Sleeping Bag and Air Mattress Tips

From LoveToKnow Camping

Looking for tips to help you sleep better while camping? Here are related questions from readers of Love To Know Camping's, along with responses from our resident expert. If you don't see what you are looking for here, submit your own question at Ask the Camping Expert.

Tips to help you sleep soundly while camping.

Past Ask the Expert Questions

Dear Mary, I just read your article on air mattresses. We camped on the Blue Ridge mountains during Thanksgiving, and found that our mattress lost air as the temperature dropped. Can you recommend an air mattress that holds pressure better? I'm assuming a thicker one or one with membranes in it would be better, but I can't seem to find one.

~~Thanks, Cindy

Expert Reply

Dear Cindy,

I have camped on the Blue Ridge Parkway numerous times, so I am well aware of how cold it can get! During cold weather camping excursions, it's actually preferable to sleep on a sleeping mat or pad made of closed cell foam than on an air mattress.

Start with a ground cloth to repel moisture, place your sleeping pad over the ground cloth, and then cover the pad with a blanket. This will provide you with cushioning for comfort and keep you from having to deal with the an air mattress that loses pressure as temperatures drop or the cold air that may find its way between your sleeping bad and the air mattress.

My recommendation is to check out the Air-Resterz Series mats from The Backside for your next winter camping trip. They provide outstanding thermal insulation and are easy to transport and use. They are available from Amazon.com and other retailers. I think you'll find your next outing to be much more comfortable with one of these mats.

~~Mary

Dear Camping Expert, many sleeping bags have the opportunity to zip two of them together. This way both campers stay warmer. But does it also give them more space per person? We did some none-conclusive experiments. Kindly help me out on this one.

~~Best Regards, Mike

Expert Reply

Dear Mike,

Your question about dual person sleeping bags is an interesting one. I own a set of Coleman sleeping bags that are designed to be used separately, or zipped together as a single dual person bag. The bags I have, and other ones I have found for sale, are the same size as standard sleeping bags. They are simply designed to be zipped together so that campers can stay warmer than when zipped in their own bags.

They aren't intended to give campers extra room. Doing so would be counterproductive to the idea of keeping warm through the generation of additional body heat. With that said, however, it's not impossible that an individual could actually enjoy more room this way. For example, if one person is significantly smaller than the other, the larger person could actually end up with more room than if he or she was zipped into her own bag.

~~Mary

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