As a newbie to family camping, I have been learning a lot from reading this board, but I have a question I can't see any previous debate on and that is should we go for a double mat or an airbed?
The OH and I are instinctively nervous about getting an airbed (leaky, bouncy, too soft, uneven, etc)and think a self-inflating mat would be better, but reading this board it seems that everyone is using airbeds. Given the lengths that many obviously go to, eg additional mats & sleeping bags to thermally isolate them, I'm thinking there must something I'm missing..?
Has anyone used both and if so why have you chosen one over the other?
Prefer airbeds (the newer sort with soft fabric on the upper side). Find them more comfortable and they take up less room when not in use back home. Campingaz do one that consists of two singles that zip together (most places including Argos sell it). It's very comfortable and means you are less affected by your other half's movements (also lets you set a different level of firmness for your half of the bed).
Tried them both and prefere airbed BUT only if its a ocleman double comfort !
The left and right chambers are seperate and htey are soo comfy and ultra reliable ( when you get a good one ! 1st one had a leak from new but second one has been going for years with no probs )
I have a really bad back and have sometime got the coleman out to sleep on at home
From reading many posts on here it looks to me like airbeds are the way to go BUT ONLY if you get expensive ones. I've just bought 2 double Aerobed Actives and the list price is around £60 each.
Cheaper airbeds are very likely to let you down (literally). The more expensive ones often have long guarantees.
If you can't go for an expensive airbed then go for the thickest self inflating mattress you can (I think Fat Airics are popular as are Thermarests).
I think (and again - I'm only one step ahead of you on the Newbie-ness monitor so other more experienced people may have other views) that cheap airbeds and thin self inflating mattresses are best avoided.
Its personal choice. We have always used thermarest self inflating mattresses which are 100% comfy, mimimum effort and warm.
Others swear by airbeds, but the thermarests suit us so well I have never had any motivation to try them. All that faffing about with insulating the bag of cold air, which an airbed is , underneath, on top , three times over sounds like way too much hard work and stuff to pack to me! MT
------------- Tackling life the Western District way
I'm not keen on airbeds: I never sleep very well on them even if I'm not sharing, if sharing then its even worse! Having said that, I've not tried one of the more expensive double-chamber ones, but I can't see it suiting me because its still an airbed. We use two fat airics with a double fitted sheet to hold them together - this works really well and even if you end up laying on the join they don't move apart at all. I find them as comfortable as my bed at home (each person can customise the firmness to their own ideal) and they're nice and warm too - I'd never go back to an airbed now! I wish I'd known about them years ago as they're much lighter to carry than a deflated airbed (tho they do take up slightly more room).
I think that this is one of those things that there isn't a definitive answer: its all a matter of personal preference.
We used a coleman airbed but found it cold and very bouncy. We have now settled on Fat Airic's self inflating mats. once you get them inflated they are great and a lot cheaper than the thermarest ones. The company (Alpkit) also went above and beyond last year when one had a leak. They sent out a replacement to the campsite..no questions asked....even the site managers were impressed! I am very large and still find it comfy.
It is all personal preference at the end of the day.
------------- "Why can't they see that when we bleed we bleed the same?"
we used to have flat mats but upgraded to airbed havent had any problems so far! my son has a self inflating mat and well -its slipy! his sleeping bag is slipy too so all we here all night is him sliding about! we may swap
I'm contemplating between a coleman double or a Vango adventure self inflating mat or the campingaz 2 singles that zip together. I think we will go for the Vango due to it having a life time guarentee. Has anyone got any experience with these?
Those fat airics look fantastic for a big girl like me. We've got a water bed, so no chance of replicating that on a camp site! Haven't actually been yet, it's been too wet since we got our tent 3 weeks ago, and for the first time I'd rather put the tent up in the dry!
We're going to use a normal airbed the first time as we have already got one, but I think this is the thing that could potentially put me off camping, so if I can't sleep on that, we'll go for the fat airics - or at least I will!
Used to have airbeds ; but seemed to constantly be pumping them up ! We even ended up leaving 4 single ones at the camp site once as they went down all the time , and they weren't cheap !
Also found they took too much room up in the car and were quite heavy ( I now have a small car ) so we're on self inflating mats and foam mats . Much more comfortable for us , warmer and more reliable