We have took up camping again and looking for a SIM or camping bed that will fit 2 adults in a Vango galaxy 300 tent. Sleeping area is around 210cm x 180cm so not a massive area.
The issue we are quite on the large size at 19stone and 20stone and in the pass have used airbeds but they are not much good.
Without wishing to appear rude, I'd suggest that, particularly with your weights, perhaps consider two singles, side by side?
I appreciate SIM's are nowhere near as "sensitive" as air beds, but I'm guessing one will still feel the other one move and fidget about, as the air inside moves around?
Two singles not only negates that, but will also allow for "personal preference" with regards to how much they get inflated.
I must stress, we've never tried a double SIM, so don't be surprised if plenty of folk come on to say how wrong I am!
Whilst both a little lighter, Muckerette & myself use the single option, and my SIM gets inflated considerably more than hers. I'm 3 to 4 stone heavier than her! Neither of us feel the other rolling over in the night, of course. We do, however, still butt them up side by side, and use a double sleeping bag.
The very slight dip where the rounded edges/sides butt up is completely negated by our rather thick sleeping bags! :-)
Some SIM's are designed to attach to each other, as ours are (velcro down each side) but we never bother, as even just butted up together, they never move apart in the night... and Muckerette is one heck of a fidget!
Just something to maybe think about?
For the record, we have Exped 10cm Comfort SIM's. Not even sure if they are still available, but highly recommended.
They measure 197cm x 130cm, when side by side.
EDIT:
Just checked... They are, but no apparent bargains to be had. (Think we paid £216 ish for the pair, but probably 5 years ago now?)
There are plenty of other, well recommended options available, of course.
You will get plenty of advice, we have used air beds, camping beds and SIMs (with and without camp beds).
I personally found a Kampa Kip 10cm on the floor the most comfortable, the main issue with double camp beds is there is usually a bar down the middle which we both found annoying.
We ended up getting rid of the tent in the end and buying a caravan, however we always wanted to try (but never got around to) trying a decent SIM with a couple of Quechua camping bed air bases, I think these would have probably given us the best sleeping experience.
Sorry I should have mentioned we want single beds. My Mrs is more important to get a decent bed as she suffers from fybromiliga so sometimes gets joint pain. Me am not no bothered I can sleep on anything most times but if we went for same type bed then a bonus but it's not important.
I know I said we tried airbeds before but these was cheap ones. Noticed Coleman do ones that we are within weight range.
A few Google searches also suggest fishing camping beds as well but these seem pricey
Back in 2008, we got a couple of the “Thermarest Dream Time XL’s” more of a sleep system than just a SIM.
They were discontinued around 2015, but have since been revived and returned to the line up, due to popular demand, and I believe that the design has been improved if that was at all possible.
Great bit of kit, that definitely does what it says on the tin.
Sorry. I missed the mention of camp beds in the opening post. I assumed SIM's on the floor.
We've been doing the latter for about the past year or so. Before that, we had those same Exped SIMs on single camp beds, again butted up side by side. The bars down the middle could just about be felt... but only if you deliberately felt for them! The depth of the 10cm SIM's all but negates the feel of the bars.
Sadly, I have pics... Bog Standard Go Outdoors campbeds...
A perfect fit, width-wise (which was pure fluke!).
When levelled at the head end, the SIM is a few inches longer at the foot end...
The only reason we went to SIM on floor was to reduce the stuff we take in the car. I'd argue the SIM on floor is (ever so) slightly more comfortable, but on beds, the storage room underneath can be a massive bonus, particularly in a smaller tent. Personal choice!
The crucial thing to calculate when considering camp beds is the bed height (usually around 40-45cm?) and the reduced available bedroom space (at that height) due to any sloping walls of the tent bedroom. Some are steeper than others, but almost all offer less at knee height than they do at floor level, of course.
No tent specs or diagrams will give you dimensions at camp bed height... you will literally need to pitch the tent (or find one in a shop display, of course) and get the tape measure out.
Friends of ours once bought XL camp beds after comparing the sizes to the tent floor dimensions... they subsequently slept with the bedroom doors open and their heads in the living area, until they got a tent with a bigger bedroom! LOL!
Oh... personally I wouldn't recommend a camp bed (similar to mine) on it's own (without a SIM).
Those Inflatable camp beds from Decathlon get plenty of good recommendations on here, but I have no experience of them.
Good luck! :-)
PS:
Fishing/Carp beds get excellent feedback on comfort, strength, and of course offer a generous sleeping surface area, but not many fit into "your average tent sleeping area" , and also take up a fair bit of boot space.
Thanks for all the advice so far people. Much apricated its so hard to find any camping shop now days with things to see and test which is why advice on here is apricated.
Have been looking at these SIMS so far some a bit pricey but sometimes worth a buy if they are decent.
I don't think we will have enough room to have raised campbeds in the tent as its fairly small. The QUECHUA INFLATABLE CAMPING BED BASE I looked it but the weight limit is 110kg so that's out the question
Kampa Kip Luxury 10cm Self Inflate Mat
https://www.attwoolls.co.uk/kampa-dometic-kip-luxury-10-mat
Kampa kip Highrise Self Inflating Mat 15cm
https://wowcamping.co.uk/productDetail/kampa-kip-highrise-self-inflating-mat-15cm-single/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwpLfzBRCRARIsAHuj6qWPy_X__vh5p2BU5rPGiLqv5ulzgcE9bvng1fJMyFNc6JJj1naJ0TMaAiADEALw_wcB
Vango Shangri-La 15 Grande
https://campersandleisure.co.uk/products/vango-shangri-la-15-grande?variant=31894982197380¤cy=GBP&gclid=Cj0KCQjwpLfzBRCRARIsAHuj6qWhniTMqk8DyIVd7ReibYJveAgYhT5lMBUxQYmg_r5BHZoGOnT1ggUaAkZjEALw_wcB
VANGO Comfort 10 Grande
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/comfort-10-grande-sleeping-mat-id_8597638.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwpLfzBRCRARIsAHuj6qVyyIdtJksHTFe25IJbvlrOTT-NsZuyLJk2x35uxFrwrHzugugtFw0aAjDmEALw_wcB
The sleeping pod in the Galaxy is quite small (130cm in height which also slopes down towards the rear) compaired to the bigger living area.
You would need to get a camping bed which was not very high, similar to the Thermarest low level ones (copies of this bed are a lot cheaper). You would have to leave room heightwise to get in and out of bed.
You could also use a sim on top of the campbed as I do myself and its really comfy.
The other alternative without a campbed is a 10cm thick sim as some have mentioned.
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Topic: Camping SIM / Bed Advice Needed
via mobile 15/3/2020 at 9:36am
