When you take off on your next big outdoor adventure you might feel that you're not really "roughing it" if you're not sleeping on the ground, but it can be difficult to enjoy your day of hiking, kayaking, and other activities when your back is hurting. In recent years inflatable beds have improved a lot, it doesn't take much to find a comfortable bed that will fold up and be compact enough to fit easily in your bag. Using an inflatable mattress while camping is one of the best ways to enjoy your trip and avoid coming home in pain.

The quality of your options has improved greatly in recent years. Instead of the uncomfortable, low to the ground, vinyl options of the past, there are now a lot of comfort options for you to choose from. Flocked tops have become very common. Sleeping on the nice, soft, material definitely beats vinyl on a hot summer night, and it helps keep the sheets on the bed too. Raised air beds are widely available. Sleeping a foot or two off the ground can make getting into and out of bed a much easier task. There are also a lot of options for air pumps, how the air is distributed across the bed, and storage.

If you're going to use an inflatable mattress for camping the issue of storage becomes a much bigger factor in picking one. You'll want one that folds down to a good size so it's easy to bring along with you, and one that comes with a bag to keep it in. A lot of beds have built in air pumps these days, which will make the actual bed itself a bit bigger, but should be a lot smaller than carrying around a bulky pump along with. It's hard to justify skipping the pump altogether--blowing one of these up yourself will take a long time and be truly exhausting--so finding the most easily carried pump is a good idea.

Using an inflatable mattress while camping is the best way to get a comfortable nights rest and really enjoy your trip.