 | Home > Camping, Caravanning and Holidays > Any recommendations for good camp beds? |
 
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| donmacn Member Since: 06 Nov 2017 Location: Nth Scotland Posts: 1841  
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Hey folks,
Slightly surprised after a search, to find that I don’t think this has been asked before, or at least recently. Does anyone have recommendations for a good camp bed? While I have a perfectly good roof tent, for (hopefully temporary) health reasons I would maybe find it easier to use a camp bed inside the awning. I’ve not used one for pushing 50 years when I was a wee boy on an army surplus job in my grandparents house. I’m sure “technology” has moved on, and there’s quite an array available now. So, for someone who’s not too delicately built, but not monstrous (6ft, 15.5 stone) are there any personal recommendations? If you spend a third of your daily 24 hours in bed, it’s important to get this right! Ta. Donald 1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong (The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html ) 2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8 in the past.. RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi 1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box 1993 Discovery 300Tdi not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper... |
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23rd Apr 2022 5:51pm |
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| boode Member Since: 11 Apr 2012 Location: Devon Posts: 428  
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A camp bed depends a bit on what type of camping you intend to do
Camp beds allow air in under you which cools you down, unless you are camping in warm countries or you have a thick insulation layer on top of the bed I have always used camping mats Exped Megamat 10 - self inflating - extremely comfortable - keeps you warm - used in the arctic at -20C on ice - also used as a spare bed for guests who always comment on how comfortable it is They now do a 15cm version which would be even more comfortable https://www.exped.com/en/products/sleeping...0445451659 |
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23rd Apr 2022 7:13pm |
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| donmacn Member Since: 06 Nov 2017 Location: Nth Scotland Posts: 1841
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Thanks Greeni,
It’s a 110 so not that short of space, but wouldn’t want to waste it. I was looking at US/UK army beds, and the ARB/Oztent ones. How do you get along with the Oztent? I do remember seeing fishing stuff in Go Outdoors and ‘wondering’ about it. There’s also a huge fishing megastore in Glasgow which I’ve been to a couple of times - maybe worth a further look. Donald 1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong (The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html ) 2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8 in the past.. RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi 1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box 1993 Discovery 300Tdi not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper... |
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23rd Apr 2022 7:14pm |
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| donmacn Member Since: 06 Nov 2017 Location: Nth Scotland Posts: 1841
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Thanks Boode,
I know what you mean about the insulation thing. Given my choice I’d use one of my camping hammocks - and with those you need to be very careful about insulation underneath. They’re just not the sort of thing you could use under an awning, or reliably find spots for on your more normal campsites, and it looks like that’s what we’ll be using this year. I have an Alpkit ‘fat Airic’ ( as well as Thermarest regular and ultralight stuff) but unless I really have too, I’m afraid my days of lying on the ground are behind me. These days it takes me too long to get my skeleton back into shape in the morning if I’ve had to use a camp mat. In fact I’ve got masses of camping kit - just not camp beds. Donald 1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong (The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html ) 2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8 in the past.. RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi 1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box 1993 Discovery 300Tdi not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper... |
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23rd Apr 2022 7:21pm |
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| Zed Member Since: 07 Oct 2017 Location: In the woods Posts: 3287  
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Helinox are the best I've used but they're quite pricey.
https://helinox.eu/collections/cots?gclid=...gKxoPD_BwE WARNING. This post may contain sarcasm. |
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23rd Apr 2022 8:49pm |
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| Not_Given Member Since: 25 Dec 2017 Location: UK Posts: 94 
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I’ll second Zed’s recommendation. They now also do a quilted topper for their cots.
NG |
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24th Apr 2022 4:50am |
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| Grenadier Member Since: 23 Jul 2014 Location: The foot of Mont Blanc... Posts: 5804  
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I used the US Army camp beds all over the world, great, robust bits of kit. One negative, (common to many of this x-frame style beds) is the material can be very taught across the frame when locked in position, so you tend to sleep ‘on’ the bed, rather than ‘in’ the bed. If at home you prefer to sink into a bed rather sleep on a hard mattress, this type may not be for you.
In this regard I always found the older style British Army jungle camp cots (green canvas with 4 ‘w’ shaped wire legs pushed through material, bit like pushing poles into position in a tent) to be more comfy as the material is a bit softer. Also super light and pack away to nothing. But, they are also very low, (perhaps harder to get into depending on your medical situation) and the material can be so soft that you might find body parts touching the ground under the cot, if you’re heavier or pitched on uneven ground. Monsieur Le Grenadier I've not been everywhere, but it's on my list..... 2011 Puma 110DC - Corris Grey |
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24th Apr 2022 7:33am |
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| Bluest Member Since: 23 Apr 2016 Location: Lancashire Posts: 4209 
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 They are more than my bed at home cost! 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS |
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24th Apr 2022 7:50am |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17373 
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For more than 60 years all my camp bed needs have been taken care of by a pair of genuine "Safari" camp beds. I have no idea if these are still made but they are still widely available (£30 upwards).
The fact that the two I have are both this old but are still in perfect working order is testament to their quality, and they are (to me, at any rate) more comfortable that many 'real" beds I have slept in. |
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24th Apr 2022 8:29am |
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| donmacn Member Since: 06 Nov 2017 Location: Nth Scotland Posts: 1841
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Thanks guys for the further replies.
That ‘British army” jungle cot with the ‘W’ legs is exactly the thing I was talking about in my first post, suggesting that technology had moved on - perhaps not! If my googling has found the right things, then in design/form they’re not so far from the “Safari” beds that Blackwolf has linked. Are they the ones made by Hounsfield? Donald 1994 Defender 300Tdi 110 SW - owned since 2002 - 230k miles and going strong (The 'rolling restoration' or tinkering thread: http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic58538.html ) 2000 Range Rover P38 4.0L V8 in the past.. RR classic - fitted with 200Tdi 1984 RR classic - V8 with ZF auto box 1993 Discovery 300Tdi not to mention the minis and the Type 2 VW camper... |
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24th Apr 2022 8:41am |
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| Mo Murphy Member Since: 01 Jun 2008 Location: Letchworth Garden City, Herts Posts: 2227 
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I use a cheap and cheerful hi-gear folding bed from go outdoors with the current equivalent of the Alpkit fat airic on top. Very comfy.
Mo The Land Rover 90 - Many are called, few are chosen. 50 Shades of Pennine Grey |
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24th Apr 2022 9:33am |
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| r500sac Member Since: 28 Mar 2014 Location: Monmouth Posts: 36 
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I have a couple of Oztent King Goanna stretchers, they are great. I find them a bit too hard, so I either use a mat too (Thermarest Mondoking XL) or don't connect the foot end cross brace.
If space isn't an issue the stretch and the Thermarest are as comfy as sleeping at home. |
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24th Apr 2022 10:37am |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17373
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I do not recall if mine are "Hounsfield" (and they are rather well put away at present, so not terribly accessible) but the ebay link below is to a Hounsfield Safari camp bed which seems to be identical to mine - except in rather poor condition - except for the "Safari" logo on the canvas. If I recall correctly, the Safari branding on mine appears only on the rod couplers (where Hounsfield appers on the ebay item) so I would suggest that perhaps Hounsfield took over the production of Safari camp beds some time after mine were made. The general design, of a good-quality canvas stretched over a springy steel frame with "W"-shaped legs, appears unchanged and essentially the same as the old army beds. I have no idea which came first! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/133634897559 Last edited by blackwolf on 24th Apr 2022 12:55pm. Edited 1 time in total |
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24th Apr 2022 10:56am |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17373
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After a slightly terrifying trip to the furthest recesses of the attics at Blackwolf Towers I can now confirm that mine are Safari camp beds made by Hounsfield. The brass buckles are stamped "Safari Ltd" and the frame fittings are marked "Hounsfield Ltd Croydon". I think that my pair are post-war, and suspect, although there is no-one left to ask, that my family would have bought them in the early 1950s. Both are still in really good condition, if you'd bought them last week they couldn't be better, but that is the quality that was expected back then. Amazingly even the rubber feet on the springy legs is still good and not perished.
Further research on Hounsfield and the Safari camp bed provides the following but only from secondary sources, at present I can't locate the primaries. The poor grammar is from the quoted site and is not my doing:
So it would appear that Leslie Hounsfield was the inventor and the Hounsfield company was the manufacturer of the original Safari camp bed. The same Leslie Hayward Hounsfield (1877–1957) was the creator of the Trojan motor car, and a good mini-biog of him, with particular reference to his motoring interests, can be found on the Motorsport Magazine website, https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive...hounsfield This article in the Sutton & Croydon Grauniad includes his other noteworthy inventions, which (in addition to the Trojan) include the Hounsfield Tensometer and the Safari Camp Bed: https://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/4...in-purley/ It is also clear that there were at least the following versions:
In addition, a scan of ebay reveals the following:
Several of the above on ebay also have extensions to the canvas at the ends of the bed, and again the purpose of these is not clear, although the lower advertisement below seems to show them folded over the occupant's feet and pillow and tethered with cords to the bed's legs. I am not sure why this is a desirable thing to do, perhaps it has to do with life before sleeping bags became common-place. There is also a visually near-identical bed on ebay which is made by Windover not Hounsfield. The images below are taken from Graces Guide (an excellent reference for those interested in engineering, see https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Hounsfield) and are reproduced under Creative Commons licence.  Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge It also appears that I now know more about Safari camp beds than I ever realised I wanted to.  Last edited by blackwolf on 24th Apr 2022 12:55pm. Edited 2 times in total |
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24th Apr 2022 11:29am |
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