Hi - sorry for bringing up the topic again but maybe people have some new suggestions/products they know about regarding sleeping and SIMs.
As a new camper then I have found the sleeping and comfort issue to be a big stopper - as in stops us going camping. I tried an Outwell Double Dreamcatcher 10cm on the floor and as a side sleeper I found this uncomfortable enough to make me think twice about going out again. I realise I wil not get home comforts when camping but waking up (several times through the night) with a sore hip wasn't good.
I am now looking at the Outwell 12.0cm Dreamboat. Also thinking of buying two of the single XL version and putting each on a Kampa XL camp bed. A bit over the top I agree but I am keen to get a reasonable nights sleep having tried three times now and each time had a sore hip and aching.
Any ideas as to which SIMs are now the best? Vango/Outwell/Thermarest/Exped etc. They are expensive but will be well worth it if I can sleep. Does anybody have a preference if you have tried them? I have seen great reviews for the Dreamcatcher but it didn't work for me. I am clearly a little bit too fussy I know but if the Dreamboat say really as much better than the Dreamsnatcher then I'd go for it.
Brands and specifics aside, I would just like to point out that these SIMs can get a bit of getting used to.
We purchased a couple of single "better quality/expensive" ones (mentioned in your list of possibles, above), to lay atop our bog standard camp beds. They weren't as comfy as I'd imagined I'd read on here... to start with!
Our temptation was to allow them to "self-inflate", then pump them up to the max! I too woke regularly, with sore hips, and a tight back! How can that be, when I've forked out a fortune, and I lay 99.4mm off the ground! (You guessed it... 10cm SIMs!)
We now love them... the same SIMs... as we have now learned not to over-inflate them! We each now know our own comfort levels for both campbed and floor scenario.
A good tip (well, it worked for us!) is to get on the SIM face down, and put ALL your body weight on 4 points... 2x elbows and 2x knees (don't include hands or feet etc!) There should be precisely 2.76mm of air between each said pointy joint, and the ground! If you hit the ground, add more air, but crucially, if you are more than half an inch (being more realistic now! LOL!) off the ground, let some air out.
Assuming you do of course have all of these four points, and assuming you don't raise yourself to this position in your sleep (!), once you spread your weight, you won't hit the ground at any stage during sleep, but critically won't have the SIM too firm either.
Depending on your camp bed, you may not have to be quite so meticulous for that scenario, but the theory still applies.
*If you've already taken this approach, then ignore everything apart from the welcome!
PS:
We recently returned from our main camping holiday in France, and whilst we were more than comfortable with said SIMs on said camp beds (main stay), we both commented that we seemed to be even more comfortable with SIMs on the floor (Overnighters en-route)... now we've learned where our comfort levels are!
Hi ,we have thermarest mondoking 10cm Sims ( expensive) but gives me the best nights sleep ever,hubby has the same and hates it so he uses it with a air bed on top and gets a good sleep that way, tried camp beds but not for us.
We got our two ThermaRest DreamTime XL's back in 2008, and I have to say that they do what it says on the tin.
We join them together with there embedded connecting straps, and we also had a bespoke heavy cotton fitted cover made to add that finishing touch.
I did consider getting a double campbed, to give that of the floor feeling, but no one makes a double camp bed large enough, so I may go down the diy route to get a solution.
Maybe you are an air bed sort of person rather than a SIM person?
I hate blow up beds and am much happier on my 2.5Cm SIM (this year upgraded to 7.5Cm). But many swear by them. Especially the double height ones. Can you borrow one and try it out?
Thanks to all for the replies. Very interesting and useful and much appreciated.
I will try the 4 points method of inflating the SIM.I am also getting a bigger one - 12cm - so slightly bigger with the 3D edge. Not sure if this is such a big difference (and it certainly is a big difference in price - £300 instead of £100) but feel I need to really try and make sure I have the right/best kit I can to keep myself and my wife on the camping trail.
I have not bought the camp beds yet. Was going to get two XL singles (approx. 78cm) and put two XL SIMs on them and push them together. This gets round the size issue and the material rubbing over main bar and every time one moves so does the other issue I have seen with double camp beds.
I could indeed be an airbed person and unfortunately do not know anybody up here (Lytham St.Annes) that has one. The people I know camping seem to have the Carp fishing beds. I did try them and to be honest - I prefer the SIM. I went down the SIM route because looking at the forums and being a complete novice in all things camping, I thought the air beds got quite a bad press. Mainly Cold, Deflate over night, Hard for side sleepers etc. but in fairness I haven't tried so don't know myself. SIMs just looked to me a better (but more expensive) bet. Thermarest look good and your comments above certainly back that up (I think they are the ones who invented the SIM) but actually as it has turned out now I have to order Outwell ones. So I will go for the Dreamboat 12.0cm single XL size. Then I ordered a Vango cozy topper to go over it. I am hoping then with all your great advice above that I will not need the camp beds and will get a reasonable nights sleep!
Mike,
It might be worth you updating your profile, so we can see what your "unit" is, over on the left there...
... but for now, (rightly or wrongly!) I'm gonna presume you are in a tent, and assume again that your tent could well be a tunnel tent, with bedroom at the back?
A common dimension for these "bedrooms" is around the 2.1 to 2.2 meter mark (front to back), but of course, that's at ground level. A common design of these tent's is to have the rear wall sloping... some steeper than others.
Before buying an XL camp bed, make sure it will fit... as many don't!
Get a tape measure in your tent bedroom, and measure at the equivalent height of the bed, not at ground level!
Good point and very well assumed. I have a Vango Capril XL600.
The "bedroom" is indeed quite small and too small for large beds. However, the way we have been sleeping is not front to back but with our heads against the side wall. This does not come down at quite such an angle as the back and allows me to have the feet end of the beds sticking into the very flimsy internal "wall".
As there is nobody else in the second bedroom then this works. Still XL beds are wide of course but as i will be pushing them together then I think there should be just about enough room. It will be tight though.
Thanks for all the suggestions. This camping business was supposed to be a cheaper way of staying away etc. but it has cost me a good packet to "get into it" and buy the "starting off" kit. The SIMs are £300 but that's my fault for being a bit fussy in the hip front.
Quote: Originally posted by GCALLY on 04/10/2018
Hi Mucker
Good point and very well assumed. I have a Vango Capril XL600.
The "bedroom" is indeed quite small and too small for large beds. However, the way we have been sleeping is not front to back but with our heads against the side wall. This does not come down at quite such an angle as the back and allows me to have the feet end of the beds sticking into the very flimsy internal "wall".
As there is nobody else in the second bedroom then this works. Still XL beds are wide of course but as i will be pushing them together then I think there should be just about enough room. It will be tight though.
Thanks for all the suggestions. This camping business was supposed to be a cheaper way of staying away etc. but it has cost me a good packet to "get into it" and buy the "starting off" kit. The SIMs are £300 but that's my fault for being a bit fussy in the hip front.
Camping is a learning curve and continues to be no matter how long you have been doing it. Getting all the stuff together is expensive but once you have the main things the rest is just minor improvements according to your personal wants rather than needs.
I got through a few sleeping bags when I first started and still haven't found that ideal one yet although I have high hopes with the one I have just bought but not had chance to use yet. After 16 years of regular camping I still haven't got the perfect tent either but it's the best so far.
The problem with needing to have your bed in one direction only is that if you happen to get a pitch on a slight slope you may find the bed feels as if it is tilted sideways or even higher at the foot than the head depending on the slope, which is not desirable as you can wake with a headache.
Also, having the bed across the tent means that the person at the back has to scramble over the person at the front if they need to get out in the night.
If there is nobody in the second bedroom, isn't the inner partition removable giving more room?
Be careful also that you don't push the inner tent onto the flysheet wall or it can wick moisture/condensation off the inside of the fly. The gap is there so the air can circulate around the inner and reduce condensation.
You seem to be hooked on camping if you are spending lots of money and I am sure all these little niggles will iron themselves out eventually if you stick at it...irritating to begin with but eventually you will work things out and camping will feel more comfortable.
Quote:
As a new camper then I have found the sleeping and comfort issue to be a big stopper - as in stops us going camping. I tried an Outwell Double Dreamcatcher 10cm on the floor and as a side sleeper I found this uncomfortable enough to make me think twice about going out again. I realise I wil not get home comforts when camping but waking up (several times through the night) with a sore hip wasn't good.
my experience with 10cm sim is it is most comfortable uninflated and unlocked. For me the 10cm is enough thickness to keep clear of the ground, and unlocked it is as soft as it can be. Easy on the hips. Only downside is it 'sighs' when you turn over ...
We have two outwell dreamboat xl 12cm SIMs and they are mega comfy. Key is not overdo the inflation - let the air fill them up and after 10 mins blow into a few times but not until they are mega firm.
We find them most comfy when used with a camp bed - we have the posadas XL ones. Still comfy on the floor if you don’t mind getting up and down off the ground.
We also have two single xl double height air beds. We like them too and don’t find them cold or too bouncy castle like. Key once again is not to over-inflate them to the point they’re too firm.
My preference is the camp bed and SIM combination as once they’re up, there’s no more topping up to do - unlike with the air beds. Plus, since we tend to camp in fairly remote areas for a week or two, we’d struggle to replace a burst air bed mid trip.
When I camp solo, I still take the two SIMs for a luxurious 24cm SIM - no need for the camp bed then.
------------- MAY 2017 - Loch Ken, Scotland
JUNE 2017 - Sango Sands, Durness, Scotland
AUGUST 2017 - Balloch O Dee, Galloway and Invergarry
SEPTEMBER 2017 - three brief trips
OCTOBER 2017 - hopefully one final trip before Halloween
I think people have covered most of the important points. The only thing I'd add is if you've bought expensive SIMs then don't top them up by mouth; your breath carries a lot of moisture which if it gets stuck in the foam will encourage mildew etc. Our mega mats came with the mini pumps which work fine, our older, cheaper ones cams with a bag that doubles as a pump. We store all our SIMs flat in the loft with valves open, I figure they're just extra insulation right 😉
Thanks for all the advice. I bought two single XL Outwell Dreamboat 12.0 SIMS and Vango Cozy Toppers. Very comfortable and no hip ache!
Can anybody recommend a nice campsite in the Lakes? We tried Park Foot at Ullswater (twice) but each time been woken up by noise around the park. Actually first time there was a fight and knives pulled! Not exaclty family friendly. We thought we would give it another go and still noisy - so that's it for Park Foot. Only take one or two of cousre idiots at 2am. Looking now for another site with EHU to try a campervan with our twins in a tent next door.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: SIMs and Camp Beds
