So after years of trying to get a good nights sleep when camping i think i've found the perfect set up for me. Last week i spent a week camping in and around Brittany with a couple of other tossers. For years i've used an inflatable air mattress but it inevitably deflates at points and i have never really had a decent nights sleep while using one. So for this trip i thought i'd have look into these camp beds that use poles to stretch out a fabric and keep you around 3-4 inches off the ground.
I did a bit of research and found that these things can be crazy expensive, for example the latest Helinox version varies between £250 - £320 depending on the version you go for. Thermarest make one that costs around the £180 mark or there are much cheaper versions to be had if you look around. Given I wanted to try one of these out for the first time i didn't want to spend silly money on something that may not work for me so i opted for one of the cheaper versions from Amazon.. This is actually the one i went for:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/YAHILL-Ult...BS8HKYPDXDM&psc=1&refRID=5C9WY41MJBS8HKYPDXDM
£55 with Amazon Prime next day delivery, ordered on the Friday and arrived on the Saturday. I immediately had a go at putting it together which was fairly straight forward. I did buy some extra poles as i wanted to ensure it would take my weight (105kg) and they cost an extra £15 so in total i spent £70.
Packed it all up and packed it on the bike. Removing the original air bed and pump saved weight and space and the camp bed packed down easily fitted inside my panniers. I have a Thermarest Neo Air mattress that i take with me and put inside a silk sleeping bag liner and i use a Snugpac sleeper lite square sleeping bag with a thermarest pillow stuffed inside a pillow pac and bulked out with a fleece.
Last week I had the best nights sleep i've ever had whilst camping, consistently averaging around 6-8 hours (with a break or two for a slash).
If you struggle to get a decent nights sleep i couldn't recommend these camp beds highly enough, great bits of kit.. Would i spend £200+ on one, well after spending £70 on one I struggle to see if the Thermarest or Helinox version would help me sleep any better. The test will be the long term use. If it's as robust as I think it will be then it's a no brainer, however if it starts falling apart then i may be tempted to spend some extra cash on a more expensive version...
I did a bit of research and found that these things can be crazy expensive, for example the latest Helinox version varies between £250 - £320 depending on the version you go for. Thermarest make one that costs around the £180 mark or there are much cheaper versions to be had if you look around. Given I wanted to try one of these out for the first time i didn't want to spend silly money on something that may not work for me so i opted for one of the cheaper versions from Amazon.. This is actually the one i went for:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/YAHILL-Ult...BS8HKYPDXDM&psc=1&refRID=5C9WY41MJBS8HKYPDXDM
£55 with Amazon Prime next day delivery, ordered on the Friday and arrived on the Saturday. I immediately had a go at putting it together which was fairly straight forward. I did buy some extra poles as i wanted to ensure it would take my weight (105kg) and they cost an extra £15 so in total i spent £70.
Packed it all up and packed it on the bike. Removing the original air bed and pump saved weight and space and the camp bed packed down easily fitted inside my panniers. I have a Thermarest Neo Air mattress that i take with me and put inside a silk sleeping bag liner and i use a Snugpac sleeper lite square sleeping bag with a thermarest pillow stuffed inside a pillow pac and bulked out with a fleece.
Last week I had the best nights sleep i've ever had whilst camping, consistently averaging around 6-8 hours (with a break or two for a slash).
If you struggle to get a decent nights sleep i couldn't recommend these camp beds highly enough, great bits of kit.. Would i spend £200+ on one, well after spending £70 on one I struggle to see if the Thermarest or Helinox version would help me sleep any better. The test will be the long term use. If it's as robust as I think it will be then it's a no brainer, however if it starts falling apart then i may be tempted to spend some extra cash on a more expensive version...