Mattress vs Thermarest?

[basco]

I read some posts on other sites about this but can't make up my mind. Hopefully doing serious moto-campin this year and wanted to see if what other mc'ers do. I tried last year with a cheap thermorest and don't see the advantages, I am basically sleeping on hard ground.

[Mellow]

Wal-mart $20 air mattress is the way to go.

Sleeping on 6 inches of air beats sleeping on 1.2-2.5 inches of air/foam.

Plus, a twin air matress is wider and will pack smaller than a comperable thermarest.

Yes, you open up the possibility of a leak and sleeping on ground but that's only happened to me once and I just got another mattress so I'm out $40 instead of the $120+ for a thermarest.

Actually, I have a thermarest that I probably should sell, after this post, I doubt anyone would want it... LOL

If you can, try to find a very small air pump, K-mart used to sell them for $5. You can put a bmw plug on the end of it and plug it into your outlets, like I do.

The worst sleeping I've ever done camping was on a thermarest, the best was on the air mattress.

Important note: Don't get one bigger than you need, if you have a big tent and you get the 'full' size, if it's cold, the cold air will pull the heat from your body. with the Twin size, I've never felt like the mattress was pulling my bodyheat and I've used it in 30-40 degree weather. In fact my upcoming trip to Big Ben next week might touch on the mid 30's to mid 40's as a low, I'm not worried about a good night's sleep.

[basco]

I'd like to get a small compressor to pump up the tires. maybe double up and use it to pump the mattress.

[Mellow]

I had one on order with casporttouring, I need to check on it, it was back ordered last time I called and I forgot about it.

[Bones]

Consider a Go-Kot instead of an air mattress. Sets up faster, very comfortable, leaking not an issue, will likely last much longer than an air mattress. Plus your fellow campers don't have to listen to the air pump whine while you fill your mattress.

[Killtimer]

First off, I'm not a motorcycle camper, don't want to be. I have, however, done a lot of backpacking/mountaineering and I think the requirements are similar. That said, I don't think you can beat a Thermarest for comfort and versatility. A bonus is the addition of the chair (http://www.vtarmynavy.com/thermarest_accesories.htm) kit. Great around the fire at night.
Just MNSHO

Steve

[dannyk]

I have a ozark trail pump that runs on battery/rechargeable with 110v. or runs on 12v power, bought it for ATV camping with the air mattress, don't remember if it was wally world or some other type store. I also have a nylon/rubberized air mattress that I like, don't really worry about it as it is tough, have had it for at least 20 years. I also have thermarest pads but find that I really don't sleep well on them, like the air mattress better.

[crazykz]

Can anyone post a link to the air matress they use?

Curt

[Mellow]

Normally, I got to walmart and just see what they have and get that brand, I think they carry quail trail or quick trail or something like that.

I have the coleman twin air mattress and found just found a deal on ebay where you get two twin air mattresses and an air pump for $39

Here's the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=36114&item=7135981797&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW#ebayphotohosting

[jackpine savage]

IMHO thermarest is the way to go. I find the air mattresses fine until you need to move, then the 6 inches above the ground feels like a cliff that you are about to roll off. :eek: Time is another factor. With the TR you unpack it and just let it lay there for a while. It self expands almost all the way. Then when it's time to sleep you blow in one or two puffs of air and it's ready. In the morning, unscrew the cap and let the excess air out. When it's time to pack just fold it over in half and push the rest of the air out by rolling it up. With the TR I can comfortably roll around in my sleeping bag all night without feeling like I'm about to fall off.
David

[alan]

I have used both and I prefer the Thermarest. As David mentioned, the Thermarest still needs a bit of help to get fully inflated, you need to use some lung power to help it along.

[STCPO]

Joe,
Since you don't use the Thermarest, I might take it off your hands if you want to sell it.

Pete

[Mellow]

Joe,
Since you don't use the Thermarest, I might take it off your hands if you want to sell it.

Pete

sure, I've got two. I'll PM you with the details when I get home. I think one is the shorter/narrower one more geared to back packing and the other is a longer thicker camprest? I'll get more info to you later today...

[beastie]

My wife prefers the mattress :-D at Comfort Inn we we are roughing it.

[Putt]

mine too... I love to camp, she loves to Motel...


Putt...

[Fireball18]

Ah yes, the comforts of motel camping. Hard to beat. Still like to tent camp, though. We use Coleman twin air matresses. No complaints. Wife hates the Thermarest type of matress. I've seen one that inflates up to 3" but it's pretty spendy at around $150.00. Might be about like the twin air matress, though.

[basco]

Ah yes, the comforts of motel camping. Hard to beat. Still like to tent camp, though. We use Coleman twin air matresses. No complaints. Wife hates the Thermarest type of matress. I've seen one that inflates up to 3" but it's pretty spendy at around $150.00. Might be about like the twin air matress, though.

Don't know how you can pack a 3" 'rest on a bike? The thick ones take up space.

[Keith R.]

Having had back surgery twice I had to find what worked best. For 3 years now I have been using an Aero Comfort Camp Bed. http://sitincomfort.com/aercomcambag.html (www.sitincomfort.com/aercomcambag) Look in the left hand collum for Aero Beds then schroll down till you see Comfort Camp Bed. This is a complete bed. Air mattress, sleeping bag, and comes with its own rechargable air pump. The mattress fills in less than 1 minute. Once the mattress is full it slides into and zips into its own pocket on the bottom of the bag. So what it really is is a bed. Fits perfect in my 2 man tent with room to spare. Its seems a little big when you recieve it. But with the purchase of a compression sack it downsized nice for packing on the bike.
One really nice feature is the air release door. Deflates in about 5 seconds when you pop the door.

[Killtimer]

For those of you who don't know Keith, he's the guru of camping/one-off farkles (WeSToc award winner no less). He's even got a camp kitchen/oven that he hauls on his ST. :eek: Good to see you over here Keith.

Steve W

[Mellow]

This wouldn't be Keith's bike would it? :04biker:

That's wild, always wondered whos bike it was...

[Killtimer]

This wouldn't be Keith's bike would it?


:yes: :cool: :biker:

Steve

[Keith R.]

Yep......That would be my bike. As you all can see I have a lot of spare time on my hands.

[Rodm850g]

Guys,
We used one of the Wallyworld mats til it let us down in Daytona a couple of years back,sinnce then we have been on a Coleman queen sized mat. used 12 volt blower that fills and empties it for us works well. We like to camp comfy....bed, two White stag bags that unzip, one down under the other with a down blanket and a thermal blanket between the bag and blanket....now thats warm.....got to have a good stove, light,....it gets to be a lot but you get used to ameneties.... :cool:
Rod

[allypurp]

We've used thermarests (TR) since they've been around (for 10-15ish years) without problems. Have never spent over $80 for them. Lifetime warranty, although you"ll probably never need it. They can often be purchased at a discount from www.sierratradingpost.com (they also sell the newer Thermarest mattress...several brands available....that are lighter and roll down to about 11" X 7"; they sometimes have discounted Motorcycle gear also). TR mattresses take a few minutes to self inflate (add a few puffs of air to fine tune the firmness). When not in use, store opened to keep the foam in good shape and to keep it inflating quickly. Downside: many have only one valve, so deflatation takes a few minutes (open valve, fold mattress several times and kneel on it to get air out; close valve...open mattress and roll tightly until last bit of air is trapped near valve end; open valve again and continue rolling to remove last bit of air; close valve; put in stuff sack (warning: if gaining a lot of elevation while TR is in stuff sack, it may be tough getting it out). WalMart has a TR like mattress for $30-$40.

To make it warmer (warm down to 30-40 degrees as is), place any closed cell foam (CCF) mattress/pad under the TR. (CCF is warm enough to be used directly on snow, does not absorb H2O, can be cut up and used for insulation or whatever, cheap, etc) Place a CCF pad under the TR (inflated with less air) for a warmer and softer sleeping pad. (The young and/or tuff camper may be comfortable with the CCF pad alone). CCF pad costs $10-$15 at WalMart, more for brand names.

LL Bean has a 4" self inflating mattress (like the TR) for approx $100. It has 4 long chambers like a regular air mattress and 2 (maybe more) inflating valves. This may be more comfortable than a flat TR. (Looks great for car camping, but is probably too bulky for MC camping.....although, it's probably smaller than an air bed.)

[sandman]

I prefer the Ozark Trail air mattress from WalMart for comfort. They also sell the 12v/110v rechargeable pump that will pump my mattress (twin size) full in about 20 seconds so even the most noise conscious neighbor won't be annoyed.

That said Allypurp might remember that I mentioned my mattress wouldn't stay full more than about 3 hours at Mt. Magazine Arkansas. I was able to get something that resembled a night's sleep by refilling a couple times during the night. I have since repaired the leaks and it's good as new. When travelling with air it's important to make sure your campsite doesn't have any sharp objects under your tent and to carry a patch kit!

I did use a Wal-Mart knock-off of the Thermarest for my trip to Daytona Bike Week. It was fairly comfortable but there is an issue with sleeping on the ground in a heavy downpour unless you have invested in a very good quality tent as Allypurp and MikeP1300 have done. You might discover a leak has invaded your sleeping bag in the middle of the storm on a thermarest. Alternately, on an air mattress you won't discover the leak until the river runs through it or the next morning whichever comes first.

I'll be back on the air at EaSToc.

Gordon

[basco]

I bought a Walmart self inflating mattress and works ok (not walmart brand). Went camping during MDW and no problems. I go to the Chiropractor every other week so I needed something fairly good.

[Fireball18]

Just back from a 17-day trip, during which we camped most of the time except for the three days it took to get home. Our thoughts about camping were that camping is fun, we enjoyed it, but it was a drag having to set up camp every night and then take it down the next morning and pack things up just right so they fit in the waterproof duffel bags. We decided that it was better to motel it while on the road, but do camping while at an event, where the camp would be set up for several days.

We use a Kelty 10'X10' tent that is tall enough for me to stand up in. This is good. It's also a good quality tent. We tried the Coleman (or Ozark Trail brand) queen sized air mattress, but didn't like it, so went to the twin sized mattresses. Satisfied. As for keeping the cold in the ground, we carry a heavy duty space blanket for each of us. It folds very flat and is light. With the shiny side down, it works well. We also bought a battery operated (4 D-cells) mattress inflator at W-M and it quickly inflates and deflates the mattresses. I'm still considering whether I want to go to a Thermarest or equivalent self-inflating mattress. If it's too big to go inside the duffel, it can strap onto the outside in a waterproof bag.

All in all, though, we did enjoy camping. It was fun and we spent the night in some nice campgrounds, in particular, on in Ouray, CO.

[motojedi]

Coleman.......cheap and durable. Here's the mattress.

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=5998L300&categoryid=10080

and the air pump.

http://www.coleman.com/coleman/colemancom/detail.asp?product_id=5999B112&categoryid=10060

[CruisingDog]

Can't say I like the Themorest. Yes they're ceonvienient but you end up slipping off them if there's any form of slope (which is always!). Unfortunately this is all you can reasonably carry if you're backpacking. Motorcycle wise I will probably look into inflatable dealy things. I have a tire pump which fits nicely under the back seat so I don't have any problems there.

My attitude towards motorcycle camping is that since you have a comfortable motorcycle you might as well have a comfortable night also and have a really enjoyable time. Nothing worse than waking up with a really sore back or evene worse, waking up after a really restless night (which can affect your judgement on the road).

[allypurp]

The extra few minutes it takes to choose a good tent site (no steep slopes and no sharp objects underneath) is well worth the effort and one of the most important steps to getting a good nights sleep, no matter what kind of mattress you choose. I think what a person chooses to sleep on is a highly personal matter, and also depends on how much space and weight can be devoted to carrying the mattress/air pumps, etc. Some of the newer thermarests have a textured surface to help keep the sleeping bag from slipping off. If weight and space are an issue when packing, I believe that the newer thermarests (those with a textured surface that can be rolled down to 11" x 7") are the best choice for comfort and reliability. One thing I can say is that I've camped out comfotably on a thermarest since they 1st came out (many trips were 2-3 weeks long, and one was a month long).

[allypurp]

I guess I'm pretty used to camping, so sleeping on a thermarest has become second nature to me. It's probably a good idea to try sleeping on whatever camping mattress you buy before using it on a trip. If it's not comfortable at home, it won't be in the woods either.

[Highrider]

I agree with alan -the therarest is the next best thing to sleeping on a cot, if you decide on a thermrest, get the latest version that compresses down to a minmum size. It is worth the extra money for performance and space savings.
I have a bad back and the therma rest has performed very well on most surfaces that you can imagine at a campsite.

[HOG SLYR]

I have 4 TR's and switched to an Eddie Bauer air mattress with it's own built in battery powered compressor that I bought at Target, You have to charge it once in awhile but the compressor flips around to suck the mattress flat which makes it easy to pack, charger is small and it gives a good nights sleep. The wife is much happier too, though we both still perfer Marriott camping with the bike and will save the tent for the plane!

[belladad]

I finally ordered the Aero Camp Bed. All the distributors I contacted were out of stock. The webite of the manufacturer is www.thinkaero.com The complete set up was $ 99.00 plus 12.00 shipping. Grand total $ 111.00. Should be here next week.

Kyle

[jnsgardner]

I've been to Europe twice and the wife and I did 25,000 mi through Mexico, US, and Canada. An Eddie Bauer 4 man BACKPACKER tent served us well. You don't need the light weight, but, on a bike, you need the small size. The poles were no wider than the bags and the tent and fly were the size of a bowling ball. I bought this tent in 1972 and in 1982, the sun had eaten up the fly. I called Eddie Bauer in Seattle and contacted 'Mable' ( I don't know her real name), their special projects person. She contacted the manufacturer, they still had the old sewing templates, she commissioned a fly cover for me, and sold it to me at the 1972 rate...$27.

Tents...buy one that you can stand up in. It gets old quick dragging your pants on in the prone position. Don't bother with an optional ground cover. It's more gear to carry and , who cares if the bottom of your tent gets dirty.

I like the canvas type, but they don't have the high-tech inflation systems. There's friction, so you don't roll off. Having sleeping bags that zip together is nice for a couple. Don't go for the mummy style. Also, spend the money and go for goose down. Don't fold it and pack it in the same way every time. Just stuff it and will keep it fresh without getting funny pockets of down.. Bungie the bags on top of the STeeds bags, poles under and low just across the bags, tent, mattress, and stuff up on the back.

I've been to many restrooms inflating the mattress with a hairdryer from the electrical socket. Inflating your mattress with your pump that inflates your tires will not do the trick.

So there you have it. One bag for cloths, the other for pots, pans, cooking gear, food, and a tank bag for rain suits that you might need in a hurry, and an iPod, because I've found they don't like the vibration except nestled in your best T-shirts. Go for a small bag with maybe adapted bicycling panniers on either side because a large bag can really effect your steering especially at gas stations. And then there's that horn blowing thing!

John

[jeffmiller]

Skip the Thermarest and get the comparable REI pad....was very very comfortable and much cheaper.....

I use the Airman Sparrow pump for just about everything....tires, kids mattresses, basketballs, bikes.

Small enough to fit into the left pocket.

[ajaugust]

I've camped under many conditions. And, my Thermarest has always been part of my gear.

[Gunner1945]

Old thread, but I just happened on to it. I got a Byer TriLite folding cot and it works well. Folds up to the same size as the tent and fits across the back of the bags. Keeps me off the ground and is more comfy than pad. :cool:

[Mellow]

There's also been some discussion at the MotoCampers site on the EZ Cot
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=264

And, the Big Anges Pads
http://www.motocampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=262

[AZST]

I think I am going to try a Therm A Rest. Seems to pack pretty tight.

Seems pretty spendy though....hope it lasts.

--Bryan
04ST1300A
STOC# 5197
:04biker:

[Mark]

Just got back from a 10 day trip and I used my thermarest a couple of times.
If you sleep on your side the thermarest will not be as comfortable as a mattress pad.
On your back (I don't sleep on my stomach so I can't comment on that) it works fine.

I sleep mostly on my back so it works great.

Mark

[Mellow]

I think I am going to try a Therm A Rest. Seems to pack pretty tight.

Seems pretty spendy though....hope it lasts.

--Bryan
04ST1300A
STOC# 5197
:04biker:

I've got one you can try out... if you like it, you can pay me for it.. otherwise, just ship it back...It's a full length, hot 3/4.. I think it's 72 inches, or 76... I'll check when I get home.. but it's the 2 1/2 inch thick model.

If you're interested just PM me your address.

[AZST]

I've got one you can try out... if you like it, you can pay me for it.. otherwise, just ship it back...It's a full length, hot 3/4.. I think it's 72 inches, or 76... I'll check when I get home.. but it's the 2 1/2 inch thick model.

If you're interested just PM me your address.

Thanks Joe !!!

PM sent

--Bryan
04ST1300A
STOC# 5197
:04biker: