aero beds - moved from Q&A

[wayward son]

aero beds

Does anyone have any experience with aero beds for camping purposes? Are they significently better ( more comfortable, durable, etc. ) than cheaper air mattresses?

 

[David Metsky]

If you are talking about the 6"-8" high air matresses with an external pump, they are much more comfortable than a Therm-a-Rest. But you need a place to plug in the blower. For car camping, they'd put you in the lap of luxury. For backpacking, not so much.

If you are comparing AeroBeds to other big, external pump, air mattresses I can't say if they are better or worse. Mine works fine, but I've never tried using it in a tent.

-dave-

 

[Halite]

Pretty darn comfortable. My kids have proven that they can bust if you jump on them --otherwise, they seem very durable.

 

[Quietman]

I picked up air matresses from campmor for approx $16 each, single mattress, the doubles run $18 or so double mattress. We use them for car camping and they work fine. I'm sure the aero beds are a little more comfy but, how often will you use them. It isn't worth it for us.
I use a hammock when backpacking.

 

[weatherman]

Yes, very comfy, tried one once at a relative's house... the thing is that the aero bed requires so much air that you really need a blower that is powered by something else other than a few D batteries to inflate it, unless you have an hour to kill. It's also quite thick and takes up a lot of space in your vehicle even when deflated in its bag.

 

[HughK]

Aero Bed

We used a Coleman version this summer for car camping found it very comfortable. We had used it previously for extra guests at the house, but the battery powered blower really didn't give enough firmness to the mattress. So we got a hand pump and that worked much better and took just as long as the battery powered unit to inflate the mattress.

Hugh

 

[Rick]

It might be comfortable, but You might find that in colder temps during Spring and Fall you might end up miserably cold, as the mattresses are so thick, that your body cannot warm up the air between you and the ground. Much of your heat migrates through the collapsed insulation in your sleeping bag beneath you and is lost inside the voluminous quantity of compressed air.

 

[dentonfabrics]

It might be comfortable, but You might find that in colder temps during Spring and Fall you might end up miserably cold, as the mattresses are so thick, that your body cannot warm up the air between you and the ground. Much of your heat migrates through the collapsed insulation in your sleeping bag beneath you and is lost inside the voluminous quantity of compressed air.

Very very true. I have the Intex Supreme Queen which fits perfectly inside my tent but you'd freeze your butt off on a night like tonight.

bob

 

[summit1]

It might be comfortable, but You might find that in colder temps during Spring and Fall you might end up miserably cold, as the mattresses are so thick, that your body cannot warm up the air between you and the ground. Much of your heat migrates through the collapsed insulation in your sleeping bag beneath you and is lost inside the voluminous quantity of compressed air.

SO true!!! My wife and I slept on my inlaws last winter and froze our butts off all night long..and this was indoors. I guess you have to put extra covers down to sleep on top of, otherwise you feel like your sleeping with no covers at all!

 

[wayward son]

Thanks for all the input! Weight and packing space wont be much of an issue, as I'm camping at Blackwoods in Acadia. However, I didn't think about losing warmth thru the air mattress. And I'm sure I'll run into chilly nights during my stay (2nd week of Oct. ). Plus, I'm not sure how much I'll be using it after this year's vacation. We usually take our pop-up camper, but this year we chose to down size our camping gear and return to the tenting mode. Looks like I got more thinking to do. Thanks again one and all!