REVIEW – As someone who enjoys camping now and then, I still go out in a tent, pack up a cooler, and build myself a fire. Since I enjoy the semi-rugged aspect, I still sleep on a mattress on the ground. When I noticed the Elegear Self-Inflating Sleeping Pad, I was thrilled to see a sleeping pad with a decent thickness that I could quickly inflate and deflate.
What is it?
The Elegear Self-Inflating Sleeping Pad is an insulated sleeping pad for camping or travel. It is easy to use, pack, and store.
What’s included?
- 2 elastic straps
- Carrying bag
- Sleeping pad
Design and features
Once I pulled the Elegear Self-Inflating Sleeping Pad out of the box, I was very curious about how I was going to manage to get it back to the deflated size it came in. The carrying bag was quite large though, so that was even more intriguing. After clearing an area of my living room, I pulled out the sleeping pad and read the instructions to know which port hole plug inflates or deflates. If you pull out the entire plug, it will inflate. Pulling only the first layer of the plug will allow it to deflate.
The instructions let me know that it can take up to 20 minutes to fully inflate the first time as it was packed down extremely small and in an airtight bag. This was accurate, though I could see the initial filling start right away. I let it sit for roughly half an hour and came back to it completely full with no creasing down the middle.
I measured the thickness of the main area of the mattress pad as well as the pillow top and found the main area to be just over 3 inches thick while the pillow top was just under 4 inches in thickness. This is on par with the dimensions listed.
Of course, after inflating the Elegear Self-Inflating Sleeping Pad and sitting on it a bit, I had to see if I could deflate it as easily as the instructions said. I opened up those ports on the bottom of the pad and started rolling from the top, and while it is larger than the shrink-wrapped version, it fit perfectly within the included bag without any effort. Thank goodness!
My real test was pulling out my old inflatable camping mattress, which is a cheap one from Walmart that gets the job done, and inflating it up to compare. A major praise point to the Elegear Self-Inflating Sleeping Pad is the ease of inflating; Blowing up a mattress by hand (or in this case, by mouth) was as much of a pain as I remembered. The sleeping pad was ready to go before it looked like I made a dent in the air mattress. Of course, if you have an electric air mattress, it would be faster, but those are not really comparable as you may not have electricity while out camping.
Comparing the two, I was actually impressed that the Elegear was longer but even more so, it was a lot more comfortable than the air mattress. I was expecting/hoping it would be, but the difference was quite noticeable.
Now for the best part of this review; Having to sleep on the Elegear sleeping pad. In order to truly provide the best feedback, I spent hours napping in the living room. (It was too cold to go camping in March!) With only a blanket and no pillow, I was able to fall asleep quickly and get a good nap in. Usually I would have a small pillow and the sleeping bag, so that was an excellent first impression.
I never felt hot nor cold when sleeping, which is great as I tend to get cold when using an air mattress. The comfort level is quite a bit better compared to the air mattress and more on par with the decent futon we have in our living room. The texture of the fabric is slightly soft, yet similar to canvas. While sturdy feeling, it did not detract from the comfort, especially if you planned to use a sleeping bag. I look forward to summer when I can take the Elegear Self-Inflating Sleeping Pad along and get a good night’s sleep.
After easily folding back up and deflating the sleeping pad, I slipped it back into the carrying sack and tossed it over my shoulder, walking around with it a bit. It definitely would be too heavy to carry along on a hiking trip, but it would be easy to walk from a parking lot to a campsite nearby with ease.
What I like about the Elegear Sleeping Pad
- Easy to inflate/deflate
- Quite soft
- It fits into the included bag
What needs to be improved?
- It still is bulky when deflated
Final thoughts
Overall, the Elegear Self-Inflating Sleeping Pad is a comfortable and easy-to-use mattress for tent camping or even just letting someone sleep in your living room. While it is far too bulky to bring along on a hike, it is a solid addition to weekends in the tent at a campground on a lake. I will absolutely be using the Elegear Self-Inflating Sleeping Pad for the upcoming camping season and beyond.
Price: $79.99
Where to buy: Amazon (10%off code: CL7GNIKI expires: 06-30-2024)
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Elegear. Elegear did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
