Elegear Double Sleeping Pad Review

Car camping is a time to break out the big comfortable gear. The car is only 20 feet from the tent and you don’t have to count the grams in the gear.

That said, some of the car camping gear, like the enormous EXPED MegaMat Max mattress are huge, heavy and cost as much as an old car. Elegear has a solution. A cheap, packable double sleeping pad for a quarter the cost. We tested it out to see if it’s worth it.

What is the Elegear Double Sleeping Pad?

The Double Sleeping Pad from Elegear is an inflatable sleeping that’s 55″ wide, 4″ thick with two double-layer valves, a foot pump and a pillow.

The foot pump at the bottom of the mat has a little valve you step on with your foot and pumps it up. Your foot covers the hole on the press down pushing air into the mat.

Two other valves on the bottom of the matt are double layer. The first layer is a one-way ‘in’ valve that you can use to inflate with your breath or pump. The second layer is the cap that stops air completely.

A series of tubes runs through the mat keeping it smooth and flat across the top. Most of the mat is 4″ thick but gets taller for a pillow at the top up to 6″.

In this Elegear Double Sleeping Pad Review, we’ll take you through how long it takes to inflate, how comfortable it is and how long it takes to deflate and pack.

Inflating

The foot pump works very well for inflating the Elegear. I was surprised how well it worked. I’ve used them in the past, and they’ve been okay, but the Elegear foot pump actually worked very well.

Blowing it up works fine too but takes a long time. Being 4 inches thick, with a pillow, and 55 inches wide, there’s a lot of space in there to fill up. I’m recovering from being sick right now so it should normally be a bit faster. With no foam inside it doesn’t self-inflate.

The 2 valves lay flush on the bottom and work well. The first layer is a one-way ‘in’ valve. Closing one and using the ‘in’ valve to blow it up worked well. The second layer is the solid cap which stays in well.

The valve covers were a bit rigid and might have been a bit easier to use if they had been a bit softer plastic or a more rubbery material so they could squish into the hole a bit better. At the end of the day they still held the air in.

Method	Time
Self-inflate	n/a
Inflate from nothing – Blowing up	10:00
Inflate from nothing – Foot pump	4:00
Inflate from nothing – Pump	4:45

 

Comfort

Comfort is great with the sleeping mat. It feels like most other air-filled sleeping mattresses. The horizontal tubes don’t dip too much and feel smooth when you’re laying on them.

The size is certainly nice, especially if you’re on it alone. At 55″ wide that’s tons for 1 person and enough for 2.

With no foam inside, it’s a bit bouncy like an air mattress. With another person moving on the other side, you feel it. I prefer multiple small mattresses for this reason but then they’re only 25 or 30″ across.

The mat itself is 4″ and the pillow is another 2″ tall. I sleep on my side a lot so I use another pillow on top of that or else I wake up with my back going three different directions but it’d probably be enough if you slept on your back for an all-in-one solution.

The nylon material is fairly smooth and ok to touch. I really dislike sleeping against 100% nylon but this this material is a bit more rubbery, with a bit of TPU in it. I’d only sleep on it without a sheet or sleeping bag in a pinch but it wouldn’t be too bad. If you had no sensory issues with nylon, you’d probably be fine!

I wasn’t able to let a little bit of air out through the one-way valves if it was too hard. You can pull the valves completely open.

but that lets a lot of air out. I’d love to see a way to push the valve in a bit to let a bit out.

Deflating and Packing

Deflating and packing is easy but it takes a couple steps. I opened the 2 valves to completely open and start rolling the mat up towards the valves.

Elegear recommends getting all the air out and rolling towards the foot pump which is at the opposite end of the mat from the valves. If you’ve got all the air out this might work but I found it hard. I always roll towards the valves so the air gets pushed out as you go.

Dumping air is slower with this mat. The tubes inside don’t all lead directly to the valves so the air needs to make its way there.

Deflate and Pack Time

2:15

 

Weight

At only 5 pounds for a double sleeping pad, it was nearly the lightest in our test this year. Only a 1-person air-only mattress was lighter.

These aren’t the ultralight air mattresses that you can take backpacking. The EXPED Ultra 3R is just over a pound and others that are even less for backpacking. These can be used for camping for sure. They tend to be very small, very thin and cost more.

Size

Inflated, the Elegear is 77″ long and 55″ wide, plenty for 2 people. I prefer to have multiple single person mats for sleeping so you don’t feel the other moving but it’s more to buy and pack.

With no foam inside like the self-inflating mats, the Elegear packs down smaller.

Who is Elegear?

Elegear makes pillows, comforters, blankets, and throws for your home as well as air mattresses for camping. They focus on affordable gear for a better sleep.

Conclusion

While Elegear might not be the first place you look for new outdoor gear online, the Double Sleeping Pad is a great by if you’re looking quick bedding for 2 people. It bounces like an air mattress because it is one but it’s quick to pump up and the foot pump works very well. It’s reasy to pack up and packs down very small for a big double sleeping mat.

There are more comfortable sleeping mats but they are much larger and much more expensive. The other mats in our test are three or four times the cost. For the price, this packable mat from Elegear is a great buy.