Not to be argumentative, but Backpacking magazine says air mattresses
are more comfortable (and I agree) and they are now recommending the
Big Agnes over Thermarest. I have never understood why Thermarest
would believe that people would not want to take 30 seconds to blow up
a air mattress. The only advantage of having a lot of foam inside is
the insulating quality but of course that is not an issue for warm
weather kayaking/rafting.

The 2.5" thick, 72" long Big Agnes rolls up into a smaller package
than the smallest Thermarest I have, which is 20"x47"x1" and not very
comfy. The Big Agnes pads are no wider than 20" however so I would
still consider it a backpacking pad (and they make sleeping pads which
have pockets for the pad).

"Ken" wrote in message ...
A cheap air mattress might be fine for simple overnights with the scouts,
but when on week long trips in the boundary waters, or more importantly, in
cold weather, they are simply not acceptable. Most Boy Scout troops
recommend that the boys use closed cell foam pads since they are almost
indestructible.

"Matt Langenfeld" wrote in message
ink.net...
For cubscout camping trips, we just go to the dollar store and get the
pool air beds. I've used the same one 5 times and hasn't let me down.


--
Matt Langenfeld
JEM Watercraft
jemwatercraft.com