Customer Reviews

Stansport Backpacker's Air Mattress, Brown (72- X 29-Inch)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Correction To The Description

The description lists the dimensions of this as 29" wide. That is the FLAT width. The inflated width is the standard 20 inches.

The description also does not say how thick it is inflated. It's about 3 inches inflated.

It weighs 21ozs.


California Prop 65 Warning

The box contains a warning about the product containing lead. When I asked a Stansport rep about this, they explained that due to a litigious environment in California involving a law known as "prop 65", they have placed warnings on all their products whether they contain one of the carcinogenic chemicals or not, in order to make themselves immune to the litigation games being played with the law. The rep assured me none of their products contain lead.

A trip to wikipedia regarding prop 65, as well as a google search on the topic, verified that such problems are well known and documented(apparently I've been living under a rock), so I personally don't give any credibility to this warning. I'm putting this here for any other people who might be unaware of this problem as I was.


Initial Impression

Out of the box, I was very pleased with the weight(21 ozs) and the reasonable pack size. The quality appears to be pretty good, with no detectable sloppiness in the workmanship that I could find.

I was shocked that each chamber had it's own air valve to inflate individually, only because I didn't read the description closer. But shock aside, I think this is a good design choice in this price range. If you do spring a leak, you'll have 5 more chambers to rely on.

This comes with a straightforward repair kit with two patches. Adequate.


SETUP

This was a bit harder to inflate than I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't hard, it was just more work than others I've worked with. I clocked 9 minutes working at a non-racing pace to avoid light headedness. Obviously if you have a pump, you could get this done a lot faster. But I personally don't pack a pump when I go out on a trail, and I don't know many who do.

I've used other mattresses that seemed like they just blew right up with a few breaths in comparison. They also cost several times what this did.


COMFORT

This is a comfortable air mattress. On my back, on my sides, on my belly, in every position, it is a comfortable mattress. It won't compete with a good "real" bed, but for a small trail mattress, it's plenty comfortable. By playing with the inflation of the various chambers a little, you can get a custom sleep fit to get that right combination of give and support. I give the comfort 5 stars for a trail mattress at this price.

As this is not insulated, this is considered a summer or warm-weather pad. This pad used alone will not be good for ground sleeping in temps below 35F.


TEAR DOWN

Tear down is definetly more difficult than other mattresses I've used. The 6 individual chambers won't give up their air unless you are pinching the valves open, which you can only do one at a time, at the base of the valves, which are all located on one of the ends of the mattress.

The best way I found is to open all the valves, then begin folding the mattress in half as you squeeze open each valve, one at a time till you get a lot of the air out of each one. Then begin rolling it up from the opposite end of the valves, starting with a two - four inch fold up the length of it, with your hands positioned in the center, then squeezing it out as you slide your hands out to the edge.

Then fold again, and repeat. When you can't fold again because of too much air in the chambers, then go and squeeze open the valves one at a time till you can begin folding it up again.

This takes me about 10 minutes at a non-rushed, but focused on the task at hand pace.


Overall Opinion

If I wanted to equip myself for speed, I would spend more money on one of the faster-to-setup mattresses. If I wanted to do 3 or 4 season camping, I would probably spend more money on an insulated mattress, though this would do for 3 season when paired with a decent closed cell pad.

However, I was just looking for a decent summer backpacking mattress at a good price and that's what this is. It's comfortable, it has held it's air well in my testing and use so far, and at 25 bucks I can't help but feel like I got a good deal, especially when it's nearest competitor that I can find costs almost twice as much.

4 stars overall and if this continues to hold up well, I might up it to 5 stars at the end of the season.

I've used one of these for years, and take no other pad. I do not blow it up in one session. Some air, some other set-up tasks, some air, .... It is a bit of a chore. But the separate chambers are worth it. And I'd never add the weight of a pump to my pack. Very comfortable.

Deflating is actually pretty easy if you carry wooden matches. Smooth twigs are also fine. Push one into each valve and the back-flap will hold them there with the valve open. Then roll it up and remove the matches / twigs.

Great product for price. Light weight small package and did not leak after sleeping on it for 8 nights. Used item on military type cot which fits perfectly.

This air mattress is lightweight, and very comfortable. It inflated easily and quickly, usually 3 or 4 breaths per cell. It made a big difference on my backpacking trip! This is a great product and well worth the money.

One of the best items I have is this mattress! It is the perfect size for me 5ft 11inches and 160lbs. Supports that you never touch the ground. I can blow it up very easily and deflate it using something to hold each one of the valves open. It packs easy and small. The price is good as I have seen others at this quality much more. The material is tough and thick and comes with a sack and a patch kit.

I love this air mattress! It may take a bit to blow up and is interesting to figure out how to get the air out to pack up, but the comfort it provides is worth it! Especially for the price! I camped for 5 nights and only had to re-blow it up once.

To blow it up, I had a few friends and we all took turns. Didn't take more than 10 minutes. To break it down, I got all the air out of it I could just by sitting on it. Then I rolled it up and progressively got more and more air out. It's kind of hard to explain. I think the next time I use it, packing it up will go much more smoothly. I was able to get enough air out to repack it into the book-sized box it came in.

Wonderful mattress, wonderful night's sleep!

The set up and break down process take a long time since each tube has to be inflated and deflated individually but in the end, the added comfort is worth it! Great price and lightweight.

I blew this product up at home and never laid on it. I got up the next morning to find it had lost air, it wasn't flat though. I went camping the next weekend with it. I spent several restless hours that night only to wake up on the cold ground. It's a pain in the butt to deflate. I returned it to amazon with no problems and a full refund. I was stay away from this mat.

This is a great air mattress either for backpacking or for tent camping. Blows up pretty fast. I used a hand pump. Not sure how long it would take to blow up when backpacking, but it is so compact & does the job. Camping equipment takes up so much room so the compact foldup size & light weight is a plus. Very comfortable.

This air mat is 20 inches wide. That's a common width for backpacking sleeping pads, but if you're going car camping and neither weight nor size are a concern, you might want something wider (but also heavier and bulkier). Or if you're looking for a backpacking sleeping pad and you're either on a budget or minimal weight is the dominant concern, a blue closed cell (non-inflatable) mat is your best bet. But those don't pack down so small.

This pad is great if you are looking for a bargain backpacking mat and you either want more comfort than blue foam will give you, or you care about pack size. You can get smaller or lighter inflatable sleeping pads, but they are also much more expensive.

My main complaint is that the advertised weight (21 oz) is VERY incorrect. Mine weighed almost 30oz. (This isn't just an Amazon product description error; the packaging claims 21oz right on the box.) That disqualifies this pad for anyone shooting for an ultralight pack. It could still have a place in a budget backpacker's lightweight pack, though. If you want UL, look at something like the 14oz NeoAir, but be prepared to open your wallet much wider -- the NeoAir's stuff sack costs alone costs almost as much as this pad.

The pad ships folded, but I rolled it into an approx 4" by 10" cylinder without too much trouble. To deflate, use a prior reviewer's suggestion of holding the air valve open with a bobby pin or small stick. The individual chambers are narrow enough that you can get all the air out of them by pressing your palm against the end of the mat and running it smoothly up the map toward the opposite end, to force the air out of that chamber's propped-open value. Do that a couple of times, seal the value, and move on to the next chamber. Inflating took me about 5 minutes. Deflating and rolling took slightly less than that.