They also allow you to eschew sleeping bags in favour of proper sheets, pillows and duvets to make camping far comfier.

Get the best of both worlds with this clever Abberton design– you can zip together the two separate air beds to make a comfy double, use them separately or stack them together for a deep single bed that makes for a very comfy night for one camper.I used this Airbed for 5 nights in a row maybe topping it up once or twice which took a minute but most of the Air was still there anyway, I just wanted it firmer. While they are not intended as a replacement for a proper mattress – since they don’t provide the same support – they are increasingly impressive in terms of comfort.

It was used for a 3 night camping trip and stayed completely inflated for the whole time, despite my 10 and 12yr old boys bouncing on it!Good things come in small packages – this single mat is comfy to sleep on and feels surprisingly supportive and soft, although it is rather narrow. Outwell’s excellent king is super roomy, and any tall or plus-size sleepers who find double mats a bit restrictive will love stretching out. Some beds make a terrible racket, but the best handle the wriggliest of sleepers with barely a squeak. Mountain Warehouse’s portable mat is quick to inflate even if the little one wants to help you work the foot pump.

This air bed is available in single or regular double sizes, but we liked the raised double the best – it offers one or two campers or overnight guests excellent padding when fully inflated, and if you’re sharing, you’ll have plenty of space.I chose a range of double, king and queen air beds from the likes of Argos, Decathlon, Dreams and Active Era that have built-in pumps and can be manually pumped up too.