I’m officially old!

[Mum233]

Took DC camping remembering the magic of camping as a child. Oh my goodness it was cold and uncomfortable! Children were comfy and warm and loved it. Our air bed was a disaster and so we got really cold.

On a serious note, if you are a camper what do you sleep on? What do you recommend?!
I feel like an old lady after a nights sleep on an air bed!

Yeah me too.

Millets etc sell air beds. You want a blanket underneath your sleeping bag ideally because they can be cold. One with a material top helps. As does a separate ground sheet under the tent. Is your sleeping bag warm enough...?

That’s about all you can do...

You need a SIM!! Can even put it on a camp bed if it's too low.

My dd goes camping a lot and she uses the Aldi air mattress. It has a material top and blows up from electric/car battery with adaptor. Then a quilt to lie on and then in a sleeping bag.

We tried loads of different mattress and in the end our best option was basic campbeds with thick outwell self inflating mats on top, used them with normal sheets and duvet. We were warm and comfy with them. Also handy for keeping stuff underneath and better to get in and out of. (Have a caravan now)

You need to layer everything- the problem with air mattresses is that the cold comes up through the ground and gets trapped in the air. We have a camping mat or blanket under the air mattress and then a blanket on top and then a good sleeping bag and then you wear warm pjs + socks + hat. Then once you get all warm and comfy you will need the loo...

I wondered the other day if the ASDA delivery man ought to have been in school. Then got excited about putting on a new pair of socks. I'm officially past it.

You need foam mat under the air bed and another on top, or at least some blankets between you and the mattress. This makes all the difference. Plus an mini fan heater in the tent to warm it before you go to bed.

How old are you in numbers?

Anyone born in 2001 is legally able to drive.

31 in numbers 😂
78 in how I felt after sleeping on an air bed!

Camping is just one of those things that should stay a childhood memory I think.

I have a folding double campbed, I put an old double duvet on top then a fleece fitted sheet then a fleece double duvet ontop. I use a waterproof picnic blanket as a carpet. It's not lightweight camping though but the camped is high and has loads of space underneath for storage

51 - so no you are not old! I love camping but swapped my airbed for a SIM (after waking up on the floor when it deflated in wet Wales at 4am!) - love my SIM - very cosy

God I hate camping. I'm late 30s and just can't do it anymore.

15 years ago I'd happily spend 3 days in a tent at a festival, sleeping on the ground, using portaloos and not having a shower.

Now I need an Airbnb with a king bed and at least 1 bathroom per bedroom. Preferably also a hot tub and a flat screen too.

Give in. Readycamp beckons. They provide actual beds.

If you are camping where you can park next to the tent take a duvet and fitted sheet. We’ve got an air bed and do this now after years of shivering in sleeping bags which claimed to be good for -5c! It’s a game changer.

@Gingernaut

Anyone born in 2001 is legally able to drive.

Well anyone born in 2003 is also able to drive...

Separate groundsheet under tent
Cheap foam mat with SIM on top
Really good quality 3 or 4 season sleeping bag
Warm PJs or sleep in clothes.
You keep much warmer in a small tent than a big one.
I feel the cold badly but have always kept warm in tents, even in winter. Even with the tent pitched on frozen ground one Christmas! And in the Himalayas in winter

I just use a self-inflating sleeping mat BUT my secret to not getting cold is a foil sheet thing which I put on the floor of the tent. I’m not sure what they’re called but it’s like foil on top of a thin layer of foam and folds up like a picnic blanket. And wearing leggings under pyjamas.

Mats under the airbed and we always take a duvet, pillows and a blanket as well as a sleeping bag. Makes it feel so much more comfortable. We don't really travel light though when it comes to camping 😂

Girl guide advice in the 60s was to have as much bedding underneath you as on top.

I think for a lot of you in this thread, your problem is what sleeping bag you're using rather than what's underneath you.

Just use an air bed, and grab one of those mummy-shaped sleeping bags that is guaranteed down to 0C or -5C. They wrap around you really well.

Take a couple of extra fleece blankets, one for underneath your sleeping bag and one in it.

Did you go for one night only? I always find that I can't sleep much at all the first night but the following nights are better.

Also, make sure you put a different pair of socks on before bed so they are not damp.