next in the ground pounder series we will talk about the surplus sleeping pads and how they can help you get a good sleep while camping with surplus gear. thanks for watching
From 1999 to 2020 I hitchhiked all over America with a cheap backpack, a Walmart brown 8x10 tarp and a Walmart rolled up blue sleeping pad. I still have the tarp which has gorilla tape on it from repairs and I still have that blue rolled pad that I still use when I go camping. Since settling down I have all kinds of gear that I like to use. I wish that I had discovered hammock camping during my hitchhiking days. Awesome video my friend
yeah i'm hammock myself but when i do ground rack i've never really cared for mil-spec pads (especially that blow up pool toy!!) actually i always used exercise mats for ground pads! cheaper than what they had in the camping gear and pretty much the same damn thing!! although in cold weather one trick i have picked up is to use these windshield sunshades with the silver side up for a ground pad!
another great video , I must say at 70 years old besides using a ground cloth I use a 1/2 inch foam pad that was made for insulation for refrigeration lines plus a inflatable air mattress , yea I know it's a little bit of overkill but I do sleep comfortably . Please keep up with the great info you're putting out there
Dont forget that the air mattress in the winter will have the air temp inside it as the same cold air is outside the tent. In sub freezing temo you'll need sever good blankets between you and the air mattress in winter
Blackie , Great Video and Outstanding Information. I always had the air mattress in my TA-50 from 1979-1986 a lot of other Soliders had the roll up sleep pads, but some of us didn't. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and wisdom and passing on the craft also giving of your time. Yes You Are The Master Woodsman and Buschcrafter. Tim L.
Blackie, I remember the old Mistress air mattresses. Yes, they were hot, if you slept directly on it you sweat heavily, and the new ones had foam in them to self inflate. Buut after awhile the foam would dry out and crumble up. They also leaked from pin holes they got very easily. Most of us bought an air mattress from the PX or a civilian sporting goods store. The foam mats were not very comfortable, you had to like you said dig out hollows or and material to build up under it. The best bed I had was during Cold Weather Survival Training at Ft Drum, NY. We built our own shelters in the snow. Many of us made our bed of limbs in layers to be soft, then put the mattress pad over it with our sleeping bag on top. Due to they used the same area all the time for the Cold Weather Classes you had to search for the small soft limbs. But with the frame work of limbs and the pad it was very comfortable. Stay in touch, keep your powder dry, Ken Billings
Mid-80's we were issued the rolled pad in the Army. We slept on top a tracked vehicle in the desert but as a young fit 20-something who cared? At nearly 60 IF I sleep on the ground and not my hammock I have a very expensive very heavy down-filled Exped air mattress. It's like sleeping on a regular mattress, worth every ounce! I still have my rolled mat, good for sitting on.
I have found in my late 50’s those pads just don’t cut it anymore. Hammock? I always end up in an v shape- ( When allowed I did use a hammock in Panama-193rd INF - mid 80’s ) I now use a slim military surplus air mattress - I think it was designed for casualties flying on aircraft ? Anyway, when it’s cold I just put a survival blanket between it and my old ‘45 model down bag. Very Good Sleeping Arrangement!! ( No idea where you could get that surplus slim inflatable today)
Slid down many a hill on the first two the rubber air mattress and the roll up pad that wasn’t bad. If you are tired enough you could sleep anywhere. Leaning on a tree in a poncho sitting on a pad. Have fun stay safe.
Down in our south every time it will be my onewind with bug net .. everything on the ground in south ga wants to bite .. if I can’t make it with a hammock I will be on a cot.. with bug net and my tarp .. I can’t stand tents because of zippers .. dang having to stand on your head to get the door open .. I’m too old for that any more
I was introduced to self-inflatable Therma-Rest pads the very first time I started camping. Never went camping without one again. Now that I bought a hammock that may change a bit, but I'll never car camp in a tent without an self-inflatable pad until someone makes something better.
I had the Cabela's version of the self-inflating pad. it was about 10 years old when last year i went out, let it inflate, added a few puffs as usual and went to sleep that night. I woke up a couple hours later and all the internal ribs had come unglued. It was like trying to sleep on a beach ball. Now it was 10years old, maybe older so I'm not knocking the product, but when these things get several years on then you might want to consider retiring them and get a new one.
Took me half a century, well just over 40 years camping (from the first time as an 8 year old Cub Scout), to finally buy a self inflating air mattress and the difference is just enormous, I bought a Dutch Army surplus Thermarest a month ago. Just a week before that I'd been out wild camping with the German Army folding foam mat, which is great as it folds into a rectangle, but it's even thinner than the ones we had in the British Army 30 years ago, and had a shitty night as the ground was pretty hard and there were roots and stones in the ground which I couldn't remove, not all of them anyway. I camped in the same place on the Thermarest a week later and it was amazingly luxurious by comparison. Could be an age thing I guess or it could have been I'd just tolerated sleeping on foam mats all those years because I didn't know better, also when I was young I don't think inflatable mattresses were around, everyone used either rolled up ''karrimats'' as we used to know them (named after the brand Karrimor) or camp beds if they were vehicle camping, the same in the British Army, roll mats on battle camp, and an issue camp cot on a signals detachment with a Landrover and a 9ft x 9ft tent. I'm still going to use my German Army mat, either as extra insulation under the Thermarest in extreme cold, or just on day outings to the woods on my bike as it fits perfectly in a pannier bag and makes a great seat.
Yeah as usual I typed my comment before watching the end of your vid. My German Army folding pad is about 5mm thick which is one fifth of an inch so it's 1 out of 10 for comfort, maybe 3 out of 10 for insulation. But I'd rate my Thermarest higher than 5/10, more like 7 or 8. I go out bike camping (stealth camping too as I'm in the UK and don't go to campsites) so I always have a puncture repair kit anyway. Yep I slept out in German winters too in the Army, British Army so we were in the North but I know it gets cold down in the US zone too in winter. On a rebro (rebroadcast) there were 3 men detachments, we only had one camp cot in the tent , one guy would be on the radio sat in the wagon, one would sleep outside under a poncho, and the det commander would get the cot in the tent. On the other side of the tent was a table with a gas stove and that's where we made our meals and coffee, so there wasn't space to put 2 camp cots anyway. I must have been pretty gung ho back then as I remember not even bothering to take my heavy British Army sleeping bag on one exercise and just crashing out outside in one of those Germany Army recce bags, a parka with a drop down bit for the legs which converted it into a sleeping bag, and I'm pretty sure I hadn't bothered to bring the sleeping mat either, but if my memory serves me right I didn't get cold because it was Autumn (Fall) and I slept the daytime because I was on radio shift at night, sat in the back of the Landrover. We just had to stay awake and make sure there was enough power, running the genny if the batteries got low, and make sure the radio link was working.
Hi Blackie, great video. I just can't sleep on those foam pads, barely any cushion from the hard ground. I have the military Thermarest inflatable and several other Thermarest inflatables . I have used the foam pads under my inflatable for extra cushion and warmth for cold weather camping. Too many bugs and creepy crawlies so I'll be in a tent anyways to solve that problem. I'll have to look for those scab patches for bike tires that you mentioned. Appreciate the info. Take care.👍😴
i am with ya thats why i hammock i did the ground thing for a long time but got tired of waking up covered in bugs and had to get up and strip to get them all off me
I’ve got an inflatable pad and it worked great… on sand, I just didn’t dig out a spot for my hips. All in all a good pad, can’t wait to try it in the woods.
Great video! Its all about personal preference. I personally hate air pads because bugs up here will bite holes in anything. Best to avoid stuff that may break or is designed for failure. I am so used to sleeping upright nowadays that all I need is a blanket and something to lean on. Recently, I stopped using a hammock or a tent and just started to use a tarp/poncho. Doesnt make for a long term shelter, but does make for a good temp rest/sleep spot in front of a fire or next to a body of water. I really dont know if I would ever do hammock or tent camping again unless I am with someone that needs one.
Bloody hell those must be some monster bugs where you are. Sometimes I get jealous of you guys in the US/Canada with your pristine wilderness, whereas here in the UK it's very difficult to camp somewhere without being in sight of lights, or without the sound of traffic. Then I think about snakes, bears, bugs, and bigfoot and thank my lucky stars I'm here.
We had the air mattress(rubber bitch). Mine was dated 1968. It was about 4" thick and I usually slept well on it. I slept on the back seat of my jeep a lot more than in my tent. I needed to stay by my radios anyway. The air mattress died on a Boy Scout canoe trip in 2005, after only 32 years of use. About the same time, my ponchos delaminated. My Boy Scout poncho, that I bought in 1962, still seems to be holding together. Somewhere, my jungle hammock is hiding in the bottom of an old barracks bag. Good Luck, Rick
Hi Blackie! Brother, it must have been fun trying to make this video. LOL! If something could pester a man, it seemed to be on hand while you were trying to make this one. My hat is off to you for the perseverance.
Military foam pads are crap. They are about a half inch thick. Civilian foam pads are a very little bit better as long as you get a thicker one. When my dog is with me, I use a 1 inch foam pad. Doesn't sound like much, but it is WAY better than a PT pad. When my dog is not with me, I have an old, and I mean OLD (90s) Thermarest. Bought it at a flea market for $5. Didn't even leak. It is orange, but hey, I was Signal Corps so oh well. I also have a couple hammock options, but I'm just used to ground sleeping. Oh, and I cut my 1" foam pad down to the width of my Alice pack so it doesn't stick out the sides when moving. I don't like my gear stiching out past my shoulder width.
In 78 I was using a green rubber mattress but buy 1980 I was issued the foam pad. It really depended where u was stationed. I believe some National guard was still using it a decade later.
Blackie, Those rubber ladies were just horribly hot, and just to much trouble to blow up, they were not popular just like the roll up foam pad just didn’t do a good job…..
