This Inflatable Mattress Is the Hästens of the Woods
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When I tell people that my ideal summer vacation is and will always be a camping trip someplace with a temperate climate and gorgeous scenery, some of them scrunch up their noses.Camping? Don’t you want to relax on your vacation?Indeed I do, and I’m not going to sacrifice creature comforts, especially a good night’s sleep. That’s why I bring the most comfortable camping pad on the market.
The Exped MegaMat Max Duo is an admitted extravagance. This is the Hästens of the woods, an inflatable sleeping mat that cradles you with special stretchy fabric and stands six inches tall. It runs $550 compared to the standard MegaMat’s $400 and takes up more trunk space than anything else I brought on my recent trip to Acadia. It was well worth it, because this pad transforms your tent into a sleeping space that might not put Four Seasons out of business but is fully equal to a Hampton Inn.
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I am a very experienced camper with a roomful of very nice gear. I love backpacking and have ultralight mats from Sea to Summit and Nemo that weigh only about a pound for when I sneak out into the backcountry. The MegaMat Max Duo is not one of those. It weighs north of 13 pounds and is about the size of an overstuffed king-size pillow when it’s deflated in its bag. This is a pad for car campers and luxury base-camp situations where staff hauls the gear. But in those situations, there’s nothing that comes close in comfort.
The standard Exped MegaMat is a well-loved piece of gear, preferred by professional guides and other people who spend months off-grid and the Strategist’stop pick for camping mattresses. If you know someone who’s been in a remote location doing archaeological work or leading island-hopping charters in the Caribbean, chances are it’s what they slept on. Exped mats are prized for durability and thickness but also for the horizontal air channels and soft four-way-stretch polyester tops, which mimic the cradling effect of a standard foam-and-spring mattress much better than any other blowup mat.
The MegaMat Max turns all that up to 11. It’s Exped’s thickest and plushest-ever pad; it’s the same design but 50 percent thicker than the regular MegaMat. I am a large-bodied side sleeper and never even considered the possibility that I might bottom out. I’ve had periodic back problems, and they’ve been triggered by bad beds in cheap hotels. A week on this was just like a week on my own $4,000 organic mattress at home. I should mention that this version is double-width for two people, though I sleep on it alone — if you like having a queen-size bed to yourself at home, why sacrifice under the stars?
Other than keeping your body off the ground, a camping mat is important for keeping you warm, since a thin barrier allows the cold ground to suck the heat out of your body. Though it doesn’t sleep hot at all, the MegaMat Max Duo’s temperature rating is to -67 degrees Fahrenheit, meaning it can handle the record low in Fairbanks, Alaska.
Given enough time, it will self-inflate if you open the valves and allow the foam inside to absorb air. Sucking twice the air through a small port will take a long time. The mattress comes with a small squeezable hand pump to hurry the process, but if you’re going for a luxury experience, spend the $60 to get the MegaMat pump, which has an integrated battery rechargeable via USB-C. It’s made for Exped mats and attaches snugly to the valves. The pump had my mattress inflated within five minutes. You’ll be even more grateful to have it when you’re trying to deflate the mattress and pack it back into the bag for the trip home — getting all the air out of a mattress this plush will require lots of labor-intensive rolling and pressing unless you attach this little vacuum, which sucked the air out within ten minutes. I was able to have the rarest win in all of outdoor recreation: getting the gear back into the bag I brought it in without cursing or a pulled muscle.
If you already love camping trips, this mat eliminates any risk of a rough night on cold, rocky ground. And if you’re trying to win over someone reluctant or skeptical about spending their precious PTO under canvas, it’s an easy way to make sure your trip goes smoothly.
More really nice camping gear I like
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Mates directly to valves on Exped mats. Inflates and deflates without much effort on your part.
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Made with premium Muscovy down. Designed for backpacking but works great when car camping too.
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Double-walled aluminum design works better than roto-molded coolers like Yeti at half the weight.
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Has a regular beam plus a UV beam and a laser pointer in a rugged aluminum case.
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Stylish, durable, and a great way to haul your stuff to and from camp.
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Boils water with blazing speed and packs down small inside an included pot.
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