How an Air Mattress Sleeping Bag Makes Great Camping

Take an air mattress sleeping bag on your camping trip, and guarantee yourself a great night of sleep.

Ever gone camping? Then you've discovered as I have how horrible it is sleep on the hard dirt with only your sleeping bag between yourself and the ground. Call me a wimp, but I felt every single bump and ended up spending the entire night tossing and turning inside tent in an unsuccessful attempt to get comfy.

To avoid that kind of trouble, let's take a look at the air mattress sleeping bag. Get one that suits your needs to eliminate those sleepless nights and be well rested for your other more exciting camping activities. Find the right one and you'll be set.

Since there are lots of kinds and types available, I'll cover some basics here to help you get a head start before you make your decision.

Sleeping Choices

There are two basic options when using sleeping bags and air mattresses.

1. A regular sleeping bag placed on top of an air bed.
2. A sleeping bag air mattress combo with the bag attached to the mattress itself.

Air Mattress Sleeping Bag Combo

The combo happens to be a much better option. On the sleeping bag - air mattress combo, the bag usually attaches to the mattress with a zipper. You can take them apart and use them separately if needed.

When you use an air mattress sleeping bag, you won't have to worry about sliding off of the mattress in the middle of the night . Instead, you're zipped on firmly, so there's no slipping around in your sleep.

You'll likely have to purchase the air mattress and sleeping bag individually, since many companies sell a cover that fits a specific mattress size without including the mattress in the package. That's probably better anyway, since you can pick an choose the best mattress for you, or just get a size that fits a mattress that you already have.

Since there are so many items available, you'll have to do some looking around to find the right one.

Awesome Items

Here's some top picks that I've personally selected for you:

Guide Gear Twin Airbed Fitted Cover / Sleeping Bag - Use a "real" bed when camping! Purchase the mattress separately.

Queen Airbed / Sleeping Bag Cover   - A fitted cover that fits a queen-sized mattress. It that zips down both sides and is just right for two people to camp in comfort.

Kid's Combo Comfort Sleeping Bag Airbed Mattress - Use them together or separately. It's a 2 in 1 combo inflatable bed and sleeping bag. Zip them together for no slipping off.

CARS Ready Bed - Portable, all-in-one sleeping bag and mattress. Includes a printed top blanket.

Disney Princess EZ Bed - An inflatable airbed with a matching insulated sleeping bag, all with princess graphics.

 

Non Combo Drawbacks

If you decide to use your sleeping bag and air mattress together, without a combo you risk spending the night sliding around a little bit. Sleeping bags usually have a slippery surfaces for waterproofing and the air mattress has a smooth surface, too.

A great way to avoid sliding around at night is to completely unzip the sleeping bag and use it like a duvet instead. This would only work if you are camping in fairly warm weather! The mattress might feel a little cold on your skin though, so be sure to bring along a light mattress cover.

Another tip: just purchase an air mattress that has a plush or velvety fabric on its outer shell. Then you won't have two slippery surfaces touching each other.

Air Mattress Inflation

When you are looking at different air mattresses, pay attention to how the mattress is pumped with air. Some mattresses are self inflating, making them easy to use. However, they usually thinner than mattresses that are pumped manually.

If you get a mattress that requires a manual pump, you'll need to use either a foot pump or an electric pump. For a queen size mattress, it might take quite a while to use a foot pump, so you might want to consider buying an electric pump. The downside of the electric pump, however, is that it weighs more than the foot pump, so it might not be so easy to carry around. Also, it will need a power supply of some kind, though Coleman has a battery powered quickpump available.

Whenever you use any kind of air mattress, even if it is attached to the sleeping bag, you should pump it up with air before putting it inside your camping tent. This is important because some mattresses may be larger than the width of the tent's opening. It's no fun to blow up a mattress, deflate it, and then blow it up again, all because it doesn't fit through the door!

Where to Find an Air Mattress

Stop by your local outdoors store and check to see what is available. If you're having a hard time finding the exact air mattress sleeping bag that you want in your local stores, then look online.

There are tons of online camping stores and some of them offer high quality products at affordable camping gear prices. There's a larger selection of items to choose from when shopping online especially at Amazon.com .

Sleep Tight, Rest Well

If you really want to get a good night's sleep the next time you go camping, consider using an air mattress sleeping bag. Just remember to find something that's the right size for you and your tent. And make sure that it has all the features to keep you comfortable the whole night thru.

You'll never have to spend an uncomfortable night on the ground again when you go camping prepared!