Sleeping Pad on Kickstarter
- Thread starter PirateMcGee
- Start date
Nanabijou
Observer
Thanks for that link! 
Seems like an interesting and clever product. At least initially. However, when I thought about it a bit more carefully, I realized that I've car camped with 2" air mattresses as well as 2" foam mattresses (the thickness of the compREST product). In my experience - neither were very comfortable at all. So how would vacuum sealing the foam mattress in a bag make a difference? I'd then have a more portable foam bed for ease of carrying and storing - that is still dreadfully uncomfortable when it comes to sleeping on it. Notice in the video it shows users being very unsatisfied with cheap, uninsulated airbeds? I don't blame them. They have a point. Those don't work well either. With that said, have the developers ever tried a Nemo Cosmo Air Insulated air mattress? Or an Exped Synmat 12? Those are so much more comfortable, and 3"-4" thick. And hold their air quite reliably. And take up much less space than a vacuum sealed compREST. Are relatively quick to inflate and deflate. And are about the same weight as a compREST. And they don't required lugging around a vacuum sealer. I guess I just don't see the benefit compared to some of the best of what's currently available.
Seems like an interesting and clever product. At least initially. However, when I thought about it a bit more carefully, I realized that I've car camped with 2" air mattresses as well as 2" foam mattresses (the thickness of the compREST product). In my experience - neither were very comfortable at all. So how would vacuum sealing the foam mattress in a bag make a difference? I'd then have a more portable foam bed for ease of carrying and storing - that is still dreadfully uncomfortable when it comes to sleeping on it. Notice in the video it shows users being very unsatisfied with cheap, uninsulated airbeds? I don't blame them. They have a point. Those don't work well either. With that said, have the developers ever tried a Nemo Cosmo Air Insulated air mattress? Or an Exped Synmat 12? Those are so much more comfortable, and 3"-4" thick. And hold their air quite reliably. And take up much less space than a vacuum sealed compREST. Are relatively quick to inflate and deflate. And are about the same weight as a compREST. And they don't required lugging around a vacuum sealer. I guess I just don't see the benefit compared to some of the best of what's currently available.
Happy Joe
Apprentice Geezer
Thanx!
Fair to good idea;... gives me incentive to put a vacuum port on my onboard air and get a large vacuum storage bag... (used to pack the mattress with a vacuum cleaner and garbage bag at home. Then just grin and bear the additional volume for the trip home).
Enjoy!
Fair to good idea;... gives me incentive to put a vacuum port on my onboard air and get a large vacuum storage bag... (used to pack the mattress with a vacuum cleaner and garbage bag at home. Then just grin and bear the additional volume for the trip home).
Enjoy!
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Nanabijou
Observer
I wonder what the base rates are for mattress leakage in the industry. Anecdotally, I've had a Nemo Cosmo Air (insulated mattress) that leaked. But my other Nemo Cosmo Air mattresses have been solid with regular use over the past few years. And my new Exped Synmat 12 has been good for the 2 straight weeks of camping I've used it in this summer. Of course - as you mention - there is still the potential for leaks. I've owned a few of those large and thick air beds too - and everyone leaked air - even when new. Overall, my sense is the the advantages far outweigh the minor drawbacks with the Nemo and Expeds - so unless something significantly better for my needs comes along - I'll probably stick to my Nemo and Exped mattresses.
PlacidWaters
Adventurer
I totally agree with Nanabijou's take on this mattress. I give these guys credit for creativity, but their basic premise---"Air mattresses suck"---is faulty and the specs for this mattress are not attractive to me for any type of camping.
Air mattresses don't suck. They're very comfortable and comfort can be adjusted by adding or letting out air. In the past decade I've slept something like 500 nights on air mattresses that didn't leak. The most comfort you can get in a camping mattress is air for support plus a layer of foam on top for softness, as in the REI Campbed and the Exped Megamat.
The website doesn't specify what kind of foam this is, but I would never buy a 2" foam mattress. All types of foam compress over time, which never happens to an air mattress. I can't image someone over 200 lbs being comfortable on 2".
Together the mattress and pump weigh 7 lbs. That's way too heavy for a 2" mattress!!
Bottom line, there are many mattresses on the market that are thicker and lighter than this one. I don't think the CompREST is competitive with Exped mattresses in any way except price, which only underlines the lower quality. Compare these specs:
EXPED Synmat Mega 12 MW:
Size: 4.7 x 26 x 73
Weight: 2lbs 8 oz
Packed size: 6 x 11
R-value: 5.3 (-4 degrees F)
Inflates in 1 minute with a tiny nylon bag
COMPREST:
Size: 2 x 25 74
Weight with pump: 7 lbs
Packed size: 4.5 x 9 x 24 + pump 3 x 5.5 x 7.5 = about 9 x 31 for both together
R-value: Not stated
In other words, the Exped weighs less than half of the CompREST, yet it's more than twice as thick.
The main selling point is that the pump compresses the foam into a smaller package. But that advantage is lost when you combine the packed size of the mattress and the pump. Then the CompRest is about the same size as the whopping Exped Megamat 10 (10 x 32) and the REI Campbed 3.5 (6 x 26), both of which offer more comfort for less weight than the CompRest.
I do concede that inflating and repacking a mattress in a few seconds is an attractive feature, but not at the expense of more weight and bulk for less comfort.
Air mattresses don't suck. They're very comfortable and comfort can be adjusted by adding or letting out air. In the past decade I've slept something like 500 nights on air mattresses that didn't leak. The most comfort you can get in a camping mattress is air for support plus a layer of foam on top for softness, as in the REI Campbed and the Exped Megamat.
The website doesn't specify what kind of foam this is, but I would never buy a 2" foam mattress. All types of foam compress over time, which never happens to an air mattress. I can't image someone over 200 lbs being comfortable on 2".
Together the mattress and pump weigh 7 lbs. That's way too heavy for a 2" mattress!!
Bottom line, there are many mattresses on the market that are thicker and lighter than this one. I don't think the CompREST is competitive with Exped mattresses in any way except price, which only underlines the lower quality. Compare these specs:
EXPED Synmat Mega 12 MW:
Size: 4.7 x 26 x 73
Weight: 2lbs 8 oz
Packed size: 6 x 11
R-value: 5.3 (-4 degrees F)
Inflates in 1 minute with a tiny nylon bag
COMPREST:
Size: 2 x 25 74
Weight with pump: 7 lbs
Packed size: 4.5 x 9 x 24 + pump 3 x 5.5 x 7.5 = about 9 x 31 for both together
R-value: Not stated
In other words, the Exped weighs less than half of the CompREST, yet it's more than twice as thick.
The main selling point is that the pump compresses the foam into a smaller package. But that advantage is lost when you combine the packed size of the mattress and the pump. Then the CompRest is about the same size as the whopping Exped Megamat 10 (10 x 32) and the REI Campbed 3.5 (6 x 26), both of which offer more comfort for less weight than the CompRest.
I do concede that inflating and repacking a mattress in a few seconds is an attractive feature, but not at the expense of more weight and bulk for less comfort.
ducktapeguy
Adventurer
How is this concept much different than a thermarest? Both basically use the same premise, vacuum compression of an open cell mattress. Except thermarest is 1/3 the weight for similar thickness, has a much more durable built in cover that you don't need to pack/unpack, and has adjustable firmness with the valve. And you don't need to carry around a heavy pump to use. Seems like you can just use a vacuum pump on a thermarest and have the best of both worlds. I've used those vaccuum bags for storage they don't last long just sitting in a closet, I imagine using it camping you'd probably need a new bag every trip.
Kerensky97
Xterra101
Anything that relies on electronics to work seems to be a major point of failure for me when camping.
I'm out in nature, I'm not really that put out having to roll up a normal foam air mattress.
I'm out in nature, I'm not really that put out having to roll up a normal foam air mattress.