Using Therm-A-Rest products for V-berth sleeping

B

baz

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Subject: Using Therm-A-Rest products for V-berth sleeping

I'm wondering if other Tugnuts have employed any of the Therm-A-Rest products for providing sleeping comforts in the V-berth.

See https://www.thermarest.com

They are a local Seattle company that I do find attractive. However, their products are expensive :shock: so I'm trying to get some feedback on how good their products are before investing any brass. :roll:

What I like about them is that they are primarily for outdoor use for Hikers and Campers which means their products are very light in weight and pack down to small sizes which is paramount for stowing on the boat with limit space etc. Their mattress sizes are ideal for each of the side bunks in the V-berth.

Thanks.... 🙂
 
I have owned two Thermarest Base Camp pads for a number of years and they are wonderful for camping. Hold air for days on end, easy to pack and easy to inflate. Best camping sleeping pad I have ever used!
I can't imagine using both of them in the v-berth because they are rectangular or mostly rectangular and two of them would significantly overlap at the narrow bow end of the V-berth. Overlapping two pads would not be good. Even using one of them would be a problem for a second sleeper in the v-berth. We tried using one of them one night in my Monterey 242 Cruiser and it was not good....
 
Hmmmm.... are you assuming sleeping with head at the V in the V-berth ? We sleep with feet in bow section. The new R-27 has a much wider V-berth than in previous R-27 and R-25. However, I need to measure to know what will or will not fit properly. 1st mate is 5'-4" and I'm 5'-10". The length of the bunks from headboard to the bow is well over 7-feet. I would be prepared to have two Therm-A-Rest mattresses overlap some at the bow section if overall they fit the bunks.

Darn it.... I was down at my boat's pre-delivery phase having its bottom painted and I should have taken some precise measurements of the V-berth cushions. 🙁
 
I took the sleeping mattress out of the cave and use it for storage most of the time. When necessary I move things around to allow for sleeping down there and use one of the new inflatable down mattresses. Like an old fashioned air mattress but filled with down. Pack extremely small and the most comfortable portable sleeping mattress ever invented. About the same size as a thermorest but allow for comfortable sleeping on your side without grinding hips or shoulders. 5 star versus 2 - 3 star for thermorest. Is there a reason you are not making the V-berth into a "queen" and supplementing the cushions with memory foam custom cut to size?
 
I used memory foam for my R-25 (Classic). I ended up hating it even though it was indeed very comfortable. It could be that I went about installing the memory form in one piece to fit the V-berth's shape and possible because I did not cut out the forward rectangular section that makes it easier to get into bed.... Nonetheless, here were my misgivings for using memory foam in terms of +ives and -ives

+ive
The memory foam is inexpensive at around $50 to $60 for a Queen and a bit more for a King size.
It is comfortable for sure. Ours was 4" thick.
The use of an electric carving knife makes it easy to shape the memory foam, but a mistake in this process is unforgiving. 😱

-ives
It's heavy dense material.
It's unmanageable when wanting to fold it up.
It's far to big when rolled up to stow anywhere except in the bow of the V-berth.
Once in the made up bed with the memory foam in place we found it difficult to move around on it without disturbing the other person.
Sleeping on the memory foam with a sheet around it tended to move and pull away from the side bolsters.
Making a shaped sheet for the V shaped memory foam was a PITA and needed to be a design that allowed for its removal for washing.

My primary bedding requirements are

1) The bedding should weigh little
2) Must fold to a small size
3) Needs to be individual mattresses so that one can be removed without affecting the other
4) Separate mattresses will allow one to be deployed and the other stowed
5) When needing to have the V-berth's forward saloon table raised it should allow one bunk for continued sleeping
6) The overall setup needs to accommodate having 3 people sleeping in the V-berth; one being a small child
7) The mattresses, blankets and covers should be attractive looking; color, design, water resistant, etc (minor issue)
8) Cost should be reasonable but should not interfere too much with the selection of the best choice
 
Pleeson, Where do you find down filled air mattress. I googled with no luck.

Phil
 
Thanks.... We're already REI members so no problem there. I looked at that 3.5" pump up mattress and I am impressed with it. As you said...spendy/pricey but suspect it's worth every penny. I think this is going to be my choice along with a light-weight REI sleeping bag + a nice Robship fleecy blanket for added warmth maybe. Both of these items will weigh little and compress down to a very small size and should fit in our R-27 V-berth without issues. I think the air-bag pump is ingenious.

My cost for 2x Exped DownMat XP 9 + Marmot Mavericks 40 sleeping bag works out to $700 including tax and free shipping. I can pickup at local REI store a few miles away. This is a far less expense than opting for the topper from Yachtbedding.com who as of yet do not have patterns for the new 2018 R-27.

Thanks again for tipping this info to me at this time while I'm in 'buying mode'. :roll:
 
I'm using two 3/4 length Therm-A-Rests side-by-side on the lowered cockpit table as I write this. It works pretty well. I'm trying to avoid having to take and store the rather large table cushion. I'm finding I like the table berth. It's a beautiful evening with a light cool breeze coming through the windows and hatches. I just finished watching a movie.

I think the 3/4 Therm-A-Rests would work well in the cuddy. Using 3/4s would eliminate any overlap issues. I've used them on backpacking trips over the years- lightweight and easy to carry.
 
The 3/4 Therm-A-Rests at REI are no longer available. 😱
 
CaspersCruiser":2m961um5 said:
https://www.rei.com/product/651954/therm-a-rest-performance-ultralite-34-length
Click to expand...

But REI states on that page... "This product is no longer available." 😱
 
CaspersCruiser":32zpq14m said:
baz":32zpq14m said:
But REI states on that page... "This product is no longer available."
Click to expand...
Well, darn. You wonder why REI just doesn't take it down instead of adding, "This product no longer available" to the page.

I use these folks and they indicate in stock, "while they last".

https://www.campmor.com/c/thermarest-ba ... eeping-pad
Click to expand...

Thanks.... The 1" thickness of this 3/4 puts me off some. I do like the shortened length though. 🙂
 
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