First Camping Trip with Wife and Kid... Not so good...

[rcintx]

My wife and I finally took our son on hist first camping trip. We chose a place close to home (45 minutes) with plenty of activities and that turned out to be a great idea. We had a lot of fun hiking, fishing, and generally wandering about. After dinner we had smores which were a hit with the kiddo, and then off to bed.

Bedtime was uneventful, but the nights sleep was TERRIBLE... My son fell asleep with no trouble at all, and then the air mattress he was sharing with my wife decided it would no longer hold air and they sank and sank. By midnight, they were in a mattress canoe, and neither could sleep. Exhausted 4 year olds don't handle that well, and for that matter, neither do wifes.

My tent is not very big, but I love the size of it. Do you guys have a recommendation of a sleeping system that doesn't require it to hold air? I think we could have a lot of fun doing this as a family, but we have to be able to sleep...

Anyway, all in all, I think it was a lot of fun for the first trip. I think we just need to upgrade our gear a little.

A picture of myself and the little guy just for fun.

 

[goodtimes]

Air mattresses just aren't that reliable. BTDT.

Paco pads are pretty comfortable - but heavy & on the pricy side. There are several lower cost variants that are just as good, IMO. I don't recall the brand that we ended up with - Landing Pad Aire or something similar. Check the shops that cater to the river rafting crowd.

You might also consider a couple of cots with a foam pad. They're relatively inexpensive, but consider put something between the feet & the floor of your tent - old carpet squares or something similar - to reduce wear on the tent floor.

 

[clandr1]

I've been VERY close to buying this bed more than a couple of times.
http://www.amazon.com/Alps-Mountain...8&qid=1410800096&sr=1-2&keywords=air+mattress

 

[rcintx]

I am really thinking about 2 Exped Mega-Mat's.

But man... That is an investment. Any experience with those?

 

[JHa6av8r]

I am really thinking about 2 Exped Mega-Mat's.

But man... That is an investment. Any experience with those?

My wife is like the princess and the pea and the next day isn't nearly as enjoyable if she doesn't get a good nights sleep. The Exped Mega-Mat is the only thing we've fond that works for her. Pricey yes, but for us it's been worth it.

 

[dwh]

Take this:

http://foammart.com/foam-flexible-open-cell/medium-density-1-in/

Cut it up to get 3 layers that will fit inside of this:

http://www.big5sportinggoods.com/pr...-famous-sports-fremont-3-lb-sleeping-bag.html

Add one of these on top of the other foam inside of the bag:

http://www.big5sportinggoods.com/pr...-famous-sports-fremont-3-lb-sleeping-bag.html


Insta-mattress.


I've done that, and it works unbelievably well. Not only is it comfortable (even when there are rocks under the tent), but it's super-insulated - you never feel the ground sucking the heat out of you. With the blue pad as the top layer, it actually reflects heat back up at you. In the summer, I would just flip it over so the blue pad was on the bottom. It doesn't weigh all that much, and it does roll up - though it's a fairly bulky roll.

The El Cheapo bag will get stained, worn, ripped and eventually destroyed by the industrial washing machine at the laundromat - but who cares, it's cheap to replace. The foam is the expensive part, but that's a one-time investment.

I've never seen an air mattress that didn't eventually leak. Most I've seen lasted a couple of uses - TOPS.

 

[Vegas_Nick]

I have been using one of the Coleman air mattresses for two years now with no issues at all. It blows up tight and holds air fine. And I ain't no little guy! LOL

My first air mattress lasted about two trips. Cheapy WalMart version. It was punctured from something below the tent. Now I lay down a leftover U-Haul blanket under the mattress and I purchased the Coleman mattress with one side that feels like a suede material. I also give the area where the tent goes a good foot sweep/inspection before pitching it. Shoes come off before settling down. Most of the time outside of the tent.

I hope that helps,
Nick

 

[moodywizard]

I have a REI 3.5 XL self inflating pad and its awesome. Only other one I would consider is the exped megamat you mentioned. I have been camping all through out my childhood using air mattresses, blankets, etc. I cant believe what I have been missing...

 

[jhill15]

I gotta agree the walmart air mattress are not that great, I had one that I camped with for years then it started leaking and I would end up in an air mattress canoe as well. We use it now for our daughter and she is ok with it but she sleeps like a rock though and is a trooper when it comes to camping, now when it comes to the wifey I would rather not go "cramping" as we like to call it lol when we have a bad time from not getting enough sleep and too much excitement so we snagged one of these from her parents house
AeroBed Classic Double-High Mattress with Pump, Queen https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006FTIXPY/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_4O4fub13HNFNR they pretty expensive but worth every penny. We have used it from camping to guests staying over.

 

[JIMBO]

:sombrero: Eight years ago I bought a Truckbedz Air mattress--HD about 8" thick inflated, very thick brown vinyl-

We've used it in the Xterra/Jeep/tents/trailer, holds air and is still very comfy (8" thk)--

I've got pads/self-inflate pads/foam rolls and nothing compares to this Truckbedz mattress-

:costumed-smiley-007:wings: JIMBO

 

[RiverCityDave]

I have been using one of the Coleman air mattresses for two years now with no issues at all. It blows up tight and holds air fine. And I ain't no little guy! LOL

My first air mattress lasted about two trips. Cheapy WalMart version. It was punctured from something below the tent. Now I lay down a leftover U-Haul blanket under the mattress and I purchased the Coleman mattress with one side that feels like a suede material. I also give the area where the tent goes a good foot sweep/inspection before pitching it. Shoes come off before settling down. Most of the time outside of the tent.

I hope that helps,
Nick

We have a few Coleman matresses, the self inflating type full depth kind, 7 or 10 inches. They are god sends. Im in the Army, and I have no issue sleeping on a thin thermarest, (I've been doing it for 30 years) but if you want a happy camping experience, you want your campers to sleep well, especially Mama. SO I maintain these things militantly, like they were my rifle We have the coleman blue full size, flocked on top, built in pump. They stand about 14" high when fully inflated and fit a normal sheet. I PMCS the pumps and seams after every use, and store them in shipping pelican boxes. We've only had one failure in the 7-8 years we've been doing this, and that was at SPI, were the wind was blowing a solid 40 kts for two straight days and while taking it out to clean it, the wind pushed the mattress against the door on my FZJ80 and the bottom corner punctured it. We patched it up for the night, but we pitched it the next day, no way i was going to let it fail us in the future. I think we paid about 70.00 for each of them, and I have 4, one for Mama and me, 1 for the boys, and 1 for the girls. (I have 4 kids aged 8-13 bookended by girls)

You really have to treat your sleeping kit with respect. Keep it clean, and isolated, probably with its own weather pack box. This is our method, and its served us well with a Princess, An "Indoor girl" wife, and two muddy boys.

YMMV

 

[BrutalGuyRacing]

I have been living my marlboro bed in a bag system
Maybe 15-years old
Which is just an aero bed with a sleeping bag zippered onto it
Its freaking great i live it
I am on my second air mattress in those 15 years
And i am no small guy
I use it about 30 times a year if not more
Holds air great rechargeable pump system
Just my .02

 

[green73brc]

I have a REI 3.5 XL self inflating pad and its awesome. Only other one I would consider is the exped megamat you mentioned. I have been camping all through out my childhood using air mattresses, blankets, etc. I cant believe what I have been missing...

I second this, however I would look to the thermarest line if you are interested in Made in usa. We use a combo of 3.5 when ground tenting (either blow up for backpacking or self inflated for car camping) Even when one of the self inflated mattresses had a leak with my 200 lbs it was still somewhat comfy. Pair 2 of these 3.5 pads with a sleeping coupler and you can throw the kid in between you and the wife and it will take up the gap nicely. I have 4 kids 5,3,2,1 and let me know when they all sleep through the night camping, we are getting closer but we are still probably 5 years away.

 

[1leglance]

Exped Mega Mat is amazing for me & my wife.
I have a horrible back due to amputation of R leg below the knee and shattered pelvis. After trying every pad I could the Exped is amazing.
I would also suggest some harbor freight grey interlocking foam mats as a base for the pad and just to make a soft place for the kid/wife to stand. This will keep sharp things from poking a hole in the pad and create a thermal barrier also.

 

[java]

For the kiddo you can get a mini cot, my daughter does great on it in a sleeping bag. On our second one now, after the first wore out with her getting 100lb dogs in bed with her....

http://www.amazon.com/Regalo-Cot-Po...=UTF8&qid=1410900505&sr=8-1&keywords=kids+cot