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Sleep Comfort

If you want to keep the light out in the morning tick the blue bellows box. ...

:thanks. I was also quite surprised how translucent the grey bellows are. Have ordered Mojave beige, so grey bellows it was.
 
We are still impressed with the Pucer screen. We used it to keep out the heat and it was suprisingly effective during the day, we removed it at night to maximise air flow over night. It keeps out the rain and keeps out the cold in the winder too. Folds up relatively small.
 
It comes with a small hand pump made out of the same material as the mattress. If you Google “Megamat” you will find many glowing reviews and comments on the level of comfort that these provide. The SIM Duo 7.5 is virtually the same, the only differences being it is 7.5cm rather than 10cm thick and has tapered rather than boxed edges; this last point actually helps when closing the roof I think. It’s no exaggeration to say that I sleep as well, if not better, on this than on our expensive, ViSpring, pocket sprung mattress! If people are not familiar with a SIM (Self Inflating Mattress) then I should just say that they are not the same as a regular air bed since they have a foam and air core, which makes them more comfortable and much warmer (better insulating).

How noisy do you find it? I had an Exped mat that was like sleeping on a packet of crisps. Every time you turned over it woke everyone else up. Not a SIM, but some of those still seem on the noisy side.
 
It’s not noisy at all and doesn’t make any noise when moving around on it. The top side has a soft touch (slightly flocked) finish to it, which I suppose helps in this regard.
 
I have been using the California self inflating mattress for a while - good fit at 180cm x 100 x 5 thick.
Not enough room to leave self inflated and close the roof. Difficult to store folded. Best rolled up which takes a bit of effort and kept under control in the storage bag. Trick is to close the valves before it fully self inflates and choose a firmness to suit - otherwise is a bit too firm to me. I put it inside a single quilt cover and a duvet within the quilt for comfort and sleep on top of the lot. Much easier than messing about with sheets. Prior to this I bought a 10cm coldfoam mattress from Germany for about £180 - too firm for me .
 
Calling all cheapskates out there...
Our downstairs solution is a £25 one inch topper from Argos - or actually these days two on top of each other (indulgence!). One fits inside the roof for storage, other takes up little room in boot. Memory foam and straps to hook over the bed edges. Job done.
Upstairs I have made my own isotop equivalent. £35 of dark waterproof fabric from Internet and sundry velcro/hooks. Now it's been properly tested I can confirm it keeps torrential rain from the mattress and keeps it usefully darker and cooler on sunny mornings. I will get round to posting pictures once I've smoothed out a few rough edges...
 
I can confirm it keeps torrential rain from the mattress and keeps it usefully darker and cooler on sunny mornings

Thanks for the update. Can you say what fabric you used and how much was required?
 
I bought 8m of "waterproof fabric 2oz breathable 7 colours" in black from EU Fabrics via Amazon. £32.
Feared it might be too thin, but is perfect (want it as thin as poss in closed roof). Some static while fitting but no other problems.
8m gives enough to wrap round the whole roof; I've now decided to leave the front part open to make life easier. Velcrod/hooked to the roof, tucked under the bed.

Hope that helps!
 
I bought 8m of "waterproof fabric 2oz breathable 7 colours" in black from EU Fabrics via Amazon. £32.
That’s very helpful, many thanks. Time to break out the sewing machine, velcro and Kam snaps. The Brandrup Iso-top VI will be the best part of £550.00 with the optional front fly screen :oops:
 
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Hi
Do you use zonesleep plus the topper?
Sorry been away (in the van) and missed this. May not have been clear that we now just use the zonesleep, finding it comfortable. Outside of summer we also use the comfortz roof topper over the roof if heavy rain forecast or if very cold.
 
It comes with a small hand pump made out of the same material as the mattress. If you Google “Megamat” you will find many glowing reviews and comments on the level of comfort that these provide. The SIM Duo 7.5 is virtually the same, the only differences being it is 7.5cm rather than 10cm thick and has tapered rather than boxed edges; this last point actually helps when closing the roof I think. It’s no exaggeration to say that I sleep as well, if not better, on this than on our expensive, ViSpring, pocket sprung mattress! If people are not familiar with a SIM (Self Inflating Mattress) then I should just say that they are not the same as a regular air bed since they have a foam and air core, which makes them more comfortable and much warmer (better insulating).
Almost ready to press buy it now! One final question - when deflating so as to put the roof down, do you just undo the release valve and the mattress does the rest - or what?

Many thanks in advance - looking forward to a good night's sleep!
 
It comes with a small hand pump made out of the same material as the mattress. If you Google “Megamat” you will find many glowing reviews and comments on the level of comfort that these provide. The SIM Duo 7.5 is virtually the same, the only differences being it is 7.5cm rather than 10cm thick and has tapered rather than boxed edges; this last point actually helps when closing the roof I think. It’s no exaggeration to say that I sleep as well, if not better, on this than on our expensive, ViSpring, pocket sprung mattress! If people are not familiar with a SIM (Self Inflating Mattress) then I should just say that they are not the same as a regular air bed since they have a foam and air core, which makes them more comfortable and much warmer (better insulating).
You should have shares in this product....there are going to be hundreds of uncomfortable Cali owners rushing out to get one! Thanks
 
I am struggling to find one online - has anyone been able to locate one in the UK?
 
You should have shares in this product....there are going to be hundreds of uncomfortable Cali owners rushing out to get one! Thanks

We have used Exped Megamat before our Cali when we were in a tent. They are so comfortable, just as much as our bed at home and can easily sleep on them for weeks at a time. Such a brilliant product, far beyond other mats we have had. Megamat duo comes with loops that join two mats together to make a king size.
 
Almost ready to press buy it now! One final question - when deflating so as to put the roof down, do you just undo the release valve and the mattress does the rest - or what?

Many thanks in advance - looking forward to a good night's sleep!

Sorry for the slow reply! I do tend to get up in the roof and roll around on it a bit to get the air out... but you would probably get away without doing this. We were away in the van last weekend so I took a picture of the deflated mattress in the roof. Note that it had been fully deflated and packed away prior to the pic... so it generally looks a bit more inflated than this when the roof goes down after a nights sleep.
3A04DF5B-BCF3-48D7-8AB4-15D7B76E5722.jpeg
 
You should have shares in this product....there are going to be hundreds of uncomfortable Cali owners rushing out to get one! Thanks

LOL... nothing should stand in the way of a good nights sleep in your California :)

Not affiliated in any way but I did buy my single MegaMats from Trekitt who are based near me in Hereford - I can recommend them. I’m not sure that they stock this model though so you may have to hunt around.

I should also add that it is quite easy to put too much air in them, so that they become too firm, particularly if you sleep on your side. Experiment with putting less air in them until you find the sweet spot!
 
Thanks again!
Sorry for the slow reply! I do tend to get up in the roof and roll around on it a bit to get the air out... but you would probably get away without doing this. We were away in the van last weekend so I took a picture of the deflated mattress in the roof. Note that it had been fully deflated and packed away prior to the pic... so it generally looks a bit more inflated than this when the roof goes down after a nights sleep.
View attachment 48215
Thanks again!
 
After trying a Zonesleep topper on the standard mattress we replaced both with an Exped SIM Duo 7.5... supremely comfortable and you can let the air out and leave in the roof when lowered.

Thanks for this. Just bought one on ebay :)
 
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