Any recommendations for self inflating mats? Seen a few possibles from Outwell, Thermarest and Alpkit but nothing really leaps out as better than the rest at the minute.
My ideal mat would be 180'ish x 60 x 5 (cm) to enable it to fit in our sleeping pods from the door to the back of the pod. Reason for this direction is that our Michigan 6 just has two pods with no dividers and when the two kids come with us we have to erect a temporary divider which gives them a little bit of privacy but also allows them to get in and out if they need to in the night without disturbing each other. However it seems most mats tick two out of the three measurements i.e I can get the length but not the width or vice versa!
The Outwell ones, I thought, were spot one but the thicker ones are just too long to go in the way I want them. Alpkit do one called the Wedge/Wideboy which is just over the length I need but might squeeze in, although whether the zip would then close I don't know!
Anyway, all suggestions/recommendations welcome folks!
Thanks for the replies everyone. Hadn't seen the Vango ones so will give them a closer look. As we might only squeeze a few more trips in this year I think I'll let the kids stick with their airbeds for now and then have a look in the New Year with what's around. Two of the double Vangos would fill the pod completely (with an overlap in the middle) so would give them a massive sleeping area I guess.
I keep looking at SIMs and walking away. Having to store them flat, the amount of space the thicker ones take up when rolled, the cost of them and them potentially needing 20 minutes or worse to inflate (depending on how long stored and the temperature) when you have a child who desparately needs bed keeps putting me off.
We don't have a problem using our Coleman Comfort airbeds with fleecy mattress covers to kill any cold for longer stays, but we found that pumps tend to struggle with the heavier weight red and blue airbeds we use for touring (as the Colemans are too tall and long for the touring tent) so I end up manually pumping them up with a foot pump (which takes time). The concept of SIMs seems so attractive, but the realities just keep putting me off...
------------- Love our set-up and need no more tents or gear, so trying to stop looking!
Speedcamp
You don't have to leave them to inflate, it just gives you a more comfortable bed if you do. If you have little ones that need to get into bed quick, then opening the valves and doing them up again within minutes will be fine for them.
You are right though, they do take up a lot of room (especially the 10cm ones) and storing them is a pain if you have no where to leave them up.
We got a couple of the "ThermaRest DreamTime XL's" back in 2008, and I have to say, they definatley do what it says on the tin, in a word superb bit of kit.
We have ThermaRest DreamTime XL's as well. About 7 years old now and still going strong. Have to replace the foam pads this winter but after 7 years that's not surprise.
We store ours standing up behind the settee. Takes no space that way. They are the first things out when we have the tent up, and are good to go once everything else is out of the car.