Mt. San Jacinto Outdoor Recreation

Decided it's time to replace my 20+ year old Therm-a-Rest mattress for something a bit more comfy for car/truck camping. Comfort is more important than weight. Frankly, i don't care what the damn thing weights. My current mattress is 1.5" thick. Liking the looks of the Luxury Map mattress as shown here ..

► http://www.rei.com/product/797494

3" thick! Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

-Florian

If you really don't care on size, and if it fits in your vehicle, we have used Coleman airbeds for quite a while for car camping. Cheap for a twin bed, $25 at sports authority, and it truly provides a great night sleep. They tend to wear out pretty quick, but at $25 vs $99 ...

Woof!

Thanks Woof,

I prolly should have said but i don't like air beds. They need a blower that uses batteries to inflate and just too big. Most of my camping is alone so just looking for a simple one person COMFY pad for one.

-Florian

I picked up a foam cushion at the fabric store about 4 years ago. It's 72" long, 4" thick, and 24" wide (I think that's how wide it is but I've never measured it). It was half price (about $35); so I couldn't resist buying it for the back of my truck. I throw an old rectangular Coleman sleeping bag on top of it to add to the comfort factor (the foam cushion is about the same size as the sleeping bag). Anyway, it's really comfortable sleeping on that cushion in the back of my truck.

How do you feel about "hammocks"?

Rick M wrote:How do you feel about "hammocks"?

No trees to hang a hammock from on the desert.

-Florian

Kathy, i like your foam idea. When you roll it up about what size is it? My truck bed is open, no shell, so i'd need something i can roll up and stash behind the front seats while not in use.

-Florian

20 years using medical eggcrate mattress, i even cut one down when I have backpacked. They're cheap and in my case, has always been free!

Dan

With an open truck, I don't think the foam cushion I'm using will work very well - it's not the type of pad that's made to be an rolled up - it's a bit too stiff and bulky.

I guess one of the big fat therm-a-rests made for car camping or an Exped DownMat 9 would be better choices.

If you're only sleeping in warm weather a regular cheap air map would work, but it could be chilly if you're out when it's cold.

For about $100 you can get one of those 4" mattress toppers at Costco. Those things are cozy.

BTW, you can get them at WalMart and Target as well but I think the ones at Costco are a bit nicer.