Camping Mattress

Camping mattresses, thickness and insulation are two separate things

A camping mattress has two jobs that people tend to merge: keeping hips and shoulders off hard ground, and stopping the ground pulling heat out of the body all night. Thickness handles the first, the material inside handles the second. The range covers self inflating singles and doubles, thicker inflatable beds for couples and lightweight foam mats, which solve the two jobs in different proportions.

How does a self inflating mattress work?

Inside the shell is open-cell foam that has been squashed flat. Open the valve and the foam springs back, drawing air in behind it, which is where the name comes from. It rarely fills completely on its own: a few breaths at the end firm it up, and that pressure is what stops the hips bottoming out. Closing the valve traps both the foam and the air, so a puncture leaves the foam still working rather than leaving you flat on the ground. That belt-and-braces behaviour is the main argument for a self inflating mattress over a plain air bed.

How thick does a camping mattress need to be?

It depends entirely on how you sleep. A back sleeper spreads weight over a long area and manages on something quite thin. A side sleeper puts almost everything through one hip and one shoulder, so anything under a few centimetres lets those points reach the floor once the padding compresses. Around ten centimetres is where most side sleepers stop noticing the ground. The penalty is bulk and pack weight, which is the reason a thin foam sleeping mat still exists for anyone walking in.

Which valve and shell details are easy to overlook?

• Valve type: a wide flat valve fills and empties far faster than a narrow screw one, which decides how long packing up takes in the rain.
• Shell fabric: a brushed or textured top stops a bag sliding off in the night, a slick nylon does not.
• Packed size: check the rolled dimensions, since a thick double takes up more boot space than the tent it goes in.
• Width: a standard single is narrower than a domestic bed, so an arm hangs off unless it is checked against your shoulders.
• Repair kit: a supplied patch and valve spare is the difference between a fixable hole and a ruined weekend.

Single or double?

A double removes the gap two singles leave and is warmer for it, since there is no cold strip down the middle. The catch is movement: any turn transmits across the whole surface, so a restless sleeper wakes the other one. Two singles can also be carried separately and used apart. Either way the mattress is half the sleep system, and the sleeping bag above it matters as much as the padding.

How do you store and repair one?

Store one with the valve open, flat under a bed or loosely rolled. Months compressed in its sack leaves the foam slow to rise, and it never fully recovers. Find a leak by inflating hard and running soapy water over the shell until bubbles appear, then dry the area before patching. Keep the head end tidy with a camping pillow that grips rather than one that slides onto the groundsheet by midnight.