Customer Reviews

Therm-a-Rest Dream Time Camp & Comfort Mattress (X-Large)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The negative reviews I have seen on this sleeping pad all point to its expense.

Everyone seems to agree that this is perhaps the most comfortable option out there for a car camping sleeping pad. There are no alternatives out there that I have found that allow you to create a true queen sized but very portable and comfortable and insulated bed. Zero.

We have been using these for 3 years now and they certainly beat the overly-bouncy Aerobed air mattress that we were using.

You can get much the same comfort by simply buying a tri-fold 4" mattress, however they are not much cheaper and a queen sized one is enormous.

The fleece topping on the Thermarest Dreamtime is very nice to the touch. The air-mattress allows me to get it a touch firmer than an all foam mattress.

It is basically a good quality self-inflating air mattress (foam inside a two valve air mattress) with a normal foam pad over it inside a cover which is a very nice fleece on top and polyurethane underneath (and thus less likely to get dirty or absorb moisture from the tent floor).

It is one of the warmest pads you can get with a total R value of 9. (It can get very, very cold at night with a regular air mattress sucking away all your body heat)

Some have said that it is expensive because it is "memory foam". It is memory foam in that it tries hard to get back to its original shape in order to self-inflate, however it is not the memory foam of modern marketing where your body heat causes the temperature sensitive foam to compress in just the right places so you have a more comfortable night sleep with fewer pressure points. You do not want this temperature sensitive memory foam in this application as it would double its weight and it would not unfurl very well in the cold.

In short, the individual components may not cost ThermARest anywhere near what they sell it for, but they were the ones to do the research to implement a well thought out design (just the right thickness of foam and air mattress) and market it and manufacture it well enough that you can easily buy it most anywhere without worrying about the quality. Tho based on reviews here, perhaps the quality has gone down a bit this past year or two?

A VERY big selling point are the two short straps that keep two (or more) pads tightly together in same dimensions as a queen sized bed as well as straps to hold it together rolled. Do not underestimate how nice it is to have these straps. This is the only mattress I have found to include these side to side straps. The straps sold to join together any air mattress are just a pain in the rear in comparison (but I do use them on our other air mattresses).

For this level of portable sleeping comfort, you do not have many options unless you decide to spend the time to build your own, or bring along a bulkier mattress (and even those can be just as expensive if they are well made).

So far, I have found that the perfect setup is this mattress NOT fully inflated (less firm) on top of a Therm-a-Rest BaseCamp inflated to very firm.

My wife and I have a problem. We both like camping, but we both have back problems. This product allows us to get a decent night's sleep in a tent, which means we can camp more. Yeah, it's one more thing to have to pack, but it rolls up nice and fits just fine in the back of our jeep with our tent and sleeping bags.

I wouldn't get this product if you are a minimalist, it's pretty bulky and it's too big to hike with. However, if you go camping like we do, then why settle for the smaller and slimmer Therm-a-Rest models?

If you have a bad back and like to go camping, it is the only way to go outside of getting an inflatable mattress (too bulky, needs electricity) or just buying an RV (which isn't camping at all).

I use the mattress on a Camp Time roll-a-cot which is the best cot around because it doesn't have end bars. This mattress makes the whole setup like floating on a cloud. I think I'll spend most of my time while camping in bed instead of fishing!! It rolls up pretty big though. The straps work well to make a good bedroll. I bought som 30 inch duffels to use as a storage sack for extra protection.

I used this 1/2 season for car camping (with a cot). It was just like sleeping in my own bed. When I took apart the pad to wash the cover I noticed that one of the components is a high quality self inflating pad. Although I haven't done it yet I'm sure that this can be used standalone as a back packing pad. Its wider than most pack pads but I think it would still be OK. As you notice this is quite expensive for a sleeping pad, but if you insist on a good night's sleep its worth every penny. I only have one. My wife and I fight over it, so I'm ordering another.

The mattress accomodates a large male 6'2" tall.
It is comfortable and easy to clean.
It stores nicely in a small closet.

Everyone else reviewed this mattress pretty well but here's a slightly different spin on it. We recently got a new puppy that for the first couple days would cry at night. I slept next to his crate on the floor on this mattress in our bedroom. In the middle of the night I would get up off this mattress and back onto our $900 pillowtop mattress. Surprisingly, the difference in comfort bewteen the two was not shockingly different. It certainly didn't effect my sleeping. One night my wife took over the puppy duties and slept on the floor on this mattress all night till morning. She commented how comfortable it was and that the floor sleeping duty wasn't bad at all.

My wife and I are mid 40's and were concerned that we would find sleeping on ground very uncomfortable, but this mat is a winner. It is bulky, not practicle if you are thinking of carrying it on your back for example, but if you have space in a car/caravan, then we recommend it without reservation. It has an air mattress in it, which makes it comfy and it self inflates. It is large enough width wise not to worry about rolling off it at night. A great product.

I bought this mattress because I wanted an alternative to a bed. It is extremely comfortable, warm and overall, a very good mattress.

I never sleep well the first night of tent camping--and in middle age the problem is worse. THIS MATTRESS SOLVED THE PROBLEM. I slept well the first night & every night. Ordered the larger size per others' recommendations and am glad. We put 2 of these sideways so that they were like a 3/4 to full size pad that was wide enough for 3 familiy members.

I've used this Mattress for number of days now. It is very comfortable.
I use it instead of much thicker inflatable bed. I've found them to have pressure spots, but this mattress from Therm-a-rest, though much thinner, does not have pressure spots.

Cons: #1 The price. #2 The mattress tends to slip on hardwood floors.