Camping Questions

[propilot10]

Last year I bought the Big Agnes air core insulated pad and it is amazing. If you combine it with one of their sleeping bags you have a very comfortable bed that is warm and super light. It also packs down very small. I bought a bag for myself that the pad fits into and a double sleeping bag for trips with my gal. The pad fits in both. Very slick system and Big Agnes is top quality. As far as getting used to sleeping on anything less than a bed, I say go to Costco and get the big bottle of ibuprofen.

[ScootTour]

Originally Posted by propilot10

Last year I bought the Big Agnes air core insulated pad and it is amazing. If you combine it with one of their sleeping bags you have a very comfortable bed that is warm and super light. It also packs down very small. I bought a bag for myself that the pad fits into and a double sleeping bag for trips with my gal. The pad fits in both. Very slick system and Big Agnes is top quality. As far as getting used to sleeping on anything less than a bed, I say go to Costco and get the big bottle of ibuprofen.

lol.

Although I have no idea if its actually true I have been known to say that pain killers, although addictive, extended my grandmothers live by 20 years.

[klaviator]

Interesting thread. I am trying to figure out how to camp comfortably without carrying a ton of stuff. I recently did my first long distance ride where I took camping gear. I camped 3 out of 5 nights on the road and didn't sleep that well. I had a 1" thick self inflating mattress. I may try carrying a regular air mattress but my "touring bike" is a 250 so I need to keep my gear fairly small and light.

Some of this stuff was addressed in my ride report here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=803404

[JayhawkGSA]

I second the hammocks. I use Eagles Nest Outfitters hammocks myself. There are lots of accessories to set them up for different climates and conditions.

They eliminate the need to carry a sleeping pad which takes up a lot of room and in many cases I don't carry a sleeping bag either, just a small blanket.

[Spirit_Rider]

Do you pack that on 1 bike or does your wife have her own? I have been considering hammocks but not sure about packing 2 on a bike.

Originally Posted by L84TOFF

This

Seriously, I started looking at some new camping gear and bought 2 of these instead. I realize it's perhaps not for everyone but it is the most comfortable sleep my wife and I have ever had camping and we'll never go back to a tent. Just my 2c.

[lhendrik]

I'm not sure I understand the value of sleeping on any hard floor as 'training' !! Who sleeps like that in the field? Try out the pads at a good camping store near you. Inflatables/foam pads/beds with little feet/ try them all and pick one and go camping.

FYI, I use a 3" inflatable insulated pad and a sleeping bag. After a day or two of getting used to it I sleep fine on it. After some of my rides I could sleep standing up on the highway.

[vltor17]

I use a Therma rest style pad and a few nips o' whiskey.... Sleep like a baby.

[Pantah]

I used Thermarest backpack pads for years, but they became unbearable in my later years. I use a Big Agnes air mattress now. Packs about the size of a paperback book. $50 or so at REI

[8gv]

My current setup is a NeoAir ultralight pad measuring 25x76x2.5 and a "fillow" pillow. These are light enough for back packing. At EMS this week I saw a sleep system by the makers of the fillow that had an air mattress combined with a
memory foam top all measuring 3.5" thick. It was pricey at $170 but really comfy.

[mach1charlie]

My alum. framed cot ($50) keeps me up off the ground when the tent leaks. I will never sleep on the ground (pad) again.

Hey I am not back packing, got a chair and a cooler too !

Oh cot means you gotta have a stand up tent, 6 foot

[coachchuck]

I just did 27 nights and 10870 miles,
I used a browning 1 1/2 self inflating pad, a sleeping bag, and a horse blanket.
the horse blanket was for the nights that were not cold enough to sleep in the bag, but to cold to not have some cover.

When I got back home I found the bed uncomfortably soft.

[Okie Preacher]

EXPED. http://www.exped.com/exped/web/exped_homepage_na.nsf

Comfortable and warm for old bones.

[Big Lee]

Bugger that sleeping on the floor!! I`ve found as long as the bony bits of you, hips etc are off the ground and supported with a thermarest etc I`ve always had a good kip. Have the inflatable pads as soft as you can without the previous mentioned bony bits touching the ground and you`ll be ok. Some people blow these things up rock hard and then complain they`re no good!!

BTW always store your thermarest unrolled and with the valve open, NEVER rolled and compressed!!

[Tee2]

Exped Downmat 9. I just upgraded from a Neoair which was okay but the Exped is so much better. It is a great pad. I sleep as good as I do at home with a Sleep Number bed. And I have lower back and neck problems. Also got one for my wife and we use a BA Cabin Creek two-person bag. Even she had a good nights sleep, and she doesn't sleep well at home. I will probably get a BA single bag for trips with out the wifey.

Two problems with the hammocks. One..for me not good on the back. Two...state run campsites (state parks) around me will not let you tie anything to trees. I was in a Michigan state park and the guy next to me was setting one up. And just before dark a ranger came by and made him take it down. Said in MI and some places in IN that he knew of would not allow them. We where in the camper and had an extra tent we let him use. Just something to keep in mind before getting one.

[jeffjbmw]

My choice was the 2..5 self inflating camp bed from REI. I tried others but in a test run inside the tent in the store..(i dragged the display models over to the tent section and plopped down inside) I found for me, 5'7" 165 lbs, that the 2.5 did not allow my bony parts to touch the hard surface. I got the large version and while it does pack large it seems fine held in the straps of my Wolfman Beta.

I used it on a car trip back from New Mexico in some awful heat at a couple KOA's and slept pretty well. In fact I couldn't use my sleeping bag it was so warm.