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DIY Foam Mattress

DIY Foam Mattress


Postby lochlaggan » Sun Oct 21, 2012 7:46 pm

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who has problems sleeping in bothies and camping due to uncomfortable sleeping matts etc. I do have a Mountain Equipment foam sleeping mat and have tried various inflating mats but not being a particuarly small guy I find them an uncomfortable sleep. So I'm looking for anyone that has purchased foam to make their own mattress. Please let me know if you have found a good manufacturer.

Thanks and your thoughts are very welcome :clap: :clap:

Grant
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Re: DIY Foam Mattress

Postby brpro26 » Sun Oct 21, 2012 10:17 pm

I usually sleep on a 1/2 bottle of whiskey when in a Bothy, never feel a thing but sometimes my head hurts :?
If your looking at making your own chances are it will end up being huge. You'll possibly have to spend a wedge to get some fancy technical material. The one I use is a Gelert(???) it's a self inflating foam based one and you can still give it a wee puff off air to add some comfort. Sounds like you need an air bed...seriously not a bad option.
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Re: DIY Foam Mattress

Postby whiteburn » Mon Oct 22, 2012 8:23 am

Try a decent inflatable mattress and you'll never want to look at foam or self inflating mattresses again!

Both Exped and Thermarest do wider and longer models:
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/exped_synmat_7_ultralight.html
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/thermarest_neoair_xlite.html

Only downside is the risk of puncture; I use a tent footprint on bothy bunks plus always carry a repair kit; so far have never had a problem with my Exped 7 Ultralight.
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Re: DIY Foam Mattress

Postby lochlaggan » Mon Oct 22, 2012 6:27 pm

Thanks guys but I really don't want an inflatable mat as used a number before and they just aint for me, its foam I'm looking at. I've used Gelert, thermarest and multimat also for that matter exped mat type. Any more thoughts about foam?

Cheers

Grant
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Re: DIY Foam Mattress

Postby Liathach » Mon Oct 22, 2012 7:27 pm

You'll never find a sack big enough to pack a foam mattress into a bothy. Think you need to persevere with Karrimat-style or Thermarest (not Neoair-style)
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Re: DIY Foam Mattress

Postby lochlaggan » Tue Oct 23, 2012 6:45 pm

Liathach I've had too many sleepless nights on inflatables and need a change so foam it will be :crazy:
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Re: DIY Foam Mattress

Postby Rudolph » Wed Oct 24, 2012 8:48 am

Please let us know if you find anything that worrks. You can't be the only one who doesn't get on with inflatables.
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Re: DIY Foam Mattress

Postby Liathach » Wed Oct 24, 2012 11:40 am

You'll need a porter to carry all your gear!
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Re: DIY Foam Mattress

Postby mrssanta » Wed Oct 24, 2012 1:03 pm

what's the gripe with inflatables? My most comfy mattress is an Exped downmat inflatable. not cheap, but I get a great night's sleep on it.
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Re: DIY Foam Mattress

Postby lochlaggan » Thu Oct 25, 2012 6:45 pm

For some inflatables work for some but not me. Reasons:

+ They are bloody noisy when trying to sleep
+ They slide on tent floors
+ Punctures ! :(
+ Some are just too thin
+ Cold

I'm going to look at foam
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Re: DIY Foam Mattress

Postby Gythral » Thu Oct 25, 2012 7:32 pm

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Re: DIY Foam Mattress

Postby lochlaggan » Thu Oct 25, 2012 7:39 pm

Gythral wrote:http://www.extremtextil.de/catalog/Accessories/Evazote:::23_97.html
This stuff maybe... but it's not cheap...


Thanks Gythral :clap:

Interesting but thin? Perhaps not a massive amount of "give" for comfort. I think a visit to a foam shop is of the order and they may have a sample of this foam.

Cheers

Grant
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Re: DIY Foam Mattress

Postby Liathach » Thu Oct 25, 2012 8:05 pm

Sorry mate, but there is just no way you are going to be able to use a foam mattress that will support you off the ground and not be absolutely huge from a transportation point of view.
I still think the original style Therm-a-Rest is the answer. It can easily be prevented from sliding around with a few spots of seam sealant on the under-surface and it's not noisy. The crisp packet style NeoAir is noisy - couldn't agree more. Neither is it cold to lie on and, to date, not had a puncture. I don't even bother to carry the repair kit.
I urge you to try one (again?)
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Re: DIY Foam Mattress

Postby lochlaggan » Fri Oct 26, 2012 8:24 pm

Thanks Liathach but I've had too many uncomfortable sleeps and my mind is made up about foam. I agree about the size being too big if standard "foam" but I hope to find a compact type that will do the job. If I find something that works I will be shouting about it on this forum :clap: :clap: :clap:

Cheers

Grant
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Re: DIY Foam Mattress

Postby ZEbbEDY » Wed Oct 31, 2012 11:03 pm

check out the Dutch army sleeping mats they are a lot thicker than normal ones
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