Air mattress

[EFDoucette]

Curious, many pilgrims seem to carry an air mattress/sleeping mat. If the albergues have mattresses why would you need to carry one? Is it for afternoon naps on the trail?

[HuskyNerd]

Hi EFD ~
On the Camino Frances a sleeping mat is a bit of a luxury. You're right -- it's best as a mat for afternoon naps and that's what I use mine for almost every day. I have an inflatable sleeping pad that adds very little weight or bulk, but it's tough enough for bare ground and provides protection for the thorny ground cover common in Galicia, especially.

As I mentioned in other posts on the Forum, I was happy to have my mattress pad on the Sanabres stretch of the Via de la Plata last year when I ran out of daylight and energy about 6 kms from the nearest albergue. I arrived in Campobecerros at around 19:00 and the tiny hotel was full, the new albergue was a week away from opening and the nearest town of Laza was still two hours away. About 4 kms later the sun was going down, it was getting cold and I was beat after a 42 km day. So I rolled out my trusty sleeping pad and spent the night on a picnic table.

I'm taking my pad along with me on the Camino Frances again this year and expect to use it only for afternoon naps, but I know it's there just in case.....

[Leslie]

Hi sandy,

I thought these sleeping mats were heavy? Can you give me a link to the kind you use?

Thanks

[geraldkelly]

My mattress is made out of some kind of foam material and it weighs about 150g. I use it mostly for naps or picnics. It find on grass or a hard surface, wouldn't be so good on stones. I bought it in a camping shop in Leon many years ago so I haven't got a link to it.

Lots of people carry the self-inflating ones which seem really cool. They're quite expensive though.

Ger

[HuskyNerd]

My mattress is now about 3 years old and no longer available, but here are a couple of links to similar products:

Expensive, but lightweight:
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Sleeping Pad at REI.com

More like mine, but this one appears larger (mine goes from head to just below knees):
REI Trekker 1.75 Self-Inflating Pad at REI.com

Hope this helps ~
Sandy