I've lost the ability to camp! lol

[chris1201]

Folks, a strange situation....... here it is:

Many years ago, in my teenage years, I could camp anywhere and often did. Mountains, forests etc. held no fears for me. It was a good time overall. But many years went by without camping, then last year I decided to take my motorbike to France and decided to go camping. I bought loads of new gear.....good 2 man tent, good quality sleeping bag, good quality self-inflating mattress, good stove...the works really.

The tent was erected no problem, the stove worked a treat and I was beginning to get into the whole idea of it all again with fond memories of my yesteryears coming flashing back. But when it came to going to sleep I was beaten. I just couldn't get comfortable. The mattress was working as it should, the sleeping bag was warm......but it wasn't a bed and I just couldn't deal with it. I tossed and turned all night and swore at everything. It was totally miserable. I had all my little luxuries too like a torch and radio. One night I lasted and that was the end of my camping.

This year I want to try it again, but the thoughts of that night haunt me.

So my question is.....where did I go wrong? Is perseverance the key to getting back into it? Or am I missing a trick altogether somewhere else???

Chris

[largewayround]

Hi Chris

I have a similar problem.. I have quite a bad back , have for years now.. The bed at home, we have had many, and finally got one that suits..

Now as for camping , I love it.. when we go for our main holiday, a good proper airbed , we have had many brands but last year the wife got a Aerobed explorer double. Expensive!!.. Oh my it was worth it .. fantastic

I recently started going camping with the bike.. so I bought a Gelbert Self Inflating Mattress.. great I thought, it was only for 1 night ... how wrong I was .. with my back, had issues getting comfy .. so it now up for sale ..

I am going to get myself a Proper Airbed (single) for the bike.. maybe even a Aerobed, but they are heavy 3 kg, so I am maybe going to look around for a lighter one.

But I would highly recommend the Aerobed, you just need to adjust the pressure to suit. I would say tenting with this airbed , I get a better Sleep than at home...

Good Luck .. hope you find something that suits ..

[chris1201]

Hi LWR

Is this a classic case of age getting the better of us???? lol
Whilst I'm sorry to hear you have a bad back I'm somewhat heartened to read that I'm not the only one with this dilemma with camping.

I don't suffer from a bad back (yet!) but I sure did the morning after my trip to France. I was beginning to think that 43 years on this earth had turned me into an uncompromising, hard to please old fool !

I'll have a look into the aerobed solution. It's only for the bike that I'd want it though so it'll probably get a few weeks use each year. But it still needs to be comfy, right? lol Obviously size and weight will be an issue seeing as it's gonna sit on the back of a bike whenever it isn't being used. I guess you also have to factor in the hassle of carrying a pump as well with this aerobed thingy??

Chris

[largewayround]

Hi Chris

Yip , I would say that age is something to do with it.. All my working life I have had lifting type jobs , and this really did my back in.. I now now work from home with my wife.. much easier on the old back..

Yes the areo beds have special pumps,. and they are bulky for the bike, , I am going to have a look around to see if I can find another solution ..

I loved the trip we did to Glencoe recently ,. even the weather did not really matter , but I would have liked to slept a bit better.. And I have decided that some sort of airbed is the way ahead.. with a small 12 volt pump or just blow up manually ...

I will let you know what comes of it....

[chris1201]

I had a look on Amazon. They have some cheaper and lighter alternatives from around a tenner. Manual inflation though but they have a wee pump for around 4 quid too. Might be worth considering coz I cant face the thought of those self inflating things again. Good in principle, bad in parctice......for me anyway!! lol

Chris

[DaveS]

I too have a bad back problem. I have the Thermarest Base Camp XL which is a wide inflatable mat that blows up to a good few cm's if you need it to.
It fits on a bike ok but it is obviously bigger that some of the smaller one's and is smaller than an airbed by some margin.
I haven't tried any other type of mat's so can't really compare.
I do have the first night can't get comfortable / different environment situation that you speak of, but am normally fine the second night onwards.

[chalky4]

Not enough whiskey before turning out the light
Or maybe you have got too use to the light pollution and noises that we have all become accustomed in everyday life at bed time. The real darkness, the solitude and the utter silence of being away from it all can take some getting use to. Persevere I say and those childhood memories will be re born

[DaveS]

Not enough whiskey before turning out the light

Ahh yes very good point. And a solution that is tried and tested regularly on the annual meets to good effect.

[Boris]

I've used roll mats, airbeds and Therm-A-Rests and the latter 2 are clear winners.

The airbed was a cheap one and along with a 12 volt pump from Tesco it could be up in a couple of minutes. Total cost under 20 quid and if you use the pump to deflate the mattress it packs down well.

The Therm-A-Rest is a trail lite pro (Large) and retails around £65. It's just as comfy as the airbed and none of my 15 stone touches down even when I lie on my side. The advantage of the Therm-A-Rest over the airbed is pack size (It's about the same as the airbed but I don't need the pump) and its much warmer when things cool down. On Self inflating mattresses, I have tried the cheaper ones and there was no competition with bits of me touching the ground all the time. I'm sure Therm-A-Rests aren't the only good ones but they are the best I have found.

If you can justify the cost go for the Therm-A-Rest but the airbed is a good cheap alternative if you only camp in the summer.

[Boris]

Also don't forget some sort of pillow. I just cant sleep unless I get my head up a bit. I use my bike troos folded up or I stuff some clothes in the therm-a-rest carry bag.

That does the trick.