The Aerobed PakMat is not the only camping mattress that comes with a pump but it’s the first one I’ve seen that packs inside one. That means there’s little chance you’ll lose the pump if you’re not going to use the pad for some time.
But you can still lose the pump though. A bear might sneak into camp at night and steal your pump while you’re sleeping. It’s an unlikely scenario, which might be the justification of this design. At least the pad is well protected inside a hard casing when not in use so it’s not likely to get damaged during transport.
At 4 lbs, it’s not great for backpacking but for car camping, the PakMat might not be too bad at all. You can inflate the pad as fast as 1 minute. The camping mat measures 6′ 6″ x 26″ x 5″ and fits a standard-sized camping cot. However, the pump is bigger than it looks. It costs less than $90 at Amazon (price elsewhere usually $99.99).
