Stansport Backpacker's Air Mattress, Brown (72- X 29-Inch) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Correction To The Description

The description lists the dimensions of this as 29" wide. That is the FLAT width. The inflated width is the standard 20 inches.

The description also does not say how thick it is inflated. It's about 3 inches inflated.

It weighs 21ozs. California Prop 65 Warning

The box contains a warning about the product containing lead. When I asked a Stansport rep about this, they explained that due to a litigious environment in California involving a law known as "prop 65", they have placed warnings on all their products whether they contain one of the carcinogenic chemicals or not, in order to make themselves immune to the litigation games being played with the law. The rep assured me none of their products contain lead.

A trip to wikipedia regarding prop 65, as well as a google search on the topic, verified that such problems are well known and documented(apparently I've been living under a rock), so I personally don't give any credibility to this warning. I'm putting this here for any other people who might be unaware of this problem as I was. Initial Impression

Out of the box, I was very pleased with the weight(21 ozs) and the reasonable pack size. The quality appears to be pretty good, with no detectable sloppiness in the workmanship that I could find.

I was shocked that each chamber had it's own air valve to inflate individually, only because I didn't read the description closer. But shock aside, I think this is a good design choice in this price range. If you do spring a leak, you'll have 5 more chambers to rely on.

This comes with a straightforward repair kit with two patches. Adequate.SETUP

This was a bit harder to inflate than I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't hard, it was just more work than others I've worked with. I clocked 9 minutes working at a non-racing pace to avoid light headedness. Obviously if you have a pump, you could get this done a lot faster. But I personally don't pack a pump when I go out on a trail, and I don't know many who do.

I've used other mattresses that seemed like they just blew right up with a few breaths in comparison. They also cost several times what this did.COMFORT

This is a comfortable air mattress. On my back, on my sides, on my belly, in every position, it is a comfortable mattress. It won't compete with a good "real" bed, but for a small trail mattress, it's plenty comfortable. By playing with the inflation of the various chambers a little, you can get a custom sleep fit to get that right combination of give and support. I give the comfort 5 stars for a trail mattress at this price.

As this is not insulated, this is considered a summer or warm-weather pad.This pad used alone will not be good for ground sleeping in temps below 35F. TEAR DOWN

Tear down is definetly more difficult than other mattresses I've used. The 6 individual chambers won't give up their air unless you are pinching the valves open, which you can only do one at a time, at the base of the valves, which are all located on one of the ends of the mattress.

The best way I found is to open all the valves, then begin folding the mattress in half as you squeeze open each valve, one at a time till you get a lot of the air out of each one. Then begin rolling it up from the opposite end of the valves, starting with a two - four inch fold up the length of it, with your hands positioned in the center, then squeezing it out as you slide your hands out to the edge.

Then fold again, and repeat. When you can't fold again because of too much air in the chambers, then go and squeeze open the valves one at a time till you can begin folding it up again.

This takes me about 10 minutes at a non-rushed, but focused on the task at hand pace.Overall Opinion

If I wanted to equip myself for speed, I would spend more money on one of the faster-to-setup mattresses. If I wanted to do 3 or 4 season camping, I would probably spend more money on an insulated mattress, though this would do for 3 season when paired with a decent closed cell pad.

However, I was just looking for a decent summer backpacking mattress at a good price and that's what this is. It's comfortable, it has held it's air well in my testing and use so far, and at 25 bucks I can't help but feel like I got a good deal, especially when it's nearest competitor that I can find costs almost twice as much.

4 stars overall and if this continues to hold up well, I might up it to 5 stars at the end of the season.

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Product Description:
Stansport Backpacker's Air Mattress is made of laminated lightweight nylon with a polyurethane backing for durability. It has 6 independent air chambers. Nylon stuff sack and repair kit included. Size: 72"X29".

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