What air pad for my toddler? Crazy kid won’t sleep on foam anymore

[Jeff M.]

Well, if you do go the air pad route, I'd get a custom made pad for you from Bender and give your son the BA pad. I like the z-lite idea as well. Stickers make anything cooler.

[Andy F]

Kids are so spoiled nowadays! I didn't use a pad at all until I was in my 30's! :)

My 4 young kids sleep on a blue foam pad if it's going to be below 55 F at night. They roll off their pad at night anyway, and are usually sleeping *under* it by morning! My 7 year old (the oldest) can stay on a pad now though, and she likes the Thermarest Prolite small, which is full-length for her.

[Sander Private]

My kids (from 2 years on, now 5 and 6) sleep in summer on a Z-rest and when it's gets colder a 18mm closed cell foam mat. Haven't heared any complaints from them. they still sleep like babies. If they are gettng older and more sensible about the worth of gear I might give them short neo airs for summers and short exped downmats for colder periods. But only just then. As long as rocking and bouncing on their mats is still the favourite play they in no way get a selfinflatbale or airmat.

[Mark Hudson]

I have a 13 year old, but didnt overnight camp with him at that age.

I can tell you that even now my kid can sleep on a rock if he is tired. I have never seen anything like it. he will still fall asleep on the sofa in the living room and I get him up, walk him back to his room, and he never even remembers it the next morning.

I think buying an air pad especially a custom one for a two year old is a total waste.

I fully agree with a cut down ridge, or zrest, or even if you want to spend a little more one of the toros lites from GG.

I would hate to think of what our life would have been like if from two on my son demanded things, and I got them for him.

If you want to buy benders pad, I highly recommend you do so for yourself or your husband, to save some weight over the BA pads. I also recommend you dont get the non insulated ones. I use to live in VA in richmond for years and think you need at least a r2-4 pad for real 3 season use up in the shenandoah.

I happen to own one of the new trekker neo air large torso and love it for me (and I am 6' 5").

[Rebecca Ribbing]

Fwiw, I think it's worthwhile to try out the z-rest, but my kid definitely does not sleep as soundly as all of your kids seem to. It's not just a matter of falling asleep, it's a matter of waking up multiple times in the middle of the night. Car camping, I can bring a couple pads to add some extra cushion and he does fine maybe waking up once in a while because of unfamiliar surroundings; in the crib he never wakes up in the middle of the night.

We all need sleep after a day of hiking, and if this will help him sleep at night and therefore keeps him from waking me up, so be it. It's not like I can tell a crying 2-year-old to suck it up in the middle of the night, when ultimately, he's going out because I want to.

I don't think I'm going to go with Bender's for the time being though, it just doesn't sound sturdy enough, although I loved the idea of using it for myself ;) But then again, the toddler is still going to be playing in the tent with my air mat even if he had his own. I will try the zrest because everyone else seems to have such good luck with it, hopefully it will work.

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