Joined in 2023 
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63 About this deal
I sleep on my side and often find that I wake up with sore shoulders when camping out, the Static V2 is a perfect sleeping pad for side sleepers and I found it very comfortable to sleep on, unlike the X Frame. Moving to the present day and there’s now an extremely wide variety of camping mats and camping mattresses on the market – some of them self inflate (the topic of this article) whereas others require pumping – either via a hand pump, pump bag (a simple way of filling a bag with dry air which can then be squeezed into the SIM via a valve) or electric pump. Camping Mat vs Camping Mattress Whether you are going hiking, camping or on long epic expedition, a good nights sleep can make all the difference between a great trip and a terrible one. We all know that getting in some quality Zzzzs refreshes the mind and the body and sets us up for an awesome day out on the trail.
That said, the STS Ultralight Insulated pad delivers an all-around great three season performance for the price. o Primaloft® insulation mimics the properties of natural down to retain warmth effectively and prevent heat loss through the groundThe Sea to Summit Ultralight Insulated pad is a solid no-frills option that treads the line between being ultralight and delivering a comfortable night in night out performance. The most awesome thing about this air mattress is the ‘internal stabiliser’ that makes sure your weight is distributed evenly while you snooze. I hiked with the smaller version of this pad on the Appalachian Trail, and though not an ultralight choice, I got excellent sleep night after night – which makes it worth its weight in gold.
The Shangri-La is exceptionally easy to inflate and deflate, and this is one of its major strengths. The Cyclone ‘flip-valve’ as seen on the Comfort 10 Double is a joy to use. Simply flip it around to the correct airflow direction required. Inflation happens automatically, and deflation can be achieved in a couple of minutes by the old “roll and kneel” manoeuvre. The Outdoor Revolution Skyfall Double 150 SIM is no exception to this experience and offers an immense 15cm of pure cushioned comfort for your nighttime napping. The comfort of the MondoKing is exceptionally good. I lay down on it for a few minutes to ‘test it out’ and found myself dropping off surprisingly rapidly – that wasn’t the plan, but it’s testament to the cushioning on offer. Thermarest use a ‘Stratacore’ construction to achieve this which combines a continuous layer of thermal foam with alternating ridges of air and foam. It works very well. Let’s start with some definitions. At Camping Secrets, we generally distinguish between a Camping Mat and a Camping Mattress as follows:I am looking to upgrade my sleep system to be able to continue my trail running and wild camping adventures into the winter. It is a big investment for me so I really need to get it right first time. At Camping Secrets we often like to highlight niche products we uncover which accomplish a task in a clever way, whilst maintaining quality and value. The 3rd generation IForrest Sleeping Pad accomplishes this task extremely successfully.
In terms of dimensions and operation, the Dreamcatcher is pretty standard in most areas. However, the inflated size is a little restricted compared to the more expensive Vango and Berghaus options – the length is 195cm (just under 6ft5) and so we would recommend either of those two over the Outwell if you’re lanky like me. We really love Outdoor Revolution – they make great quality items at the mid-to-top end of the camping spectrum. Yes they may be slightly more expensive than the Decathlon’s of this world, but we’ve never been let down by their tents or their general camping gear.The NeoAir Xtherm ditches the mainstream rectangular shape for a contoured build. This makes it overall more weight-effective, without compromising comfort and it’s a seriously comfortable, seriously lightweight sleeping pad – as an all rounder, the Xtherm is hard to beat, but it ain’t cheap and there are some better value options out there. Sea to Summit has yet again graced our list. This time with the Comfort Plus SI sleeping pad. This is the pad to go with if the priority is 3-season comfort above all else. Delivering a cushy 2.5 inches of padding, this self-inflating sleeping pad is also built from 30-denier stretch-knit top fabric, which is going to deliver a slightly more durable performance over lightweight pads. Measuring 198 x 130 x 7.5cm, the Deluxe offers a sufficient length of 6ft 6” which should be ample for most of the adult population of the world – apart from Sultan Kosen perhaps. For those that don’t know, he’s the current world’s tallest man!
The Shangri-La is for all intents and purposes a proper mattress when it’s fully inflated. It has vertical side walls to maximize the top-level surface area and this means that you don’t roll off in the night. We recommend an R-Value of 3 or higher for 3-season use, and 5 or higher if you will be lying on the ground in winter too. The Decathlon Quechua Ultima is a comfortable mattress at a pretty reasonable price point. It’s not the cheapest double and it’s not the most expensive. Would we like a little more cushioning, say 10cm total? Well actually we didn’t really miss those extra 2cm, and the great insulation really made a difference on a cold autumn night. We slept very well, with none of the ‘sleeping bad sliding’ you get on some smoother SIMs. For real additional comfort to the Ultim you need to be looking at a 15cm SIM such as the Outdoor Revolution Skyfall or similar. Measuring 201 x 74 x 5cm when inflated, the IForrest includes both an integrated pillow and armrests for significant added comfort. What is great about the armrests is that they stop you rolling off the mattress in the night very effectively. If you are planning to use it on top of a camp bed then this is an important consideration – you might be a foot off the floor!
However a low R-Value (<2) could mean you end up getting cold in the night. Inflatable air mattresses which are essentially big air balloons which you sleep on have notoriously low R-values and are no good at all for sleeping on in winter or autumn. So the babble of words above is my findings of testing this Berghaus sleeping mat, here are some key features of the manufacturers blurb; Operation is simple. The Berghaus uses a rotatable ‘flip valve’ with a protective sealed cap to secure in place. When the flip valve is is one position air can get in but not escape (i.e. use when inflating). In the other orientation, air can escape but not get in – use for deflating. For inflating, remove the cap and make sure the valve is in the ‘inflate position’. Unroll the mattress and it will automatically let air rush in and will self inflate. Spot the top-selling author in that previous sentence! The good news is, it’s the year 2023 and there are plenty of options for great camping sleeping pads. In fact, there are so many options that you may need some help narrowing down the options. From the best affordable sleeping pad to the absolute top-end option on the market, there’s lots of choices.
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