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A buddy of mine who goes camping carries a foam eggcrate-looking thing with him. He explained that it's to lay on the ground underneath your sleeping bag as a measure of insulation. Even rolled up the thing's pretty bulky, but he says it's indispensable.
The AeroBed Pakmat seems like a neat alternative, and I dig the design (though I should admit I have very little camping experience). First off it's inflatable, so air pockets provide the insulation rather than bulky material, and once emptied it rolls up to a fraction of its size. Secondly it stows away in the canister you see here, which is actually the hand pump you use to inflate it.
You can be fooled by the product photos into thinking the canister's smaller than it is, as it kind of resembles a water bottle; but poking around the web I found this review, and the photo below shows its actual size:
The $120 asking price on Aerobed's website seems kind of steep, but they're also selling them on Amazon for 96 bucks.
Comments
This is a great idea. Except, the cool innovative factor seems wasted on the true backpacker. If they could use a thinner material, with RF sealed seams, and a smaller pump/canister. The outdoor industry would be more receptive. From the look of the video, it's pretty big. And for the camper that goes out with his family, and pull out the heavy duty air bed with clunky case or roll wrap, this a bit small. I think the demographic is on target with the casual campers you see in the commercials, couple's getaway type. I, would prefer the smaller backpack and trail version.
Check out exped. They've been making unbelievably durable and well-thought-out outdoor gear for years (Swiss!), and they have a range of mats that either incorporate a pump into the mat itself, or can be pumped up with their pillow-pump or stuffsack-pump (no hard-sided can to get broken).
Good range from car/paddle luxury to backpaker minimal.
http://www.exped.com/exped/web/exped_homepage_na.nsf/0/772CE0D1CAB8189CC125767E00705EA4?opendocument
My son and I are involved in Boy Scouts, so do a fair amount of camping. I actually have one of these. It's really to heavy and bulky for backpacking, but it's convenient for family/car camping.
Although it will make the ground more comfortable to sleep on, it will not keep you warmer. Just the opposite in fact! The air between your body and the ground allows the heat to dissipate. A closed cell foam pad provides greater insulation and a warmer more comfortable night's sleep.
Thanks for the post! Our team at Beyond Design, Inc. designed this a few years ago for Aero. It is about the same size as a rolled up sleeping bag and weighs around 4lbs. If interested, you can see more photos and learn about the development at http://www.beyonddesignchicago.com/solutions/recreation/. Not only is the product great for camping, but it is also ideal for emergency use during disaster relief efforts.
My favorite thing about this is that the insulation is provided by air pockets. This allows the pad to be extremely light and packable.
The pad I use for backpacking uses a similar technology, and it is one of the smallest packing and lightest pads I have seen in a while. And, it is super comfortable.
So, I am sure that this would be an excellent purchase.