Joined mattress pads? (1 Viewer)

[BMThiker]

Looking for an alternative to our current full-size air mattress, under a double-wide sleeping bag setup. I'm not a stationary sleeper, I tend to roll over throughout the night, thus waking my wife with every movement on a single air mattress.

I've seen a few self-inflating rectangular mattresses that might work in tandem to create a "full-size" mattress, but haven't seen any that have specific joining technology (straps, velcro, etc.). I'm partial to the extra thick models of late since this is for "car camping" and comfort is much more important than weight.

Is anyone using a setup that might match my requirements?

 

[richardlillard1]

Exped has a few options, or check into a cheap memory foam mattress from someone like Tuft and Needle.

 

[BMThiker]

Hah! found the accessory, thanks @richardlillard1

 

[Dork]

Cabelas up here in Canada sells a double wide self inflating mattress that is held together by Velcro. I'm currently too lazy to look it up to find a part number

I love the self inflating pads. I find that ANY air mattress sucks because they aren't firm enough, so the heaviest part of your body, usually the gut, hangs lowest so you always end up with a crooked back all night long. The self inflators with a few puffs of air blown in before bed work great.

Edit: i was less lazy than i thought... Cabela's Ultimate Sleeping Pads | Cabela's Canada

 

[hoser]

(2) Exped Megamat 10's and a coupler kit is the cat's meow. Expensive but worth it.

 

[JohnVee]

(2) Exped Megamat 10's and a coupler kit is the cat's meow. Expensive but worth it.

And REI has EXped mats for 25% off thru today. The Megamat 10 is awesome. I bought some of the REI brand models after missing out on too many Exped sales. They're half as thick but have been comfortable so far. I wanted something for cold weather car camping but just can't justify the $$$ on the Megamat with all the other crap I own. I'll exchange the REI for Exped if they don't cut it in December.

Plenty of coupling systems out there but I have no experience with them yet.

 

[SmoothLC]

Last day for REI's Labor Day sale today for the Exped Mats.

 

[accasbel]

dito here on the exped's. i have the megamat 10 LXW. they come with starps, two of them together is queen-sized. nice to use sheets & blanket and have ability to cuddle while camping...

 

[hoser]

Part of the comfort of the Megamat 10 comes from it's very high R-value rating of 9.5.... compared to the standard, non-insulated air-mattress with an R-value of less than 1. With the megamat, I can use a lighter/warmer sleeping bag or even just a down comforter in conditions that might warrant a mummy bag with the non-insulated air mattress. Those areas of your sleeping bag, under your weight, are compressed insulation with little R-value. The heat is just getting sucked away from beneath you.

 

[JohnVee]

I had just pulled the trigger on the REI brand 6.5RV mats when I got the sale flyer. Went out of the country the next day and didn't get back till after the sale. It would have been worth returning the REI pads for the Exped at that 25% off. They also show up on the Garage Sale section for $169 every now any then.

 

[BMThiker]

Pulled the trigger on the ThermaRest MondoKing 3D XXLs. Same size as the ExPed MegaMat LXW, but with a higher R-value of 11.4 and a few $$ cheaper. Will be testing out at the Southern Cruiser Crawl next week.

 

[BMThiker]

Well, I have to amend my previous post. Ended up getting the Thermarest MondoKing 3D L (not XXL) because the larger ones were back ordered on most sources and I wanted these for the Southern Cruiser Crawl event a couple weekends ago. The L size is 25" wide and 77" long compared to the XXL 30" wide and 80" long. FYI, these are the only two sizes I've seen for this model, so the size jargon is kinda like going to Starbucks. I slept great on this mattress (probably best I've ever slept in a ground tent), but the wife had trouble finding the right amount of air pressure to suit her. She liked to overfill the Kelty and took the same MO with this mattress. She's willing to keep them and try less air next time.

In the end the narrower size did not affect sleep-ability as much as I thought, but having the extra length was nice. Our older Kelty double wide was only 72" long. Coupled with the non-slip surface and the longer length, I didn't find my feet hanging off the edge, as I often did on the Kelty. Packing them up was not as painful as I thought it would be either. Once you roll it and close the air valves, it pretty much retains its cylinder shape and sliding it into the travel bag is a non-issue. They certainly take up more space than a traditional air mattress, but for car camping, the trade off is worth the comfort level. Especially when your body aches from wheeling and hiking up and down difficult terrain for several days.

The other nice discovery was the ability to stack the mattresses & bags off to one side of the tent floor to allow for more standing room in the middle of our tent as we changed clothes. This task was impossible with the Kelty double wide air mattress, which negated the purpose of getting a full height tent in the first place.