Many wanting to go camping or keep equipment for bug-out and never give any thought of what to do about sleeping on the ground and especially what to do in cold weather.
First we have the ruff it survivalist group say use pine limbs or grass and while it can make a soft bed the sticky pine sap may not be to you're liking and getting it all over you're sleeping equipment and yourself and the grass will take some time to collect enough of it to make a suitable bed, much work.
Many years ago someone came up with a closed cell foam pad and it worked well to insulate from the frozen ground and they sold millions of them and still available today, one of the problems or dislikes is, it does not provide any cushion and many don't sleep well and or wakeup stiff and sore.
Many have known about the air mattress and its been around a long time and it too works until it gets a hole in it and in cold weather it allows the cold air inside it to circulate, so it has no insulating value what soever.
About 40 years ago a company by the name of Cascade Designs came up with the idea of putting foam rubber inside an air mattress and the first Therm-A Rest self inflating air mattress was born and it worked great and had fantastic insulating value as the air inside did not move around.
Today they come in many shapes and sizes to fit the needs of the individual and they're not cheep with prices running from $50 to well over $200. My self I go with an old classic tuff workhorse the "BaseCamp" and it has an insulating Value of R 5.0 and it comes in three sizes [the weight varies on size from 2 to 3 1/2 Lbs]! Regular, Large and Extra Large and the ones I have are 1 1/2" inch thick the newer ones are 2" inch thick and you just open the valve found on the corner and it starts to self inflate and once inflated, close the valve, now if it's not firm enough you can put a few puffs of air in it or let some out for a softer cushion. To put it away to travel, just open the valve and start slowly rolling it up from the foot end until you have it fully rolled up and close the valve and put it in its stuff sack and your done.
Two of the Photos Below there a darker colored that I've had for more than 20 years and its thin light in weight intended for backpacking and work well on frozen ground but not so much cushion and not good for sleeping on your side.
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/atta...ent.php?attachmentid=99647&stc=1&d=1369259275
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=99648&stc=1&d=1369259318
First we have the ruff it survivalist group say use pine limbs or grass and while it can make a soft bed the sticky pine sap may not be to you're liking and getting it all over you're sleeping equipment and yourself and the grass will take some time to collect enough of it to make a suitable bed, much work.
Many years ago someone came up with a closed cell foam pad and it worked well to insulate from the frozen ground and they sold millions of them and still available today, one of the problems or dislikes is, it does not provide any cushion and many don't sleep well and or wakeup stiff and sore.
Many have known about the air mattress and its been around a long time and it too works until it gets a hole in it and in cold weather it allows the cold air inside it to circulate, so it has no insulating value what soever.
About 40 years ago a company by the name of Cascade Designs came up with the idea of putting foam rubber inside an air mattress and the first Therm-A Rest self inflating air mattress was born and it worked great and had fantastic insulating value as the air inside did not move around.
Today they come in many shapes and sizes to fit the needs of the individual and they're not cheep with prices running from $50 to well over $200. My self I go with an old classic tuff workhorse the "BaseCamp" and it has an insulating Value of R 5.0 and it comes in three sizes [the weight varies on size from 2 to 3 1/2 Lbs]! Regular, Large and Extra Large and the ones I have are 1 1/2" inch thick the newer ones are 2" inch thick and you just open the valve found on the corner and it starts to self inflate and once inflated, close the valve, now if it's not firm enough you can put a few puffs of air in it or let some out for a softer cushion. To put it away to travel, just open the valve and start slowly rolling it up from the foot end until you have it fully rolled up and close the valve and put it in its stuff sack and your done.
Two of the Photos Below there a darker colored that I've had for more than 20 years and its thin light in weight intended for backpacking and work well on frozen ground but not so much cushion and not good for sleeping on your side.
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/atta...ent.php?attachmentid=99647&stc=1&d=1369259275
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=99648&stc=1&d=1369259318
