Mattress for J and F beds

[RooFlyer]

I have always slept poorly on planes. No matter how otherwise nice the experience in J or F, it's always been a struggle. Either the bed is to hard, or the seat bumps are in the wrong place, or the foot well is to narrow ( and apologies to those who have to fly Y, I know I'm spoiled to fly premium, but these days I pay for it myself ).

One of the best F experience I've had, Etihad's 'the apartment' had a horribly hard bed.

Now, with a hip problem, I'm even limited in comfort in regular beds.

What to do with long haul flying coming up?

Solution! I found the 'Ascent 25' from Kathmandu. It's a mostly self inflating, small camping 'mat', ideal for most J and F beds.

It fits into a carry-on ( with a bend on one end) and weighs 500g ( hanger for scale)



Unroll and unscrew the valve and it mostly self inflates via foam skeleton inside and fully inflates with two additional breaths. 120 X 56 cm:



About 25 mm thick when inflated.

On my flight on QR yesterday, I put it under the supplied 'mattress pad' ( same as Qantas') and it was soft and even and I had no problems at all. No big fuss to install either. I don't think anyone else noticed.

Cost me $75 at Kathmandu in Adelaide ( sorry I couldn't help you unpack @Pushka ) ; it was on sale at that time, down from $120.

Steak knives not included.

 

[Denali]

After flying Etihad J and suffering I was thinking of a small self inflatable mattress but thought maybe I was overthinking it... but maybe Im not.

Nice to see the size!

 

[VPS]

I have always slept poorly on planes. No matter how otherwise nice the experience in J or F, it's always been a struggle. Either the bed is to hard, or the seat bumps are in the wrong place, or the foot well is to narrow ( and apologies to those who have to fly Y, I know I'm spoiled to fly premium, but these days I pay for it myself ).

One of the best F experience I've had, Etihad's 'the apartment' had a horribly hard bed.

Now, with a hip problem, I'm even limited in comfort in regular beds.

What to do with long haul flying coming up?

Solution! I found the 'Ascent 25' from Kathmandu. It's a mostly self inflating, small camping 'mat', ideal for most J and F beds.

It fits into a carry-on ( with a bend on one end) and weighs 500g ( hanger for scale)

View attachment 174803

Unroll and unscrew the valve and it mostly self inflates via foam skeleton inside and fully inflates with two additional breaths. 120 X 56 cm:

View attachment 174802

About 25 mm thick when inflated.

On my flight on QR yesterday, I put it under the supplied 'mattress pad' ( same as Qantas') and it was soft and even and I had no problems at all. No big fuss to install either. I don't think anyone else noticed.

Cost me $75 at Kathmandu in Adelaide ( sorry I couldn't help you unpack @Pushka ) ; it was on sale at that time, down from $120.

Steak knives not included.

Err what about my unpacking

 

[BriarFlyer]

Ooh, half-price special on-line in dark red. I'm getting one for my partner who has similar complaints about hard seat/beds. Thanks, Rooflyer!

 

[Quickstatus]

This is the best travel idea of the decade!!

 

[RooFlyer]

I used it again for my return flight last week .. easy peasy. I had the bed reconfigured as a seat for a few hours at the end and it then provided a more comfy seat too

 

[maia200]

Excellent idea. Thank you.

 

[Franky]

Just ordered one online thru the QF mall for pick-up at my nearest Kathmandu store for $59 plus change.

 

[BriarFlyer]

Next premium cabin flight: find your fellow Affers by the unfurling of their Ascent 25s.

 

[k_sheep]

Ooh I've got a highly expensive thermarest .... never thought of using it this way.

Edit: I highly recommend Sea to Summit if you want a more robust product than Kathmandu Sleeping Mats by Sea to Summit . Good price and quality midpoint between kathmandu and thermarest. I've got one I use for my overnight trekking in warm climates or on rocky ground where I want to protect my more expensive one.

 

[opusman]

Nice idea. I wonder why the airlines don't have something like this already. They look like they take up less space rolled up than the QF J mattress pads.

 

[mrsterryn]

@RooFlyer none of the FAs had issues ?
Have to say I wouldn't mind one of those

 

[RooFlyer]

if you want a more robust product than Kathmandu

Interestingly, the Kathmandu Ascent 25 says its good 'for one season'. I can't see why they would put that on it - but I guess after a year of genuine trekking and being used on the ground, maybe the valve or a seam will give up. I think the more gentle environment on a plane, 4-6 times a year, will let it last more than one year!

I looked at products similar to the Sea to Summit ones illustrated in that link. You can get full 'foam memory' types, that self inflate 100%, but they are too bulky in my opinion, or lighter ones that you blow to inflate. The one I got seems a good compromise - a foam skeleton that helped it self inflate to about 75%, then a couple of breaths blown in to finish it off.

What got me onto them is that I bought a full size inflatable camping 'mat' to take to central Asia next month. I'm expecting hard to very had beds there, so I bought a full length inflatable mattress, sort of like a high-tech version of the old 'li-los' that we used to use on the water and take camping decades ago (but without the pillow). it inflates by a built in hand-pump and goes in my checked luggage.

 

[RooFlyer]

@RooFlyer none of the FAs had issues ?

They wouldn't know I used it. Take it out of carry-on, put on lap, unfurl & inflate, then tuck it under the fabric 'mattress seat cover' thing that QR uses (as well as Qantas and others). To finish, undo the valve while sitting on it and it mostly deflates, then back on lap to furl up, then back into carry-on.

 

[trooper]

I wish more airlines had the sort of mattress NZ uses. They ARE bulky and awkward to store admittedly...

 

[k_sheep]

Interestingly, the Kathmandu Ascent 25 says its good 'for one season'. I can't see why they would put that on it - but I guess after a year of genuine trekking and being used on the ground, maybe the valve or a seam will give up. I think the more gentle environment on a plane, 4-6 times a year, will let it last more than one year!

Yes indeed if you're going to just use it on a plane or similar controlled environment then you can probably buy the cheapest thing you can find. Just mentioned the S2S stuff just in case anyone was thinking about doing some trekking camping anyway and wants to kill 2 birds with 1 stone

I have a LOT of kathmandu gear which I love but durability is not their strong point. So for key items I splurge on better stuff, and top up with kathmandu which I treat as far more disposable.

 

[RooFlyer]

Another couple of pics.

it mostly self inflates:



And when fully inflated, has a far amount of give in it (25cm thick):



And furled up again, next to the full size inflatable mattress I will take in checked luggage for anticipated very hard beds on my next trip!

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Interestingly, the Kathmandu Ascent 25 says its good 'for one season'. I can't see why they would put that on it - but I guess after a year of genuine trekking and being used on the ground, maybe the valve or a seam will give up. I think the more gentle environment on a plane, 4-6 times a year, will let it last more than one year!

Hi RooFlyer,

Looks like you are more a flyer than an outdoors guy.

The 1 Season Use will mean that it is for summer use outdoors when layed on the ground or tent floor. It is not a durability rating. When used indoors on a bed, it really has no meaning.

This is a rating used as a guide outdoor products, such as sleeping bags, as to their suitability of use for different temperature/ time of year.

For example with sleeping bags:
Season one - ideal for warm summer nights, typically 5°C or above. Season two - cooler evenings in spring/summer, temperatures from around 0 to 5°C. Season three – for anywhere between 0 to -5°C, a cold night but no frost. Season four – best suited for the winter months, suitable for temperatures as low as -10°C.

If you go snow camping for example you will need a long mat or your feat would freeze, plus you would need a high level of insulation that this that does not have. For winter camping you may well use two layers to gain enough insuation. You can lose a lot of heat to the ground when sleeping and this can be fatal when it is cold enough.

I have a range of sleeping mats and insulation layers, together with different sleeping bags, that I use for different trips.

 

[BriarFlyer]

As another non-camper, I thank you for that explanation of the season "rating" @lovetravellingoz. I did think it rather odd that they'd tell us in advance that our sleep-mat wasn't going to last long.

 

[RooFlyer]

Looks like you are more a flyer than an outdoors guy.

The 1 Season Use will mean that it is for summer use outdoors when layed on the ground or tent floor. It is not a durability rating.

Ha - thanks for that.

I used to be an outdoors guy - as a geo, camping out was my way of life, but those days are a way back now, and were never so high tech . These days I'm a creature of J (and F when Ican get it), and I examine the geology from 30,000 feet ...