provide a smooth, flat, comfortable sleeping surface inches above any roots, sticks, stones, acorns, or small depressions.An inflatable mattress is often too large to be blown up by breathing and is instead usually inflated with a pump or inflator.These mattresses are about 8" high and available in standard, bed mattress sizes and widths: Air mattresses can be inflated to different levels of firmness to suit just about any tent camper.Among all types of outdoor sleeping cushions, an air mattress is usually the least expensive and packs down to the smallest size.Some campers prefer to sleep higher off of the ground, in order to get in and out of bed more easily.To provide an elevated sleeping surface, raised air mattresses are available that stand 16 to 22" off the ground.
This is roughly knee height for most people and is comparable to the height of a home bed.These double-high mattresses are usually divided into dual over-and-under air chambers. The lower air chamber is often referred to as the "box spring or the "frame", and the upper chamber as the "mattress". A raised air mattress is also referred to as a camping air bed.A raised air mattress won't give much more sleeping comfort than a standard, but it will get campers higher off of the ground, so they can stand more easily.Due to the height, campers will need a large tent for these raised air beds.Air beds are mostly available in queen size, but raised, twin-size beds can also to be found.Many camping air mattresses and almost all camping air beds include a raised cushion for the head. This surface is built into and inflates with the rest of the mattress.An air mattress with this feature is referred to as a 'pillow-top' mattress.This feature saves campers from needing to bring extra pillows from home.
Many air mattresses have flocking on top, which is fine hair-like fiber strands that are bonded to the top surface of the mattress. Flocking provides a plush, suede, velvety surface that keeps sleeping bags or covers from sliding around.A flocked air mattress and a flannel, rectangular sleeping bag offer the comforts of home to campers at a campsite.With flocking, a sleeping bag is less likely to shift as campers turn in their sleep, and they can turn inside the bag just like they would under sheets and blankets.If the top surface of the mattress is not flocked, a fitted sheet or mattress pad can be used instead to help keep a sleeping bag or covers in place.Air mattresses have developed home-mattress features to make camping more comfortable.The top surface can be tufted (dimpled), featuring "pillar construction" or "coil construction". Tufting means that the top and bottom fabric surfaces of the mattress are connected inside the air chamber by cylindrical pieces of fabric.Tufting maintains an even distance between the top and bottom fabric surfaces when the mattress is fully inflated.
It better distributes the air pressure inside the air chamber.Camping air mattresses on framesA camping air bed frame (or stand) provides a raised platform for a standard camping air mattress.It is usually an accordion-fold stand that folds compact and extends out in both length and width to form a frame, which consists of a set of legs that runs the length and width of an air mattress.Air-bed frames usually have a heavy fabric (canvas) top. An 8" inflatable air mattress is then placed on the frame fabric to provide a raised sleeping cushion.It is recommended that raised air beds should always sit on level and even ground. An accordion frame is not quite as stable as the ground, and the combination of a somewhat-wobbly, dual-chamber, raised air bed on top of an accordion frame could be unstable, not to mention waist high.Camping air mattresses and cotsPlacing a twin single-high air mattress on a narrow cot is a risky endeavor. An 8" high mattress will raise the center of gravity without widening the base of the cot.
The air mattress will also likely extend beyond the edges of the cot, and campers may well find themselves "man overboard" in the middle of the night!An integrated cot & mattress combo is a much better solution. The mattress is shallower and sized to the cot frame, making it a much more stable combination.ConclusionCamping air mattresses are probably the most comfortable sleeping cushion for campers. They pack away in a small space, offer a large sleeping space, and are available in standard bed sizes.If you are interested in further information about air mattresses, have a look at the links at the bottom of this page.Air-mattress brands include: Aerobed, Coleman, Greatland (Target), Intex, Kelty, Northwest Territory (Sears/Kmart), Ozark Trail (Walmart), Sevylor, Stansport, Swiss Gear (Wenger), Texsport, and Wenzel. Air Mattress InflatorsAir mattresses can be inflated by several means: blowing into the valve, hand pump, foot pump, 12V inflator with cigarette lighter adaptor...Air Mattresses and WeatherAlthough camping air mattresses are great cushions, they are poor insulators...
Air Mattress vs. Tent SizeThe size and shape of the tent play a major role in the number and type of camping beds that can be used inside...Air Mattress Leaks and RepairFinding an air mattress leak can be done with different methods. The method you choose depends on how quickly you need to use the mattress...Air Mattress Buyer's GuideAir mattreses and beds are available in indoor and outdoor versions. Outdoor air beds for camping can also double as indoor guest sleeping accommodations and are priced between $20 and $100...When extended family descend for the festive season, like modern-day innkeepers, we must find room for them all.But while the term ‘air-bed’ was once synonymous with lack of sleep, today’s inflatable mattresses are so comfy your guests may stay well into the New Year.Here, ALICE SMELLIE grabbed the electric pump and tested out six... This clever blow-up bed can be used as a single or a double bed and took just under two minutes to inflate Two single mattresses that can be used alone or zipped together to form a double bed.
Alternatively, stack one on top of the other and fasten together with the attached straps to make a thicker mattress.Each bed is 19cm high, 188cm long and 74cm wide and weighs 3.3kg. It took just under two minutes to inflate both with my electric pump. Alice says she found the bed perfectly comfortable and airtight, but commented that it was close to the ground The word ‘convertible’ conjures up images of luxury cars, but this bed is sadly less than five-star and the mattresses look grey and limp when lying unmade-up.I found them perfectly comfortable - though if you sleep like a starfish you’ll find your hands and feet on the floor because it’s so low. But in terms of versatility, they’re genius. Put two small children in different rooms, separate grumpy teenagers or sleep in solitary luxury on the double mattress. A double-lock valve ensures they’re airtight. Easy to deflate by pulling out the valves, then roll up small. I even manage to fit it back into the box. This bed stands almost half a metre off the ground, keeping bottoms well protected from cold stone floors or carpets scattered with pine needles.
It took Alice six minutes to inflate using her pump including unwrappingAn astonishingly large and light bed weighing just 3.5kg. It stands almost half a metre off the ground, keeping bottoms well protected from cold stone floors or carpets scattered with pine needles.: 47cm high, 198cm long and 137cm wide. It took six minutes to inflate using my pump - including unwrapping and unfolding. I had low expectations because it looked so small when deflated, but this is the Doctor Who Tardis of the air-bed world.When tucked into the little carry wrap it hardly looks large enough for a toddler, never mind a teenager or aunt. However, when inflated it expands quite astonishingly into a high and full-sized double bed, which feels sturdy and as comfortable as though spending the night on a well-sprung mattress. The brushed polyester surface makes it feel deliciously velvety and it doesn’t have the strong plastic scent familiar to other beds.This extra surface on top of the PVC also makes the bed more puncture resistant, lighter and stronger - with 32 coils of PVC within it to provide structure.
It’s fairly easy to let the air out and wrestle the bed back to its small form. I used my body weight to push it down and was almost, but not quite, able to squish it back into the bag. A massive green inflatable sofa with drinks holders, which folds out into a double air bed.71cm high, 231cm long and 193cm wide, which makes it bigger even than a super kingsize. 12 minutes, including 30 seconds of removing my sweater as I got so hot manhandling this behemoth. The Whopper is a massive green inflatable sofa with drinks holders, which folds out into a double air bed This huge bed needs two people to get it through the door once inflated. Lying on it, it feels a little unstable - as though my buttocks might soon make contact with the floor - and I wonder whether it might lose air, especially if people bounce around on it as my children did.Fantastic if you want to put loads of kids in front of the telly or for a nap, while grown-ups chat on Christmas afternoon. Though the air is released easily enough, folding this back to its initial packing size appears impossible.
I end up staring in despair at a great heap of green plastic. The Aerobed Platinum takes just four minutes to assemble, including putting on sheets, and uses a remote This looks and feels like a luxurious double bed when made-up - both in height and quality of bounce. Comes with a valance and a padded top sheet.56cm high, 188cm long, 137cm wide. Four minutes, including putting on sheets. It comes with a plug-in internal motor and remote control, which inflates it within a minute and a half.Should it go down at all (I don’t think it will), you can re-inflate to the perfect firmness by simply pressing the button for a few seconds. Alice says this blow up bed is the most bed-like air bed she has ever seen and that it is very comfortable‘Why have you put a double bed in the hall?’ asks my husband irritably. Of course I haven’t. This is simply the most bed-like air bed I’ve ever seen.As well as being comfortable, it’s recommended for those with bad backs, for whom a change of bed can mean days of discomfort.
Press the deflate button and within a couple of minutes the bed is flat. I just about manage to fold it into its bag. The ReadyBed blue airbed double is a basic, blow-up mattress that slots into a material pocket beneath an all-in-one sleeping bag, saving you the faff of sorting sheets, pillows and a duvet A basic, blow-up mattress that slots into a material pocket beneath an all-in-one sleeping bag, saving you the faff of sorting sheets, pillows and a duvet.20cm high, 180cm longThough it comes with its own battery-operated pump, I decide it will be quicker to use my own. It’s suggested that it only takes a minute to blow up, but takes me 14, including an interim where I remove the pump nozzle and all the air shoots out like a wind machine. There is a clearly a technique I cannot master. Alice Smellie thinks the built-in duvet is an excellent idea, but it’s too thin for winter, so you might need extra bedding anyway. However, she loves the fact that the bedding is easily machine washableThis looks exciting - making-up beds is tedious.
Once I have wrestled the plastic mattress into the pocket, I clamber on.Because of my hopeless inflation, my buttocks hover perilously close to our stone floor. The built-in duvet is an excellent idea, but it’s too thin for winter, so it might need extra bedding anyway. I love that it’s machine washable, though. Incredibly easy to deflate and I can fit both cover and bed back into the bag. This mattress took took five minutes to inflate with its own in-built pump and folds itself up with one button Stored in a massive suitcase-like box, simply unzip, plug in to the mains and watch as the bed expands to full size all by itself. The air mattress stands on metal legs that can fold in and out.63cm high, 198cm long and 137cm wide. Took five minutes to inflate with its own in-built pump. This includes actually bothering to read the simple instructions and starting again. Alice says this Ez Bed is like a real bed on a proper frame and feels just as comfortable It initially appears cumbersome, but the smart-looking black box is on wheels, so it’s easy to trundle around.