airbed..self inflating mats..or camp beds HELP

[littlestarschildminding]

So from those of you who have done some camping...to go with my new tent do I get

Camp beds

self inflating mats

or airbeds

What are the pros and cons?

Thanks

I have swapped from air beds to slef inflating mats and i much prefer them

Pros
you dont need to remember a pump
you just check em in the bed bit of the tent and get on with getting everything else set up, couple of puffs in the valve before closing then job done
they are warmer as no cold air coming up from ground - especially if you put layer between such as picnic rug.
no condensation problems due to above
easy to pack away too.

Cons
not a small to pack away as i thought they would be - think rolled sleeping bag size
the good ones are not cheap - you want a min 5 cms ideally 7 or even 10cm and the price goes up accordingly -from £30++ (although lidls do 5cm ones for about £15 in the late spring and they are great as we have them )

hth

oh also for kids, they fall off them!

that should read CANT fall off them of course

We bought ready beds for the kids. At 32 pounds each -- one had deflated by the middle of the first night, not impressed! But we bought a lovely Coleman double airmatress for dh & I and it was very comfortable and secure.

Seen a camp bed in the paper, anyone used one? aNY good?

Thanks :-)

Have gone with the air beds for the moments. The kids have ready beds (which we have been using as spare beds for a while and they only go down if the valve isn't quite right when you close them!)so am going to let them have those and sleeping bags and have bought 2 single airbeds for us...the simple deciding factor was the cost!! £8 versus £30++ I will upgrade later to a really good one later when I can afford it!!

Thanks for your advice!

Are those self inflating mats really as comfortable as an airbed?

I'd hate to feel like I was lying on the floor.

(sorry, suddenly can't remember how to spell lying... lieing... Neither look right...)

I was very sceptical about the self inflating mats until i tried them.The trick is to not go for less than 5cm thickness and, if you can, to unroll as early as you can on getting to camp - they are a bit like memory foam so need a bit of time to fully thicken up. My last rip i actually unrolled them the night before we went and then folded them in half to go on top of other stuff in car - then they were chucked in tent whilst we got on with other things

Its more for me the sirbeds were more UN comfortable than i thought they would be - you roll around and off them, can get REALLY cold or condensation (thought poor DD had wet the bed first time that happened ) due to cold ground below (and we always put something between groundsheet and bed) and the darn things deflate!

i love my self inflating mats now and if you keep your eyes peeled they can be as cheap as airbeds as they dont need replacing as often either.

LOL I've never fallen off an airbed, but they are cold aren't they. I put a thermarest mat on top my mine (do I mean thermarest? you know, one of those thin foam mats), which solves the cold problem, but it's not ideal for DS as it all gets all over the place.

I'm just worried about any hardness when lying down (Gawd! how do you spell that...?)

thick self inflating matts are the best ever.... much warmer and comfier than air beds try the fat airics here

Airics and thermarests and the like are very comfortable - unfortunately the Fat Airics are out of stock until June/July. The regular Airics (I have one) are still very comfortable even for me when sleeping on my side with my "good child bearing hips"

Oooh good

That means I have an excuse to buy more camping stuff when they're finally back in stock.

We put a slim Airic on top of a 4 leg camp bed for the kids, and we use our coleman doube on top of 2 concertina camp beds with a fitted sheet to hold it in place, cosy warm. Big pack size though if you dont have a lot of space! (we have trailer!)
Emma

fat airics are very comfy

If you sleep on your back or front them self inflating are great. If, like me, you are a side sleeper you may find you get sore hips. I know have an airbed on top of SIM which avoids the issue of cold from the ground.

To stop the cold coming up through air bed we bought mattress topper, worked brilliantly.

SIM's: not for me. Not soft/thick/comfy enough to cushion my fat arse. Great for the kids when little, they can't roll off. Also we could cover the floor with them and it didn't matter where they slept. Quite bulky to pack.

Air beds: I like. As comfy as my bed at home. Completely flat for packing take up very little room in car, but a lot of space in the bedroom. Need pumping, but takes not time with an electric/battery pump. Never had the cold problem described on mumsnet, but stuck a pound shop space blanket under it, last year. I've no idea whether it made a difference.

Camp bed: Very heavy and bulky to pack, very little padding to make them comfy, so may need a roll/splat mat or extra bedding on top. The traditional ones are unstable. Take up a lot of room when erected. Be careful the legs don't rip the groundsheet.

My eldest DS gave up on Sim at age 10, moved onto an Air bed, but age 12 demanded a camp bed. I've agreed, but he can only have it on trips where we are not fully loaded.

I think it's just personal choice, I have a SIM Dh has an air bed. I'd rather start less comfy but stay that way all night, and I've often found signed a deflate a little and I don't like the rebound. SIMS do seem warmer too. I think it's a case of trying them out. I would only get one that's at least 5cm, mines 10.

I'm not wild on the ready beds for kids because they seem to need much more blanket to keep them warm, they're fairly thin for all but high summer