Air Matress - Bad Back

[Pandabean]

I have a friend who has a bit of a bad back and has used air matresses in the past when camping. She would find that she would get cold during the night.

Now from what I understand, the air matress is just air and plastic with no insulation properties and as a result any body heat is just lost trying to warm up the large pocket of air.

Is there anything she could do that would help her stay warmer and avoid waking up with a sore back? Would switching over to a thermarest type pad be enough?

I am trying to convert her to a be a hammock camper and looking promising so far.

 

[Toddy]

One of the down mats.
Honestly, Andy, it really is worth the money.
Firm, supportive, comfortable, large enough to turn over on easily, and it's warm underneath you while you sleep.

If mine died tomorrow, I'd buy another one.

atb,
Mary

 

[lou1661]

If she wants to stick with the air mattress then insulation between mattress and sleeping bag will make a massive improvement in warmth.

Louis

 

[Pandabean]

Thanks Mary, they may just be a bit out of the price range at the moment. I would love to get one for myself as well but can't justify it as I am pretty much a hammock person with the odd sleep or two on the ground.

Louis, so a normal air mat ontop of the larger matress would do the trick? Could this also apply to using reindeer hides (not that I have any but it is an idea )?
This would be ideal for camps close to the car but hauling multiple air mattresses may be a problem.

 

[oldtimer]

My mother-in-law, whose idea of camping was anything less than a 5star hotel, was intrigued by my Thermarest and borrowed it one night when I was visiting to see if it could ease her bad back. It was probably the first time in her life she had ever slept on the floor, but repored an unusually good night's sleep.
I think the key is the very firm mat combined with the warmth: so the down filled way would seem to be the way.

 

[lou1661]

for car camping its cool, just blankets would make a difference. a hide would work too or an old sleeping bag. its not ideal for anywhere that you have to carry it but getting to enjoy the camping is always the best thing.

Louis

 

[British Red]

A cheap closed cell mat on an airbed is very, very warm and very, very comfortable!

 

[Toddy]

If you don't have to carry it far then the closed cell mat on top of the airbed really does make a tremendous difference to the comfort factor.
If I'm car camping in Winter I take along spare closed cell mats to line the tent floor beside my bed and a bit for sitting on where I work in the porch.

cheers,
M

 

[petrochemicals]

Blanket or non compressible synthetic bag, they always stay warmer beneath you than down.

 

[samharber]

Silver foil blanket between airbed and ground.
Works a treat for me.

 

[Toddy]

Blanket or non compressible synthetic bag, they always stay warmer beneath you than down.

Not with the exped down mat. It's down filled in among the air channels, and that stops it compressing.
I agree about the sleeping bag in general though. That said, the old feather beds beat all of them hands down for warmth and comfort.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[cranmere]

Reindeer hides are wonderfully warm but will shed hair! Even a plain, ordinary wool blanket will help considerably.

 

[Pandabean]

Silver foil blanket between airbed and ground.
Works a treat for me.

Surely you would still have to use a lot of body heat to heat up the air inside the mattress? Would it not be better putting the foil between you and the air bed?

 

[Teepee]

I'm often a little chilly on an uninsulated airmat under 6C or so. I use a reflective foam mat underneath the airmat to get me comfortably down to well below zero. The foam provides some protection to the mat from punctures.

Foam works well on top but reflective mylar coated mats promote condensation and should be used upside down or beneath the airmat.

 

[Macaroon]

Putting it there is one thing - keeping it there, in the real world, is quite another. Put it under the air mattress and it'll stay there and not sound like a thousand salt and vinegar packets; it doesn't take much to heat up the air in the mattress.

 

[rik_uk3]

Air bed, or IMHO even better camp bed with cheap foam mat on top, she will see a massive difference. . Being higher off the ground makes standing up easier too for those of us with back problems.

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Note, if you can't justify the cost of a exped downmat, consider the synmat, it's not quite as warm, but for the UK in all but the coldest conditions, it's wonderful.

Julia

 

[Tengu]

I use an old sleeping bag of cotton filled with nasty wool batting.

It cost me £1 and I use it on top of the inflatable mattress and my camp bed. a good blanket would be a possible alternative, and you could pin it round with blanket pins

 

[Countryman]

Im a big bloke with 2 problem discs who sleeps badly. My big find was my Thermarest Neoair.

It supports me, is firm enough to be like my orthopaedic mattress back home and is well insulated. I've now used it on the ground and in my hammock and it's just excellent.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Idleknight]

For cold weather camping with my GF who has back problems, we used a standard double inflatable, then put a unzipped czech army bedroll beneath us and sleeping bags on top.