The Camping Forum

[nutgone]

I was thinking about getting a cheapo SIM to go on my camp bed, but I don't want to end up slipping all over the place on it.

Since moving over to a camp bed there's no way I would go that close to the ground again. I like my few inches between me & the ground. & I never had much luck getting any other type of bed to hold air. I've had 2 air beds & one SIM in the past, all of which have sprung leaks. So I decided never to rely on anything holding air in order to guarantee me a good nights sleep again.

I have found the camp bed can still get cold from underneath though, so it still requires some form of insulation on it IMO, so even though they're less bulky than air beds & SIMs when rolled up, you've still got to carry some extra padding of some sort, so which ever way you go, there's no way of getting away lightly if you want a good nights rest.

[Vulcan]

Saw some steel camp beds in a store today. (army style).
Smaller packed size than a SIM of equal weight.
My worry is that the weight of the camp bed and me, (16 stone) might cause the supports of the bed to damage the ground sheet. All the weight is pressing down on a small area through the bed supports. In this case it seemed to be 5 or 6 mm round steel bar.

Has anyone noticed a camp bed damaging the ground sheet?
Am I worrying too much?

My apologies if anyone feels this is a dumb question. I am seriously thinking of getting an "Airbeam" for the next years trips away, and I would not want to ruin it by using something that may soon damage it.
A lot of the pitches I end up on are often gravelly or have flinty soil under thin grass.
I always use a tent footprint but I would still worry.
Many thanks.
John

[nutgone]

I had similar thoughts myself, so no, I don't think it's a dumb question (I don't think there's any such thing, really).

I always thought those camp beds with actual feet on them, the ones with the diagonal crossed legs, might well damage a ground sheet, but if I were to use one of those I would place pads under the feet. The ones with the sprung steel wire legs should spread the load enough, I've never heard of them damaging ground sheets, but have seen marks left behind on the grass once or twice under my old Cabanon.

I think if I had spent out on a brand new tent I would probably place something under the legs, if it worried me. My Cabanon has different ground sheet material to most tents these days, it's reinforced PVC which has a lot more "give" in it than normal tent ground sheets.

Like I said before, it's really a matter of taste. Loads of people swear by SIMs, & loads of people swear by air beds. Just because I swear by camp beds doesn't mean everyone will get a brilliant nights sleep on one, some find them too hard & don't like the poles down the sides. & even I will admit they still need some extra padding on them.

I just like being up off the ground & having somewhere to put all the empty bags & stuff.

The only thing I would highly recommend is that you don't spend too much money on your bed until you've worked out what's right for you. SIMs can be very expensive, as can all the other options. It's horrible spending out on the best of something only to realise you don't actually like it.

Now is a good time to grab a bargain as well, & prices are set to drop even further in the coming months, so it pays to shop around.