just back from a weekend way, first time using an Outwell Cameo. was lovely and toastie. 5cm SIM with a blanket that clips to it, go outdoors sell em about £50 for single, i got double for £75. well worth it.
Thought I should report back on my recent 2 camp trips.
First trip: I slept on my toastie exped megamat. Kids seemed to sleep ok on their 5cm vango mat (although they were probably too young to tell me if they were cold being 2 years old).
Second trip: I slept on the 5cm sim while kids slept on my megamat. I WAS COLD!!!!! I'm now a little baffled. How is it that everyone in this thread had said they were fine (not cold) but I was so cold I had to squash my kiddies in the middle of the night so that we were all on the megamat together. We used duvets and we were all fine on the megamat. The 5cm sim was a different story and I can certainly attest to it.
In case anyone wonder, I folded my queen size duvet into half so that I slept between the 2 layers and I wore a sweater to sleep when using the 5cm sim.
I'm now wondering what I should do on my next trip with these 5cm sims. I'm groaning at some suggestions of having a layer of interlocking mats at the bottom. Sounds like a good idea but I seriously have no more room for additional things in the car
The reason you felt colder on it is that your greater body weight squashed it more at the pressure points. Toddlers are lightweights and can sleep on thin mats without squashing the insulation. My kids slept on the cheap 2.5cm mats for years, I had a slightly thicker one of 5cm, we were all fine.
We used good quality sleeping bags too though,. Duvets are all very well but they don't perform to the same standard as a decent bag in cold weather and they can get damp through condensation if you sleep on top of a poor insulator. My suggestion, both for comfort and space in the car, is to get some decent sleeping bags instead of lugging bulky duvets along.
Quote: Originally posted by Valk_scot on 11/9/2015
The reason you felt colder on it is that your greater body weight squashed it more at the pressure points. Toddlers are lightweights and can sleep on thin mats without squashing the insulation. My kids slept on the cheap 2.5cm mats for years, I had a slightly thicker one of 5cm, we were all fine.
We used good quality sleeping bags too though,. Duvets are all very well but they don't perform to the same standard as a decent bag in cold weather and they can get damp through condensation if you sleep on top of a poor insulator. My suggestion, both for comfort and space in the car, is to get some decent sleeping bags instead of lugging bulky duvets along.
Quote: Originally posted by keai7 on 11/9/2015
I'm only 46kg Sigh...I do hate sleeping bags.
Bet that's still more than your toddler!
As to sleeping bags, try looking at the square ended ones or the pod style. I loathe mummy style sleeping bags but am perfectly happy in a square ended one with a hood up top. Kids do better in mummy sleeping bags because there's less dead air space for a small body to warm up. You can get midi size bags if you're worried about a child slipping down into it, or tie off the extra space below the feet with a strip of fabric.
I have used a sleeping bag all my life (I will be 48 next week) and have just switched to a duvet, not used in in cold conditions yet but it was so much nicer than a bag which eats my legs. I have a cocoon bag and even that annoys my legs
As ever, Valk_Scot is a wise woman! SIM foam is a great insulator because if fills itself with air, but the weight of a adult causes it to compress whereas the weight of a child does not. As a young camper I was fine on a thin foam mat; as I have got older ( and had a period of time using air beds) I have come back to using a SIM but I am older, fatter and more creaky so I NEED a 10 cm one.
To insulate the ground around the mat, I just use cheap picnic blankets and they work fine, are much cheaper than a tent carpet and are easily rolled up small.... Plus they can be chucked in the washing machine if any spill ages occur.
Thanks all. I think I'll keep the kids on the 5cm sim and keep my toastie megamat to myself (which by the way is truly amazing). Will monitor the kids and I suppose if they turn blue, I'll know they are cold.
If they are cold they will wake up and let you know. My son is now big enough that when he wakes up cold he gets in his bag and goes back to sleep, why he insists on going to sleep laying on top of it I do not know