10 Best Camping Beds

Whether it’s a one-day night out with your better half or a week-long adventure in the woods, you’ll need to sleep at some point. A good camping bed can keep you warm and comfortable when sleeping outdoors.

What are Camping Beds?

A camping bed is a portable mattress or any pieces of equipment meant to help you sleep comfortably while camping. While the bed isn’t the only thing you need to make your camping experience memorable, it plays an important role.

Unlike your home bed, a camping bed is lighter, thinner and can be folded to fit inside a bag or the trunk of your car. The best camping mattresses keep you comfortable irrespective of the size of your tent. There are different sizes of camping beds and different types depending on how you want to use them.

The army, for instance, uses different types of camp beds compared to tourists. Emergency assistance organizations work with slimmer, lighter mattresses. Corporates buy large, more comfortable mattresses compared to individuals.

Top Sites to Buy Camping Beds

Depending on what kind of beds for camping you are looking for, there are several sites you can buy from. Be keen in your search for a good bed since these websites can be very different.

Wayfair

Famous for doing free shipping for almost all items, Wayfair is the best site when on a budget. Most of its competitors charge at least $20 to deliver a camping bed. Some go as high as $50 for larger mattresses. However, Wayfair brings you the mattress to your home free of charge.

If you hate the color or it is slightly damaged, they take it back with no extra charges to you. Wayfair also boasts of low prices overall. Where another store sells a collapsible camping bed for $70, Wayfair charges $49.

Besides prices, Wayfair makes it easy for you to find the perfect camping bed. If you find a unique camping bed somewhere, simply photograph it and send it to Wayfair. The website will immediately find a similar product and sell it to you at a great price.

Amazon

While Wayfair prides in offering low-budget mattresses, Amazon boasts of a wide variety. A simple search on the site exposes you to tons of air mattresses and camping beds for all occasions. Most of the products are provided by third-party companies, some who manufacture the mattresses.

As such, Amazon’s products are as competitive in prices as Wayfair. If you are okay with used beds, Amazon can help you save up to 50% of your budget. When it comes to service delivery, the Jeff Bezos-led company is equally competitive.

eBay

eBay resembles Amazon in many ways except that anyone can buy or sell on this site. Most sellers on Amazon also sell on eBay. The prices are near similar, and filters to help you find different kinds of beds are exhaustive.

Another unique feature of eBay is that you can bid. Let’s say you find a US Army style camping bed priced at $80. You can offer the seller $70. Keep in mind that not all products can be bid on. You have to find beds where sellers allow bidding for you to bid on them.

eBay also has the advantage of bringing millions of sellers from all parts of the world. By simply searching camping beds, you can find all kinds of offers from China to England, the US to Brazil. Because of the great number of sellers, you can find beds from as low as $5.

Walmart

Walmart is more like its stores. The amount of items on its web store is more than you can ever handle. Finding a good camping bed on Walmart simple takes a quick search using its filters. The website divides its products into different categories like queen and king sized.

You can also narrow down your search using more filters like the features included and whether they are air beds or sleeping pads. Like Amazon and Wayfair, Walmart is also cheap, and you can easily find a mattress for your budget.

Ikea

Ikea is different from most other online stores. Instead of searching for products and letting the company ship them to you, their website is for searching stores in your country. Ikea then shows you all products using your country's official language or English.

Unfortunately, Ikea's products are not available in all countries. Some products available in the US may not be available in Denmark. However, Ikea is known for its low prices and great customer services.

What Types of Camping Beds are there?

Roll Mats

These are simple, thin layers of cell foams used for insulation while sleeping on the floor. They work with air mattresses, trapping the air to protect you from the cold air on the ground. Roll Matts that use cell foams alone can be uncomfortable, which is why people use them alongside sleeping bags.

Air beds

They are more expensive than roll mats, larger in size and more comfortable. However, air beds are also expensive, often much more expensive than other camping beds. On the upside, these beds are comfy and adjustable, allowing you have to have wonderful nights wherever you camp.

Folding Beds

These beds are designed for convenient transportations. They don’t come cheap though. The cheapest folding bed you can find online costs $60 and can go as high as $300.Except for prices and their folding nature, there isn’t much that separates folding beds from the rest. Some work like air beds while others are roll mats.

Self-Inflating mats

Best for minimizing weight, self-inflating beds are lightweight and use air to keep you comfortable. A typical bed looks like two pieces of roll mats with an airbag inside them. When a valve is opened, the beds quickly suck in air, expanding until they are full. The bags cost anywhere between $70 and $300, making them medium priced.

What are the Intended uses of Camping Beds?

When most people think about camping beds, they picture themselves somewhere in the woods inside a tent. And true, most retailers sell their air beds with tourists in mind. That’s good because it means there is a whole lot of beds designed to suit different needs.

Cyclists and bikers who ride their way around states, for instance, will want lightweight beds. A self-inflating mattress or a roll matt will probably fit them the most. By contrast, tourists with vehicles and on a mission to camp for weeks will probably want bigger, more comfortable beds.

What are the Features of Camping Beds?

Before you order any type of camping bed online, make sure you have the following features in check.

Length & Width

Do you want a single bed or a double? How tall are you or the people you are buying the bed for? Camping beds come in all sizes, so it shouldn’t be a problem to find one that suits your expectations

Weight & Package size

Lighter is better in this case unless you want a durable, large bed you can use continuously for months. Depending on how you plan to carry your bed, find a mattress you can carry conveniently. Air beds, roll mats, and foldable mats are the easiest to carry.

Construction & Shape

Confirm whether you want a self-inflating bed or a simple roll mat before you check out. As already mentioned, a bed's construction determines its comfort level, durability, and prices. The shape isn't always important, but you should keep it in mind if you don't want the usual rectangular bed.

Fabric and Materials

It’s not uncommon to find beds made of rubber and plastic these days. However, a majority of them are made of PVC free polyutherane or vinyl. The best mattresses are also laminated for extra insulation against leakage and to prevent abrasions.

Durability

Vinyl is the most used material for durable camping beds. It is highly strong and leak-proof. Since not every bed is made of vinyl, ensure you at least have a bed that can serve you a few years.

Summary

A good camping bed is an ingredient of a happy camping adventure. When you are able to sleep comfortably, there is no experience you can’t try during the day. There are multiple types of camping beds to suit different needs. Decide what you want and compare prices on Amazon, Wayfair, eBay, Ikea or Walmart. Chances are you’ll get a great bed at the exact budget you have.

All Related Topics

Buying Beds Online

Bed Styles & Types

Upholstered bed | Camping bed | Swing bed | Triple bunk bed | Low loft bed | Pull out bed | Sleigh bed | Cot bed | Round bed | Floating bed | Captain's bed | Floor bed | panel bed | Portable bed | Princess bed | Fold up bed | Four poster bed | Futon bunk bed | Indoor hammock bed | Wood bed frame

Bed Sizes

Twin over queen bunk bed | Twin platform bed | Twin XL bed | Queen storage bed | King platform bed | Full size platform bed | Full size loft bed | Twin XL bed frame | Queen size loft bed

Bed Accessories

Bed table | Bed desk | Bed tray | Bed rest pillow | Toddler bed rails | Bed bench | Bed slats