Find your ideal camping mattress by following our tips for choosing between an inflatable, self-inflating or foam model for your adventures.
Whether you’re a fan of family camping or solo hiking, the type of camping mattress chosen impacts your rest quality between two days of adventures. How to choose the best camping mattress? Inflatable, self-inflating or foam mattress, more or less light and insulating... We provide our advice to find the special item that will help you sleep soundly in your tent!
Foam, self-inflating or inflatable: there are several different kinds of mattress for camping or bivouacking. Each has its advantages and disadvantages in terms of size, comfort and set-up time. The most important thing is to fully understand your needs according to the activities you’ve got planned during your nature getaway!
When we talk about camping, we're not just talking about a great holiday spot where boules and Benco are kings (even though we love them)! We're mainly talking about a way to experience nights in a tent : on a fixed campsite, which doesn’t require you to move your tent between hikes. Do you fall into this category of outdoor sleepers? Then, we recommend you go for inflatable mattresses, available at different price levels. They mean you have to bring a pump and are generally thicker than other types of mattresses. Very comfortable, they feel like a traditional mattress, thanks to the air inside.
The benefit of this? You can adjust your air mattress for "soft", "medium-firm" or "firm" comfort, as you prefer. And if you don't feel like taking the opportunity to work out your arms or legs with a manual pump , electric pumps are here to help. Most air mattresses can accommodate one to two people. Some single models can be combined to form a double mattress. This way, you can go solo on your own, or go camping as a couple and sleep together in the open air!
If you’re going trekking, the first thing to consider is the weight of the mattress. We recommend you choose a foam mattress, light and very easy to fold or unfold, and carry on your backpack. It looks a little like a gym or yoga mat but its high-tech features take it to a whole new level! Foam mattresses are designed to insulate you from the cold and fully recover after a day’s trekking. How can you be sure of this insulating power? By checking the R-value of your foam mattress (if the R-value doesn't mean anything to you, we'll tell you more about it later in this article).
You also have the option of choosing a self-inflating trekking mattress, making sure you take a lightweight product. When you unfold the mattress, it fills with air, regaining its shape and thickness. By leaving the valve open, self-inflating mattresses generally inflate to 60% after a few minutes. Then, simply finish inflating them by mouth to adjust the pressure as required. This will help save you time and breath.
But beware, we should warn you in advance: trekking mattresses are relatively narrow and slim so they can fit easily into a trekking tent where there's limited space. Some are even narrower at the feet, to make them even more compact. For this type of mattress, no need for a pump, but space is limited!
Have you ever thought of using the inflatable mattress that guests who come to your house sleep on to go camping? Beware: not all of them are designed for camping or bivouacking! To find the right mattress, here are some tips !
1- Avoid choosing a mattress designed as an extra item for home use, as they’re rarely designed to withstand life out camping.
2- Go for a product made of durable, resistant materials, which won’t deflate during the night at the slightest pebble out of place, and which will last several nights before having to add a little air (while taking care to select the right sort of ground to put it on).
3- Go for an inflatable mattress that’s been tested for durability: you'll then know the minimum number of inflation/deflation cycles for which the mattress has been certified. This figure can vary from several dozen to several hundred cycles! For bivouacking or itinerant camping, opt for a mattress certified to withstand a higher number of cycles. This criteria will be less important if you're staying fixed in one campsite, where you'll have to inflate your mattress once on arrival and deflate it once when leaving.
We don't all react in the same way to materials. Some people feel uncomfortable on a mattress whose plastic top rubs against the polyester of a sleeping bag, while others don't even notice it. If this kind of detail is important to you, choose the best possible sensory experience. The ideal? A mattress covered in a velvet-feel fabric, for a soft feeling that will make all the difference. We also recommend you try your mattress before buying it whenever possible. Don’t worry about what you might look like - lie down and turn over on it to see if it "squeaks", makes "creaking noises", or if it’s quiet. Because beyond touch, hearing also affects your experience (and that of your tent companions).
Once chosen, also consider properly inflating your camping mattress: avoid under- and over-inflation. For your comfort and to make your mattress last longer, it is important to inflate it moderately. How do you know if that’s the case? When you are sitting on the inflated mattress, you should feel the floor near your buttocks. Once you lie down, the air will disperse beneath your body, providing optimal comfort. An over-inflated mattress will be too "hard", while an under-inflated mattress won’t provide enough support for your body while you sleep.
💡 Did you know? The length of your mattress can vary by around 10% depending on how much you inflate it! So, don't panic if your mattress seems a couple of inches too short; it's just a small variation caused by over-inflating and is not a manufacturing defect !
You can search the aisles of stores and the internet, but manufacturers of camping and trekking equipment don’t necessarily offer "mini"-mattresses suitable for very young kids. In fact, the size of the mattress isn’t as important as its overall comfort. When it comes to overall comfort, the most important thing is that your child has the right size sleeping bag. The larger the volume of air to be warmed, the more energy the body expends and the more likely it is to cool down during the night. So the more room there is inside the sleeping bag, the harder it will be for your child to keep warm. If you go camping once a year, you may as well go and buy a 1-person"" mattress which your child will then be able to use for many years to come. Another option for budding campers planning to regularly pitch their 2 Seconds tent at the bottom of the garden, is to use a suitably sized sleeping bag with an integrated mattress, like Quechua's kid's 2-in-1 sleeping bag Sleeping Bed Junior. And for babies? We can only refer you to your paediatrician, who will advise you on the most suitable portable sleeping solution!
The "R-Value" is the measure of thermal resistance. It measures the capacity of a mattress to retain body heat or prevent heat transfer to a cold floor. The higher the R-value of your camping or trekking mattress, the better its insulation will be. The bonus? If you stack two mattresses on top of each other, you can add their R-value to create double thermal insulation. To optimise this insulation, you can also put a survival blanket under your mattress. However, your sleeping bag has no influence on this R-value. At Decathlon, you’ll find the R-value of our mattresses on the sales page of the product you’re interested in ("Product benefits" section). All our mattresses are tested in accordance with the ASTM F3340-18 testing standard. You can use this to compare mattresses from different brands.
So you have the theory, but what does it mean in practice? Here are our pointers to help you see things more clearly !
R-value from 0 to 1.9: mattress recommended for use in warm weather (summer) only.
R-value from 2 to 3: you can use your mattress for 2 or 3 seasons (spring-summer-autumn).
R-value from 3 to 4: good news, your mattress is suitable for use in all 4 seasons.
R-value of 4.5 or more: it's possible to use your mattress all year round and in extreme conditions (glacier, far north and high altitude).
💡 Did you know? Camping mattresses often have a higher R value than an equivalently priced trekking mattress.
When a mattress is new, the air it contains is sucked out by a machine so that it easily enters its sales pouch. That's why it's important to inflate it a first time before you set off camping. Do you have a self-inflating mattress? Before first use, unroll it and open its valve for 24 hours, on a flat surface. Then, inflate it and leave it for 24 hours with the valve closed, under pressure.
Are you worried that your mattress will puncture in the middle of your holiday? The good news is they can often be repaired! Repair kits, despite their modest appearance, may save your night. Always remember to pack one in advance. In fact, some inflatable mattresses are sold with repair kits, while others aren’t. Moreover, depending on the materials used to design the mattress, not all repair kits are compatible with all mattresses. To help you, here is our care and repair guide for your mattress.
The answer lies in their name! Self-inflating mattresses are camping products that inflate themselves, or almost: to about 60% with the valve open! You then need to blow up the rest by mouth, to adjust the pressure. Quick and easy! :)
In conclusion, whether you choose a comfortable inflatable mattress for long camping stays, a lightweight foam mattress, or a self-inflating mattress for your treks, each has its own advantages. The best camping and hiking mattress is ultimately the one that suits your outdoor activities, needs, and priorities. Wishing you peaceful nights under the stars!
Camping lover at Quechua
