Exped Downmat 9 Air Mattress

Advantages: Easy to inflate. Good value. Portable. Very comfortable.
Disadvantages: You need an electricity supply for inflation.

...be deflated and stored away. It is really light and easy to reposition and does not require hours of backbreaking DIY work with a screwdriver to assemble. Once inflated, you simply top up the inflation every couple of days. It has an automatic air-tight valve and a simple "one-touch inflation system", which merely consists of holding a button down and placing it against the valve. A pump, rather like a vacuum cleaner pump in reverse, then inflates your bed to your required firmness. Even from scracth, it seemed to take only a minute or two to inflate, less than the manufacturer's indicated time of three minutes (and that was for my raised double bed, which I got for £120 from Argos). The reason I got this, rather than a traditional bedstead and mattress, was that I have a very narrow flight of stairs and manoeuvring a double bed up them was going... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: light , quick and easy to inflate/deflate, extremely comfortable
Disadvantages: initial outlay is a little expensive but not unreasonably so.

...This is a sleeping pad and is rather like an inflatable air mattress in many ways. We backpack in many places and our favourite way, when we have the time, is to hike for several days. When we do this we have to carry everything with us that we need and as you can imagine every ounce counts. I must admit that I do like a bit of comfort and the Big Agnes REM Air Core Pad does supply this (REM just stands for ‘rest easy mama). Big Agnes make 2 types of air core pad, the rectangular and the mummy. The mummy pad tapers at the ends and is a similar shape to a coffin. I prefer the rectangular mainly because I like the extra room at my head. We have had ours some time and now they make an insulated version of these pads. They have also made an upgrade kit for the air core which you can buy instead of having to buy the whole pad set up, which... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: nice thick bed for camping, inexpensive
Disadvantages: heavy, needs reinflation

...the mattress! Meanwhile, I'd searched the internet for advice and emailed the company to find out if they could explain how to use the pump. You see, it came a screw on cap for the pump, and a stopper, as well as another cap for the other valve. Maybe we're not that bright but neither of us was sure whether we were supposed to put the cap and/or stopper on while we pumped. Many discussions were had- he favouring the option of leaving the pump open, while I suspected this would allow too much air to escape. By this time, we were tired and ready for bed, so we laid our sleeping bags on teh mattress and promptly fell asleep. A good night's sleep was had by both of us, the only downside being a tendency to roll toward the middle of the mattress, but we suspected this may reduced by perhaps inflating the mattress a little more. It was nearly a week... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful