Lost Horizon Air & Foam Camping Mattress

About This Gear

The Lost Horizon Air & Foam Camping Mattress is a plush air-and-foam hybrid that has become the community's favorite value alternative to premium car-camping pads like the Exped MegaMat and NEMO Roamer. A supportive foam top over an adjustable air chamber delivers 4.5 inches of cushion; it self-inflates, with an optional pump to fine-tune firmness. This is the single (80 x 28 in, 9 lb) — the most popular size — and the mattress is also offered from a slim single up to an 80 x 60-inch queen. Why it is our value pick: at $129.99 (regular $149.99) the single delivers thick, near-home comfort for well under premium single pads — the NEMO Roamer runs around $187, and the Exped MegaMat higher still. The tradeoff is weight and pack size. At 9 lb it is heavier and bulkier than a slim self-inflating pad, relying on an air-and-foam build rather than a compact foam core. For front-country car camping, where you drive to the site, most owners consider that a fair trade. What campers are saying (from r/camping and r/CampingGear): owners repeatedly call it the most comfortable camping mattress they have used, with several saying it beats their bed at home, and praise it as easy-inflating, firmness-adjustable, and kind to side sleepers. It is most often recommended as the cheaper-but-equal alternative to the Exped MegaMat (“every bit as good as the Exped, grab it”), and several note that with a pump to evacuate the air it actually rolls down smaller than tri-fold foam mattresses. The main caveat raised: at least one multi-year owner reported the mattress developing air leaks through the fabric after about two years, so long-term durability is worth watching.

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