Be Able To Crash Comfortably At Night - EMS Crash Pad Mattress
Written: Feb 23 '04
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: comfortable, self-inflating, easy to pack, good to sleep on
Cons: not your bed at home - but comfortable enough
The Bottom Line: You could spend a lot more on a self-inflating mattress, but you don’t need to - any backpacker should be more than satisfied with the EMS Crash Pad.
|
|
|
| jps246's Full Review: EMS Trail Crash Pad |
One of the more comfortable self-inflating backpacking mattresses out there, the EMS Crash Pad is a reasonably priced mattress that should provide any camper with a good night’s sleep on almost any terrain.
My old self-inflating mattress had finally kicked the can (it was 9 years old) and I needed something to replace it. In comes the EMS crash pad, which I found while shopping at EMS and I purchased it for $55.
Details
The Crash Pad is 1.5 inches thick fully inflated, which provides a good amount of insulation and cushioning between you and the ground. The pad is made up of self-inflating foam that provides cushioning, but at the same time provides enough support to even out the bumps and holes that are on the ground underneath the mattress.
The pad is 20 inches wide (just under 2 feet) and 72 inches long (6 feet long). For taller people like myself (I’m 6 foot 2), the pad is slightly shorter than me. However once you factor in the location of your pillow (I usually have a stuff sack off the top end of the mattress when sleeping), the mattress is more than long enough for me to comfortably sleep on and my feet don’t reach off the edge.
When deflated and rolled up, the Crash Pad is about 22 inches wide and 6 inches in diameter. The extra two inches comes from the extra material on either side of the mattress. The pad weighs 2 pounds and 2 ounces and can easily be strapped down on the outside of most backpacks.
Both a stuff sack and a repair kit are included when you purchase the Crash Pad. The repair kit includes seam sealer and patches should you accidentally poke a hole in the mattress. The material is a thick nylon material that resists tears and rips.
Experiences
A mattress is one of the most important items any backpacker can have. They can make the difference between a pleasant overnight trip and one that is completely miserable.
For those of us who began camping with closed-cell foam pads, the changeover to self-inflating mattresses can almost be miraculous. I remember when I purchased my first one after a horrible night of not being able to sleep. The next time I went camping, I slept like I was at home in bed.
I tend to be picky with mattresses and I have been nothing but pleased with it. It’s light enough to easily pack, tough enough to stand up to some serious beating, and provides enough insulation and cushioning to smooth out even the roughest campsite. I like to sleep on my side and with many camp mattress, the cushioning and support is simply not strong enough to comfortably do this – while I can’t say that the Crash Pad lets me sleep all night on my side, I can sleep on my side for extended periods of time without waking up with a shore shoulder in the morning.
The self-inflating foam has worked perfectly since I’ve gotten the mattress – no need for me to get up in the middle and blow up the mattress (which I had to do on my old one – and would result in plenty of jokes from friends I was camping with). You merely open up the vent, allow the mattress to fully inflate, and then close the vent and you are good to go.
In the end, I couldn’t be happier with the EMS Crash Pad. It’s a reasonably priced self-inflating mattress designed with the backpacker in mind. It’s light and comfortable, two of the most important attributes it could have and it helps me sleep throughout the night without any interruptions.
Final Thoughts
EMS has done a good job with the Crash Pad, self-inflating mattress. The Crash Pad is reasonably priced at $55, comfortable to sleep on, insulates you from the ground, and is easy to roll and pack.
You could spend a lot more on a self-inflating mattress, but you don’t need to. Any backpacker should be more than satisfied with the EMS Crash Pad.
Other Outdoor Gear Reviews
REI.com - Outdoor Gear / Dermatone Lip Pomade / Carmex Lip Balm / Kestrel 100 Wind Meter / Magellan GPS 315 / MSR WhisperLite Backpacking Stove / CamelBak StoAway Hydration Bladder / Petzl Tikka Headlamp / Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight Tent / EMS Waterslide Daypack / Magellen Personal Navigator 12 GPS / Brunton Sherpa Atmospheric Data Center / EMS 2800 Daypack / REI Undergrad Daypack
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.