The Evolution of my Camp Bed

Home is where your tent, sleeping bag, and camp pad are!

In the Beginning

When I was a kid, nobody in my family had any concept of a camp sleeping pad being placed under a sleeping bag. I thought that small rocks, hardened cow manure, and bumps were par for the course. My memory recalls that I could never get a full night’s comfortable sleep when camping. The fetal position was my weapon of choice, mostly to conserve heat, but it also had to do with avoiding the bumps and bruises.

I was ignorant to options, so I still enjoyed camping out more than being home. I do recall two of my dad’s friends having “bedrolls”. A bedroll is a contraption consisting of a canvas envelope folded around a piece of foam or small mattress and blankets or a sleeping bag. That to me seemed like the holy grail of of the camping sleepout. I’ve always wanted one.

Recently, some things have happened to me that changed my approach to camp pads.

Early Life – Camp Pad

Fast foward many years to me camping with my own family. Just like when I was a kid, my kids learned to sleep out by dodging rocks, dried cowpies, and other obstacles. Hmm…as an adult, the whole sleep-on-the-ground thing didn’t seem as fun or satisfying.

I learned about self-inflating air mattresses and went through a half-dozen of these before I finally realized the maximum-thickness Cabelas brand self-inflators were the best to sleep on and lasted the longest. Even today, my big Cabelas mattresses do yeoman’s work at most camps.

As I’ve Gotten Older

Recently, some things have happened to me that changed my approach to camp pads. First, my wife and I bought a TempurPedic™ bed. We quickly learned to primarily sleep on our sides with our spines in better alignment (I’d like to meet the guy or gal who sleeps on their stomach on one of these); second, we got older and found that when backpacking, weight matters.

We researched camp pads. We quickly realized that to have something light and warm enough that allowed us to sleep on our sides, we absolutely had to have backpacking-grade air mattresses. Best decision ever. These inflatables can be blown up to varying pressures and firmness, sort of like a poor-man’s sleep number bed. Down and synthetic insulations of different qualities and weights for keep you warm, and they are very light.

Right Now

We haven’t tried them all, but I can say with confidence that the Exped Synmat UL versions are heaven. Let me start over. First, we were looking for mattresses that were between 1.0 and 2.0 pounds in weight. This isn’t easy, and that is why the self-inflaters are out. Second, we didn’t want pool toys. We wanted mattresses that were both durable and had some insulation to help us on cold October hunts.

When you do this math, you come up with some choices from Big Agnes, Thermarest, Exped, REI, and a few others that didn’t make the grade up front. On paper, the Thermarest seem to be the best choice. After reading some reviews that included complaints that used terms like “potato chip bag” and “sleepless nights”, we decided to see what the fuss was about.

Turns out the Boise Cabelas had a nice selection of pads to lay on, including the top Thermarest pads. My first impression was that I was amazed that this little pad kept my hip off the showroom floor when I laid on my side. My second impression was something to do with a bag of potato chips. This sucker was crinklier and noisier than rolling on said bag-o-chips. Not good.

After a lot of head-scratching, my wife and I invested in a pair of Exped Synmat UL9 XL mattresses. They weigh in at about 1.85 pounds and have a hefty insulation R-value of 5.8. Boy, are they warm on frozen ground! They are 3.5 inches thick and are 78 inches long by 25 wide. We like these so much, even with both of us having bad backs we have slept on them in motel rooms, condos, and guest-rooms whenever a bed wasn’t available and we had to make room. We sleep on them in our tent, on the ground, and in the back of our truck.

My daughter tried mine out, along with my heavy down sleeping bag, on an elk hunt last September. She also has some back difficulties when sleeping. She was blown away by what a good night’s rest she got on that mattress and sleeping bag, having never experienced that kind of comfort in any sleeping-bag situation. That got me to thinking, and so I ordered a comparable REI model for her at Christmas.

She slept on the REI pad three times and was miserable each of those times. We swapped pads for a night and then I was uncomfortable and she slept like a baby. I had figured I would be fine on the REI, but I wasn’t. It was slipperier, and somehow it just wasn’t as supportive. It made no sense to me, but I wouldn’t recommend one for anyone else, bottom line. The REI pad is now safely back at REI, which is the beauty of buying things at REI.

As a replacement, my daughter couldn’t find our UL9 Synmats, so ordered a 2016 Synmat UL7 on sale. It is only 2.8 inches thick and has an R-value of about 3, but at $90 it was hard to pass up. Result? She loves her new pad and had a great night sleep on its maiden voyage.

Going Forward

I’d actually like to try that potato-chip Thermarest, as I don’t get too freaked by a little noise, and I only roll over a few times each night. My expectation though is that my wife won’t agree. It is one thing to make noise when you turn in the night. It is another to experience the noise your partner makes in the night.

I love my Exped Synmat one hundred percent. I’ve slept on mine somewhere between 15 and 20 times with no problems. I’ve just ordered my own Synmat UL7 like my daughters as it will save me about 7 or 8 ounces on long backpack trips. If it works nicely, then I’ll get one for my wife as well. I’m not too sure, as last weekend I deflated my UL9 to perfect support levels and my hip just barely grazed a rock under my tent. It didn’t cause any problems, but I do wonder about the 2.8 inch thickness and the R3 insulation.

Yeah, I get it. This is not a comprehensive review of sleep systems. All I can really give you is my own experience with sleep systems. The Cabelas self-inflator is pretty deluxe, once you get over three inches in thickness, but it is heavy. The Exped Synmats are as close to perfect as I need. I sleep on my side, so thin high-density foam mats don’t take me anywhere.