By: Blonde Two
I have lost count of the number of camping nights I have spent on my ThermaRest camping mat but I know that it has seen me through freezing Ten Tors wild camping nights, over warm DofE nights and wet Dartmoor nights. However, there comes a time in a girl’s life when the prospect of comfort and a great night’s sleep outweighs the love of a trusted piece of outdoor gear. That time had arrived for me so I did some research into camping equipment and camping airbeds. I remember well the chilly nights on an old fashioned air bed when our children were little. These days airbeds are smart and have insulation built into them, I was looking for a camp sleeping experience that would give me a combination of comfort and warmth whilst still fitting into my rucksack. I found it in the Robens Rapturous 120 Airbed.
As you know, I like giving my camping gear names and I have decided that my new airbed is my ‘middle aged’ airbed. Just like middle aged me, it is comfy, warm and has just the right amount of padding. With a 12cm thick air and PrimaLoft filling and an R-Value of 2.8, I would defy anyone to be uncomfortable. I fell asleep soon after I first lay on it on the lounge floor (testing should always start at home) and can report a very congenial sleep for three of my recent outdoor sleeps (one tent, two bivvy). I can confirm that, despite its generous length and width, my Robens Rapturous 120 fits into a lightweight two-girl tent and my bivvy bag. Admittedly, things were a tad snug with me inside the bivvy bag too, but it is fairly rugged and will also put up with being outside it (night three). It fits into my rucksack too, taking up marginally less space than my ThermaRest sleeping mat but weighing a bit more (lightweight camping purists look away now) at 1030 grams.
There are other little touches to the Robens Rapturous that really please me. It has raised edges to prevent bedtime-roll-off on sloping ground and (miracle of miracles) a pillow shape that is actually big enough to support my head. The only thing I didn’t like about my new bed was the amount of time it took to blow up. Still a bit of lightheadedness is an acceptable exchange for a good night’s sleep and, on this camp, we had a van big enough to swallow airbeds whole! (I have since discovered that Robens also sell a pump sack that can do the hard breathing work for you!)
From time to time we Blondes are sent free outdoor products to field test and promote on social media. We will always be honest about our findings and any products we don’t keep for ourselves find their way into our expedition stores. Great for us, great for you and great for our youngsters!
