Hello, I'm new to camping and currently buying all the kit after several short trials with borrowed stuff. A comfy bed is very important to me. I've ruled out airbeds, just SIMs, and campbeds with or without a SIM :(
I'm thinking of a SIM (I have a 7cm one) with a memory foam mattress topper. Has anyone tried this? I realise it won't roll small but I will be car-camping. If you do this, what depth (or density!) memory foam topper do you have? I am leaning towards 3" but don't know if this will be too thick to roll and put in the car!
We tried it. It's okay, taking a nicely compressed mattress topper in original packaging, but we found it was just too huge and virtually impossible to properly pack down again!
Then we found that Thermarest supply the Dreamtime Comfort Cover separately, which is basically the mattress topper and zip-case combo, which you just put your SIM into. We have XL Thermarest SIMs, so needed this size. The price is a bit scarey but we already had the SIMs, so decided to give it a go for the additional comfort.
P.S. It comes with compression straps, to make it reasonably compact for packing away.
I guess you could make something similar, if you wanted. I suspect if you use a 3" topper, it'll be bigger than the tent when you try to get it rolled up to bring it back home!
I used a 3in memory foam inside a stepping bag on top of my sim, it was comfy but I kept rolling off if the ground wasn't completely flat and was massif rolled up with bungee cords round it in the car, so now use a camp bed with a 10cm sim, and its brilliant.
I've tried all sorts of combinations and it does depend on which tent and whether I have any of the children with me which I use! I have just bought a camp bed which I intend to use with my 7cm sim - sometimes I just want to be off the floor!
Recently I have been using the sim inside a cheap rectangular sleeping bag on top of an Aero bed pak mat. I bought a couple of those last year when they were on offer - they are so easy to inflate, deflate, pack up and store. I already had the sims so utilised both - comfy and warm!
The dreamtime looks good but pricey, and my SIM wouldn't be a good fit. I was a bit shocked at the size of it, with just 1" of foam in it. I guess I wouldn't fit a 3" topper in my car!
Maybe I could get a 1" topper and see how it is. Just wish I could get to a big camping-supplies shop, but sadly I can't.
I am currently sleeping on a carp bed with a 4" medium density topper. It's the best sleep I have ever had. I should mention that this is an ongoing thing, in my house bedroom, and has been for over a month now. I also have a small boat, and I'm using another 4" topper over the original sleeping cushions. I think I would go for 3" if I ever had to replace them. I actually bought a 4" extra king size version and cut it in half, as it was on special offer, and was cheaper than two 36" wide 3" toppers.
As already mentioned, the problem is rolling it up again to a reasonable size, not a problem in my case.
I do use several different design camp beds, with a fat airic SIM on top, when camping. (I think that is 7cm thick but not sure)
------------- Canvas tent, paraffin light, petrol stove. Heaven
I'd rather be kayaking.
Spent up, not pent up, just had my new tent up.
I use a SIM with a memory foam topper. The topper is a 2" one and cut smaller than a single bed size. It was actually a double topper that I cut into three along the long edge. It means the topper is slightly short but that doesn't matter as you have a pillow at one end and my feet don't care! This means it is a bit smaller when it comes to packing. It rolls to much the same size as the SIM and then kept there with Velcro straps.
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Topic: Any1 camp with a SIM + memory foam topper
