Hiya

Got a question about air mattresses. The way I like to hunt here in the Applegate Mts here in Southern Oregon is climb up to a ridge overlooking some good looking country and spend the night up there. That way I'm in position at first light and have not made my presence known all night except maybe some scent. The terrain I sleep on isn't always the smoothest or the most hospitable. I pack light only using only some insulated overalls for sleeping in and a poncho with poncho-liner for cover. The pack needs to be light and manageable to hunt with the next day. Well I haven't really found a good tough packable air mattress that can stand up to the terrain or one that I won't roll off of, very annoying in the middle of the night. And worse, if the mattress fails, it’s a very long night. I’m 6’0 so some mattresses are on the short side as well.
Some of you might just do the very same thing, so what do you do use?
Thanks for your comments..

I think any air mattress will fail you at the most inopportune time. However the one I've just gotten for my birthday is an exped downfilled mattress and it's more comfortable than my bed at home as well as being pretty compactable. I'd say you still need some kind of good groundsheet to protect it. The good thing is the amount of insulation the down gives you from the cold ground.

Hi calgarychef
I did s little research into those and it looks pretty good. Kinda liking the Deluxe model.

Does this mattress require relatively smooth ground to be comfortable? What I mean is, any fully inflated 3" mattress will protect you from slightly rocky ground, even when laying on your side you won't feel any bumpy ground.
Is the Exped capable of this when fully inflated?

Also, where was the Exped purchased?

Thanks

You may find that you still need a foam such as EVA underlay for the Exped Deluxe in colder weather. It is comfortable, but, a bit more bulky than you might like and also, both costly and slow to inflate.

I have had mine for three years and also have/had several Thermarests and two Big Agnes Insulated Aircore pads. I choose the BAIAC large rectangular pad for most backpack hunting and am going to buy a Thermarest NeoAir Large in early 2011. I am in my mid-60s and try to cut weight of my gear wherever I can.

I like and use a combo of a Z-Rest and some Gossamer Gear Torsolite pads placed sideways and then a air mattress of these types over it. This, gives me the best system of anything I have tried in 46+ years of active backpack camping in BC and the weight is not bad, given the warmth and comfort.

I am always checking "bigbox" retailers camping sections for different foam pads, cut my own from these and then afix them to light groundsheets with those self-adhesive Velcro spots....works like a hot dam and stops me sliding all over during the night.

I would not go with only an air mattress and would prefer just foam pads over any inflatable used alone, regardless of make.

Heya Dewey

Thanks for your thoughts. I was looking at some pads at my local retailer this evening and there was some that looked promising. I think some where Thermarests.

One thing about Southern Oregon at this particular time of year, it's not all that cold at night. So cold isn't an issue right now, comfort is... Next month will be a whole different story but now it's not too bad.

Anyway, I'll come up with somethng..

My first post on this forum,I came to learn and lo and behold something I know about !
Many years of backpacking/hunting and in my opinion for what it's worth or not. The Thermarest.I have about six of them of various sizes some for base camp,full length and 3",not suitable for back packing to much room taken up in the pack.I do not use full length for B/P you really only need it long or short enough so your shoulders and hips are what you're laying on.Your lower legs and feet don't care unless it's really cold.A good sleeping bag is a must.Thermarest will allow you to sleep on a glacier and never feel cold and a few breaths in to the pad and it's inflated.I am 6' 2" and could never find one anyway that was as long a me.It was a mountaineering store in Idaho that told me they were not made for your entire body length.
Hope this helps.

Well Hey Randy, welcome to the frey

I was most impressed with the Thermarests at my local Sportsman's Warehouse. They had some you could actually lay down on. I could not feel the floor at all. They do have one that is 77" long, but I'm with you, I don't think that is necessary. Looks like I'm gonna try one.
Thanks

I slept on a 3/4 length 1" thich thermarest for a year when I was going to College. It worked as well as a bed....although I was a tad younger then.

Thermarest pads, They're "self inflating" filled w/ a "memory foam." They're designed for padding the core and head, under the hips. Legs are off the pad. I use the pack for a pillow, and so the head is off the pad too. They're tough, not inclined to puncture or otherwise fail. Not the lightest pad in the pack, but comfortable, and worth their weight. They come in several styles and weights. Down side is that they "spring out flat" and need to be compressed, rolled, close off the nozzle intake so that they don't "self-inflate."

Interesting question. My sheep hunting partner & I have started siwashing it on mountain tops in the Brooks for sheep in Aug. I'm in my mid-60's and have pretty well decided that more important than weight reduction is bulk reduction. When we hike into our remote spike camp spot, I've decided that I'm not even going to carry my sleeping pad - too bulky. We set up our spike camp with one man tents, sleeping bags and most of our food. We then pack our gear so we can spend several days on the top. In the past, I used a 6'x8' tarp as a shelter but since I picked up another one man tent at a going out of business sale last Oct., I'm gonna take the rain fly and foot print for that. For sleeping (such as it is) we have a complete set of Integral Designs Dolemiti gear - insulated pants & jacket w/ hood. Admittedly, it does get chilly and we've decided that we need some insulated booties as well so we'll be taking a cheap pair of those as well this next season. This system will work and you should have no problem in the Oregon area either.
BTW, for food on the top, we take homemade pemmican, Clif bars and homemade energy bars. We also take Lipton's Cup 'o soup packets along with Esbit pellet stoves to heat water. I'm at the point to where I even think that my MSR Whisperlite along with the associated paraphenalia is too bulky to even take on a sheep hunt (leave it at the airstrip) so I'm planning on relying solely on my Esbit pellet stove. The Esbit is totally fool proof.
In short, IMHO, get rid of the bulk as much as possible. Just what I think.
Bear In Fairbanks

Call me a "wussy" or "granola boy" or whatever you like..... I don't think a backpack hunt needs to be "screaming agony" to be memorable!

Fug that phony macho "poncho and liner...Cup 'O Soup" mentality!

I carry my "comforts" with me.

And one of those items includes a Thermorest full length self-inflating pad!

The sheep hunt I did last fall, I had a full length thermarest prolite 4 with a thermarest Z lite underneath. Quite a step up from just the Prolite 4, I tend to sleep on my side, and never had a sore hip from sleeping. Probably the best sleep I've ever had backpacking. My hunting partner had a Z lite with the NeoAir. I tried that out, very nice and the NeoAir takes up less space in the pack. The added use for the Z lite is a pad to sit on while you're glassing, especially on a nippy Oct. sheep hunt. I picked up a NeoAir at Christmas, hopefully one of my hunting buddies gets drawn for spring grizzly and I'll try it out then.

quote:

Originally posted by DaMan:
Call me a "wussy" or "granola boy" or whatever you like..... I don't think a backpack hunt needs to be "screaming agony" to be memorable!

Fug that phony macho "poncho and liner...Cup 'O Soup" mentality!

I carry my "comforts" with me.

And one of those items includes a Thermorest full length self-inflating pad!

Ok, granola boy.Will do.

B.I.F.

I think that Bear knows WTF he is talking about here and, as I am the same age as he is, I can attest that packing ONLY what one NEEDS makes a hunt or any backpacking excursion much more enjoyable. I have a whack of the finest gear made and still ONLY load my pack(s) with the absolute minimum for a given trip....and, I keep safe, clean and comfortable in the most remote parts of BC by doing so.

I am gonna try out the latest Neoair next summer when it becomes available and hope it is as good as early reports indicate. The lower weight/bulk is a big issue for me.

Dewey:
Ever try homemade pemmican on your 1-2 day outings? We started trying it last summer & as long as you add in some spices for flavor it's not too bad. Supposedly, a cup cake size piece has about 300 calories. Sorry, don't mean to hijack this thread.
B.I.F.

quote:

Originally posted by DaMan:
Call me a "wussy" or "granola boy" or whatever you like..... I don't think a backpack hunt needs to be "screaming agony" to be memorable!

Fug that phony macho "poncho and liner...Cup 'O Soup" mentality!

I carry my "comforts" with me.

And one of those items includes a Thermorest full length self-inflating pad!

quote:

Originally posted by Bear in Fairbanks:
Ok, granola boy.Will do.

B.I.F.

Well, have fun "grandpa tough guy"! "STUPID" SHOULD HURT! And it's a good "teaching point"!

I've had my "fun" already in my military career!

I can pack pretty light and still sleep comfortably. But I'm not sleeping in rocks. In deep woods it's easy to find soft ground. But out on the rocks in high desert, you need a decent pad -- which is worth shopping for and packing in.

I eat well and don't cook -- but then I don't cook much at home either. Lots of raw foods, fruits, veggies, fish, nuts.

I'm off on a day hike tomorrow: 48 oz of "smoothie" -- bananas, fruit, yogurt. Couple bagels, sardines, apples, almonds. But I'm not going to sleep over on the trail.

It might rain. Packing some gear for the wet.

I would think the Big Agnes Isulated Air Core Mummy style Pad would be a wise choice.. I have the Exped and it's great pad.. Bulky.. BA shaves weight and packs small
AK