Camp beds

Urban Rider

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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...:thumb2
 
Thermarest cot

I really do not think the thermarest is worth the extra money. I have one and the poles bend very easy. even when being very careful. When I got it there were no copies available. If I buy another it would be a copy. Which ever one you buy remember to put it up before getting drunk.
 
I have a couple of these, a cheap one and a better kingkamp one, I use them with a klymit static v insulated mat on top.

KingCamp Ultra Lightweight Portable Folding Camping Cot off ground Camping Bed Indoor Home & Festival, Camping & Outdoor Use Weight Capacity 135kg/300lbs https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0787CZDY8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_taa_wUy0Cb9A80Q7R

They are very good, just watch out for damage to your tent floor.

I also have an exped synmat 12 that I find superbly comfy and warm.. Its definitely my favourite.

EXPED SYNMAT 12 LXW CAMPING MAT https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00JGLA9XW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_taa_90y0Cb0JJZ259
 
really easy to take appart as however, the instructions say kneel astride, well when the damn thing unclips the spring in the poles propels the end in an upward direction and your eyes dont half water!!!!!
 
I have the solution and it packs up to the size of an iPhone .
In fact it is an iPhone . You can press a button within an app on said iPhone and be given a camp bed which looks more like a bed,because it is a bed.
And you don’t need to cook egg and fucking chips every night because some of these beds are grouped together in one building, called a hotel where some people who work there will even cook some food for you for a small fee. It might be horrid local fare though.And you may have to sup a beer in the dry while you wait.

Bloody marvellous discovery :)
 
I have the solution and it packs up to the size of an iPhone .
In fact it is an iPhone . You can press a button within an app on said iPhone and be given a camp bed which looks more like a bed,because it is a bed.
And you don’t need to cook egg and fucking chips every night because some of these beds are grouped together in one building, called a hotel where some people who work there will even cook some food for you for a small fee. It might be horrid local fare though.And you may have to sup a beer in the dry while you wait.

Bloody marvellous discovery :)

:jes

Sorry, Chris, but he does have a point! :D
 
However, “Can I take a swipe of your card Sir?” - thankfully is not here. Neither is “Would you like a wake up call” or “breakfast is served in the atrium”. :D
 

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Exactly, I've never stayed in a hotel with places like this (Loch Lomond) literally at your feet. I like a nice hotel as much as the next man, but for me it can't compete with a good camping spot, with a steak being cooked over a wood fire and a nice bottle of booze. All for about £10 a night..
 

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I have one of the cheaper Amazon type beds but put my Exped Down mat on top for a truly amazing nights sleep.
 
....just watch out for damage to your tent floor.

Try using the round sidestand things, used to stop a bike sinking into the mud. They spread the load.
 
An advantage hotels have over tents are the en suite facilities.
However, this is easily overcome by the use of an empty wide necked 2L fabric conditioner bottle.
Best bit of kit I have.:)
 
A hot water bottle serves the same function, can be packed much smaller and naturally has the useful wide neck which is vital in it’s practical application. It also serves the brilliant purpose of warming your bed on a cold night...;)

An advantage hotels have over tents are the en suite facilities.
However, this is easily overcome by the use of an empty wide necked 2L fabric conditioner bottle.
Best bit of kit I have.:)
 
What's the point of staying in a hotel..?

For most of the year I have to live in a house.

I camp to get away from that claustrophobia, and tedium.

And to be in the open, as it should be...

Long live the tent!:camping
 
.... Am I the only one here that can get through the night without needing a piss?...🙄
 
After spending many years cold and miserable camping through the tt I decided to give camping up as a young mans hobby. That is until I discovered the joy that is a helinox camp bed, I didn’t stop there either, a thermarest air mattress and the mother of all down sleeping bags and a blow up pillow and last year I slept like a baby every night and was warm and happy all night. What a difference it makes. Yes I know that some will always say hotel or nothing and the hardcore campers will happily sleep in a crisp packet. I am neither, I don’t mind humping around my extra sleeping baggage as what’s the point of enjoying your ride then being miserable all night? My pal purchased a cheap camp bed and my nights sleep was only broken by the sound of his bed collapsing every time he farted. I’m afraid the good stuff is expensive for a reason, because it generally works and well looked after will last you indefinitely and on the plus side if you decide you can’t do it anymore you will get a good price selling it.
 
After spending many years cold and miserable camping through the tt I decided to give camping up as a young mans hobby. That is until I discovered the joy that is a helinox camp bed, I didn’t stop there either, a thermarest air mattress and the mother of all down sleeping bags and a blow up pillow and last year I slept like a baby every night and was warm and happy all night. What a difference it makes. Yes I know that some will always say hotel or nothing and the hardcore campers will happily sleep in a crisp packet. I am neither, I don’t mind humping around my extra sleeping baggage as what’s the point of enjoying your ride then being miserable all night? My pal purchased a cheap camp bed and my nights sleep was only broken by the sound of his bed collapsing every time he farted. I’m afraid the good stuff is expensive for a reason, because it generally works and well looked after will last you indefinitely and on the plus side if you decide you can’t do it anymore you will get a good price selling it.

Sounds like a huge amount of gear to carry though , what with bed, mattress, sleeping bag, pillow, tent, chair ( I guess), cooking stuff etc etc . Where do you put it all ?
 
Cooking shite in right pannier. Some rags for me to wear in left one. Baked beans and assorted Tesco food in top box, sleeping bag in dry bag on top of pannier, chair and bed and mattress in dry bag on other pannier, tent chucked across the two of them behind me. Probably overloaded on the vario panniers but has managed two 2500 mile journeys camping across Europe. Definitely looks a bit OTT but I’m happy and at night I’ve got what I need. I could easily do away with the sleeping bag and the mat but I’m a drama queen and a pre Madonna so would gladly hump all my shite around to keep me happy. Like they say, first world problems and all that.
 


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