camp pad / bed for 4 person family?

[DaveM]

Looking for some new ideas for sleeping pads for family camping

My wife, myself, and our two boys (2 and 6 years old) camp in our RV3 OZ tent which is 8' wide and 6' deep. The wife and youngest usually share our two person bag, while the oder boy and I have our own bags (or he sometimes goes into the bag with wife and other son).

We all sleep on our 2" thick 5'x6' foam pad (across the 6' width, my feet hanging a little over the edge). We made this ourselves (foam from local foam shop, stitched a nylon zippered cover). The pad was once very comfortable but is now almost no better then sleeping on the ground. The boys will eventually use their own tent and we can switch to cots, but for the time being we need a family sized camp pad for everyone to share.

I don't like air mattresses. Usually too cold, and too bouncy. Requires you bring a pump along.

REI has a double sized self inflating pad that looks ok except it's really just two pads Velcro'ed together, leaving a seam across the width where our hips would be if used for the whole fan.

Cabelas has a 3" foam pad very similar to ours now, but with a better cover. Probably denser foam too. This looks like what I'll have to get, but before I do, I'm curious to hear what other families are doing for sleeping pas/beds for tent camping 3 or 4 up?

 

[Pax2525]

we are in this same debate on what's best only my kids are 2 girls at 3 and 1.5. So trying to get them to stay warm camping in the winter is hard in their own beds/bags.

We saw a family camping in a small tent and were using those interlocking floor rubber/foam pieces as a base and then had a 2-3" foam topper. She then places a bed sheet over all of that and used more sheets or sleeping bags from there.

She said it was great and has made us to start thinking about our setups

 

[luckyjoe]

Best solution is individual bedding - sleeping pad and bag sized to the individual. This is what we've done ever since our kids were ~2 years old. The caveat is the sleeping bag needs to fit the kid - too big and they will not keep the bag warm in cold weather. Keep your eyes open for specials - as our kids grew we always seemed to find inexpensive, high quality, respected brand bags that were temp-rated for our expected outdoor adventures. These bags were always well kept and found their way into other families hands when we outgrew them.

We also used the interlocking foam panels, because when kids are little they never seemed to wake-up in the same spot they fell a sleep! With the foam you can cover the entire area where they will be sleeping, so you know they will not migrate off the pad. We still use the interlocking pads today under a standard sleeping pad when camping in 0-degree weather. Although bulky to transport/store, it's really nice to have this additional layer on you tent floor

 

[DaveM]

I actually use the interlocking foam tiles under our current foam pad as well. The dense tiles help now that the foam sleeping pad is older and worn out.

Our 6 year old sleeps in his own bag now, the 2 year old will probably keep sleeping in the double bag for another year or two. Although I like separate bags for everyone, I also like the idea of a single large area floor pad to cut down on clutter. I may check out the Cabelas double ultimate sleeping pads which are actually two 3" Therma rest style pads Velcro'd together. Could be used as a single pad or split up for solo camping I guess.

What I really need is a pop up trailer!

 

[calicamper]

The options for more than 2 small people are pretty much zero regarding a single one piece pad of some type. And for kids as they get older I'm seriously tempted to get a bunk bed cot system. Given our kids seem to sleep exponentially better when they have their own confined bed space vs just an open space being shared. That and the Cot bunk system would really cut down on the massive disaster of kid stuff all over the place. As for pads. Our tent has two queen sized bed areas and an open 4x6 floor between them. We have a Costco Memory Foam topper over what came with the tent a 2inch cheap foam pad which both of those feel good till they compress then you may as well be laying on the ground. This last trip out of random chance I tossed our two extra long extra wide 1.5 inch self inflating REI camp pads under all our other stuff. Wife thought I was nutz. Next morning she tells me it was nearly as good as our bed at home. So I think ultimately the answer is either your not going to have a very good bed option or your going to find a layer system of different types of pads that make up the best option. The Final self inflating REI pads added the firm padding aspect that we needed to avoid just compressing the foams and ending up on the ground.

 

[luckyjoe]

This is where the personal sleeping pad rules. You can get comfortable pads and avoid layering (although the interlocking pads make a nice insulated floor). My personal pad is an Exped Synmat 9 LW. I've used it on snow in sub-zero temps, to the deck of a sailboat in the Bahamas - easy to use, small to pack, always a good night's sleep, never been cold or hot!

I realize this doesn't address the OP's "single bed" notion.

 

[racehorse]

Megamat Exped makes a full/queen sized pad version of their megamat twin pad. It's the pad that won the overland journal editor's choice - it's really the best thing out there. If you can stomach the bill, it's well worth it. I think the full sized megamat is north of $350. It's premium priced but really has no competition when you blow it up and take your first snooze. It's like having your home mattress.

 

[fireball]

We have 4 of us and each has their own inflatable pad. It works well, but is a PITA to setup camp and move camp every night. 4 sleeping bags, 4 pads, the tent, rainfly, ground cover, etc. We can park and have everything setup in about 35-40'. Packing up takes longer as rolling everything up is more time consuming. How about a tent with built in inflatable air chambers on the bottom? That would be great!

 

[Crom]

We currently use two exped Mega Mats for me and wife, twin blow up mattress for 4.75 year old. Our youngest not quite 3 uses pack n play or sleeps on the mega mat if I forget the pack n play.

12v DC pump makes quick work of blowing up or deflating mats.

Our tent is 10x10. We use blankets, oldest kid uses bag. Sometimes wife will want her bag.

The blankets are less work.

In cold weather 40-50 we run a tent heater.

 

[Scoutman]

I'm currently facing the same question. We have various air mattresses, cots, foam pads and all of them have major drawbacks. I'm getting tired of dealing with air mattresses and the smaller pads just don't cut it. I've been eyeing the Exped mega mat duo 10 for a number of reasons. For us it's mom and me in a double bag and kids in separate bags. The kids seem to be able to sleep on whatever although I figure that will change as they get older. Mom and I currently tend to use the queen air mattress more since it stays together, doesn't create a crack between 2 separate mattresses, and is comfortable when it stays full and with moderate temps. I dislike the slight hassle of pumps, the fact that it almost always deflates at the worst time of night, and sleeping on a giant mass of air can sap the heat right out of you.

I'm curious to see what others throw out there...

 

[racehorse]

If it's cold: another option I use is 12v blankets. They are smallish, cheap and have timers that keep them fired up 45-90 minutes. They get warm, not hot. How I use them in tent settings is lay one or two across the megamats and I power them with an aspect solar lithium power bar.

 

[saraluck9090]

You need to search online for a best item

 

[MikeHenderson]

Megamat Exped makes a full/queen sized pad version of their megamat twin pad. It's the pad that won the overland journal editor's choice - it's really the best thing out there. If you can stomach the bill, it's well worth it. I think the full sized megamat is north of $350. It's premium priced but really has no competition when you blow it up and take your first snooze. It's like having your home mattress.

Ditto that! We use two mega mats strapped together. The kids have their own bags. We have a Big Agnes little red that is plenty warm and has a captive pad. He can’t roll off of it and it keeps him restrained and comfortable.

The key is to get them excited about their sleeping bag. Let them practice sleeping in it at home, for naps and such. Make a big deal out of it. When it comes time to camp in it they’ll be much happier.

-M


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[SlickRope]

Ditto that! We use two mega mats strapped together. The kids have their own bags. We have a Big Agnes little red that is plenty warm and has a captive pad. He can’t roll off of it and it keeps him restrained and comfortable.

The key is to get them excited about their sleeping bag. Let them practice sleeping in it at home, for naps and such. Make a big deal out of it. When it comes time to camp in it they’ll be much happier.

-M


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The exped Mega Mats look like a really good product. When I use regular air mat we tend to sweat a lot even in cold weather due to they don't breath well. Anyone have this issue with these?