I've used Thermarests for years, the smaller and thinner ones for back packing, and I have the thicker luxury one for airplane camping. Most of the time, I put it on a cot, too--lots easier to get up from a cot than from the ground. Not altogether sure whether it would be warmer on the ground, but the cot works well for warmer weather, and I have a tent heater for colder weather so I still use the cot.

Cary

You can strap your thermarests together easily...
http://cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/ ... it/product

I still use the thermarest I got in the 80's. Like others, I have gone from the 1/2" to the 1" as my preferred thickness with the kiddos getting the hand me down. I'd like to say the next will be the 2", but as you load the plane with more kids and mattresses and go to more far away places needing more gas, you actually think about that extra few pounds of comfort... When weight is not an issue, I use the Jack's Plastic mattress which is probably the same as the NRS or Aire mattresses. Again, I got this in the 80's as a river guide when they were the only one's doing the heavy bombproof matresses for river trips. I cringe at the prices of the thermarest pads, but when I hear how many mattresses Cory has gone through, I feel better about buying the more robust gear for the situation. I have heard great things about the Big Agnes as well, but wasn't sold on the pad in the bag thing as I roll around a bit depending on which joint I hurt worse that day.

My wife and I use two Big Agnes Insulated Air Core mattresses. We put a fitted sheet over them to make it more like a single mattress. Then, we put the two mattresses together inside of our North Face Double keeping bag. It works great because and you each have your own zipper to get in and out with.

Joe

I use a four inch thick foam pad. They take up a little more room but you can roll them super tight and double wrap three bungees around them and that makes them manageable in the plane. Two of them next to each other is easily accomplished and they don't slip and slide around. $17 at the local Fred Meyer (it's a little steep I know but worth the comfort).

CW

Let's see. It's about 3 1/2 hours from here to Pocatello, the nearest Fred Meyer store. So 7 hours round trip, fuel alone would be 70 gallons x (let's be semi-accurate here) $5.65/gallon = $395.00. I have a good friend in Pokey Tell All, so I could stay there overnight, but I'd have to buy a bottle of something as "compensation", since the last time we stayed there, we just sponged off of him and his Mrs. So let's say $25 for a bottle of decent wine. That's $420. I suppose I should consider the other costs of running the airplane besides fuel, but we'll stop there. If I buy a pair of mattresses, that makes each mattress cost $210 + $17, but if I buy just one, that's $437 for the mattress. REI has Thermarest's super luxo mattresses for $229, so I guess if I buy 2, I'll come out $21 ahead. But if I buy just one, I really come out behind. I think I'll stick with my Thermarest, which is old enough now that it only cost me $89 at the time.

Cary

Anybody else here a Wilderness EMT or WFR? Air mattresses are certainly preferable for sleeping on, but if you want something supremely versatile that you can chop up to improvise splints, cervical collars, Protective head covers in a litter carry situation, etc, etc, you can't beat a plain old ensolite foam pad. I keep a couple at all times in my extended baggage, and they have the side benefit of protecting the fuselage skins from getting poked by pointy cargo. My .02.
-DP

denalipilot wrote:Anybody else here a Wilderness EMT or WFR? Air mattresses are certainly preferable for sleeping on, but if you want something supremely versatile that you can chop up to improvise splints, cervical collars, Protective head covers in a litter carry situation, etc, etc, you can't beat a plain old ensolite foam pad. I keep a couple at all times in my extended baggage, and they have the side benefit of protecting the fuselage skins from getting poked by pointy cargo. My .02.
-DP

Yep, many years as an EMT and I always keep a pair of ensolite pads in the Pacer, hardly weigh a thing. If I plan on spending the night out, then I add the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir, for a good bit more loft.

OE

Cary wrote:Let's see. It's about 3 1/2 hours from here to Pocatello, the nearest Fred Meyer store. So 7 hours round trip, fuel alone would be 70 gallons x (let's be semi-accurate here) $5.65/gallon = $395.00. I have a good friend in Pokey Tell All, so I could stay there overnight, but I'd have to buy a bottle of something as "compensation", since the last time we stayed there, we just sponged off of him and his Mrs. So let's say $25 for a bottle of decent wine. That's $420. I suppose I should consider the other costs of running the airplane besides fuel, but we'll stop there. If I buy a pair of mattresses, that makes each mattress cost $210 + $17, but if I buy just one, that's $437 for the mattress. REI has Thermarest's super luxo mattresses for $229, so I guess if I buy 2, I'll come out $21 ahead. But if I buy just one, I really come out behind. I think I'll stick with my Thermarest, which is old enough now that it only cost me $89 at the time.

Cary

Like I said, "a little steep" , But worth the comfort! And I'm not supporting REI who in turn supports organizations like ONDA and many others (see list: http://www.rei.com/stewardship/community/non-profit-partnerships-and-grants.html) who go to great lengths to shut down backcountry oportunities for us and others like us . (But that's laready been covered in other threads).

CW

I'm kind of a wuss, I use an air mattress with a thermorest on top for warmth. Just as good an being at home.......

After searching the Internet and doing some price comparing, I've made a purchase. We went with the ExPed SynMat 7 for both of us. I found some good deals on eBay and Amazon. I liked that they are light weight and compact, especially taking into consideration that our kids will grow!

With any luck, they should be here before next weekend when we head back up to the Stanley area for a family reunion. I'll let you know how it goes and what we think!

Thanks again for all the input!

I just got back from "Idaho annual vacation" --spent 4 nights at U88 on Coleman double height air-mattress while Tim Avery slept on pad closer to ground. I can't or won't go without my air-mattress again. Didn't make it to Tuscon (yet) but will go in Sept. for 2-3 days of "Chunky Cheese experience ".

I just received 2 Big Agnus Air Cor Insulated mattresses (20" x 72" x 3.25") from CampSaver.com. $72/ea and free shipping. They weigh 20 oz each. They look good.

These will replace a 12 lb Coleman Queen size air mattress.

So, this weekend I finally had the chance to try out my new Exped pad. We flew down to Ibex where the forecast was to be in the low 40s overnight. When we turned in around 11:30pm, it was getting chilly. Perfect for seeing how it would do!

The result? I love this pad! I didn't have get that chill from below feeling once all night. In fact, it was one of the top 3 night's sleep I think I've ever had...in recent years. Very comfortable, kept me warm, very light and compact, and easy to inflate with the built in pump.

I'm looking forward to getting more nights on it to see consistency in comfort and warmth. Hopefully the search for a good pad is finally over!

I have several pads, but my favorite pad for individual sleeping (not needing to hook together) is the Exped Downmat 9M. It weights 2# and I have used it during winter camping when the outside temp was -15F although I was inside a snow shelter where the temp was probably 30F. I was plenty warm and the downmat kept me insulated from the ice floor.

The integrated pump is slow and it takes a while to deflate, but that is the only negative. It is too big for backpacking, but for plane camping, it is relatively small and light.