Inflatable Air Mattresses
Offer Warmth And Comfort
While Camping.

Inflatable air mattresses can keep you comfortable a couple of ways. They protect you while camping on hard surfaces making you more comfortable. They also provide insulation between your body and the cold ground.

Because regular camping air mattresses have big pockets of air that move around they don't insulate as well as pads that have lots of small pockets of air. You can fix this though by getting one with internal insulation (I recommend the Big Agnes Insulated Air Core) added to the normally empty air chambers or by adding extra blankets/sleeping bags. To find the best air mattress for you answer these quick questions...

What width and length will make you comfortable? Do you want it wide enough so you can roll over, or are you looking to save weight? Do you want multiple air chambers to adjust the firmness of different areas? Do you want an inflatable pillow or are you going to use your clothing for a pillow? Are you only going to camp out in warm weather?

Something else to consider is which style will work best for you...

Obviously when you're hiking or backpacking overnight, weight becomes an important consideration. It used to be that you could either pack a heavy more comfortable sleeping pad or you could go light and endure being uncomfortable. Now the choices are getting better though.

For example the Big Agnes Insulated Air Core is a great example of thinking out of the box, it adds PrimaLoft® insulation to otherwise empty air chambers for three-season warmth on cold nights. So not only do you get the comfort they're known for, but now insulation helps keep you warmer like foam sleeping pads. And the good news is the regular 72 inch size (it comes in long too) compresses down to 4.25 inches by 10 inches and only weighs 23 ounces. So you can actually take a full size backpacking. Pretty cool.

If you're looking for warm weather sleeping gear without the insulation, the Exped Air Mattress Light is definitely worth taking a look at. It's light at 18 ounces and packs down to 8 inches by 3 inches so it's a good choice if you're a weight conscious backpacker. If it were me though, I'd sweat the few extra ounces and go the insulated route because sometimes those cool mornings can sneak up on you. ;-)

To find the air mattresses mentioned please take a look at BackCountryStore.com, Altrec.com, or REI.com.

If you're going camping with a rather close friend or want more room, then you may want to take a look at the bed-type air mattresses.

Bed-type Air Mattresses

The advantage is that they're big and comfortable, and as a bonus you can also use them at home if you have guests stay over. The drawback is some can be a little heavy/bulky and can puncture if you're not careful. So you'll want to keep a patch on hand (I've used one for over two years and haven't had a problem). While I wouldn't recommend the bed-type for over-night/extended hiking or backpacking trips when you have to carry your backpack for days, they are great for day-trip hiking when you can return to your original campsite at night to sleep.

I use to sleep on thin foam or self-inflating sleeping pads but I got tired of waking up stiff and cold. Sometimes it didn't seem like I had slept much at all and I'd pay for it the next day because I'd be sleepy and then didn't enjoy my trip as much. Then I slept on a bed-type air mattress...and I think I'll stick with them unless I don't have much of a choice in the matter. While they're not perfect, they're miles, and I mean miles ahead of thin foam sleeping pads. If you would like to do a little more research I do have other sleeping gear pages about air beds, sleeping pads, and camping cots. I hope this information on air mattresses has helped to make your future camping, hiking, or backpacking trip better. Have a great trip.