If you’re spending time outdoors camping, a good night’s sleep is essential. It’s a pretty grueling existence when you’re feeling irritable and tired after a bad night and you may have a long walk to complete or activities to participate in. If you’ve ever used an inflatable stand up paddle board or inflatable tent, you’ll immediately understand how to get the Decathlon bed base pumped up. You literally unroll it from its carry bag, connect a compatible pump and start doing your business! It’s recommended to use the official Quechua double action pump to get this up to 6psi, but most other pumps should suffice. In our buying guide below, we’ve shared some of the key features to look out for to ensure you find the best camp bed for the best sleeping experience.

The bottom line is that investing in the best camp bed allows you to sleep comfortably and healthily while not breaking the bank. Yet, the beds offer portability and compactness, so you don’t have to haul a massive load during your camping and other outdoor trips.Coleman are one of our favourite outdoor gear manufacturers and the Coleman Airbed Cot is a great example of exemplary design. It’s a double camp bed using what we would call a hybrid folding/inflatable design – basically the base can fold away small and the mattress is fully inflatable. In our minds this gives the best combination of portability and comfort if there are two of you to cater for and you don’t mind snuggling up together! Coleman also offer a single bed option at about half the price using a similar layout. As you start to pump, you need to slot in eight rigid cross-members (ooh err!) which then act as slats for you to put on a separate self inflating mattress or similar. The pumped up base then has a forgiving external rectangular structure which offers decent suspension if you have to move in the night. Size is an essential factor to consider when choosing a camp bed. You should especially consider the height and weight of the base and mattress together. Different individuals have varying heights, so make sure there is enough length in the frame and mattress to take your full expanse. For the final icing on the cake, we loved the two side tables which the Coleman ships with. These attach on each side of the bed and act as night-time tables to put a lamp, a drink or your book on. There’s even integrated cup holders – nice touch Coleman! To make your camping bed more comfortable, simply add more padding and insulation (if it’s cold). You can invest in materials such as a memory foam mattress topper, padded cushions, or a sleeping mat. 3. Which Is Better – a Foldout Camp Bed or an Airbed?

For camp beds, you want to look at the fabric material as well as the frame material. The best camp beds are constructed from materials such as nylon, polyester, or polycotton. Each material has its benefits outdoors.Downsides? Well the air mattress valve is not the best design meaning that you can get a bit of leakage as you remove the pump before you bung up the hole – not the end of the world, but it’s not as well designed as some of the dedicated air mattresses you can buy. Also the price – it’s not the cheapest camping bed in the world, but bear in mind that you won’t also need to buy an additional self inflating mattress.

If you aren’t on a restricted budget, the Dam CamoVision Bed Chair is worth the investment. It’s another fishing bed which can also function as a chair or lounger, however we think it’s great for camping if you’ve got the room to transport it. It folds to a transport size of 85 x 80 x 22cm which is pretty big, but still manageable if you have a large estate car or camping trailer. The design of the bed uses three pairs of adjustable legs with large area mud feet designed to prevent sinking into the ground. The best option is to always opt for a bed that offers a little more space. For example, if you measure about 6 feet tall (182cm), opt for a bed that measures at least 185 cm to 190 cm long. The width depends on the type of sleeper you are. Some people don’t mind narrow beds, while others want some room to move around, or to sleep diagonally. Fold-out beds are ideal for people who struggle to get up and down from a mattress or sleeping pad placed directly on the ground. Furthermore, a fold-out bed can offer a small amount of underside storage space in some cases. However, we think it’s worth sacrificing that space for a bed with criss-crossed legs as these offer increased stability.Raised sleeping surface for easy entry and exit, which also reduces joint strain when getting out of bed. One great feature of the Decathlon camp bed is that you can very simply connect two of the bases together to make a double bed which is one of the comfiest around. Yes you still need the mattresses on top but we think it’s a great solution. Originally designed for overnight fishing at a lakeside, the flat profile of the Galician allows for a good night’s sleep with decent lumbar support. We found it very comfortable. The two pairs of legs simply rotate out from underneath – each leg has “mud feet” on the end which means you can put the bed directly on the ground without fear of sinking. Normally in a tent with a ground sheet this isn’t an issue of course. The best camp beds are just as comfortable as your bed at home to allow you to enjoy the same sleep quality.