Hello all. Newbie here. Spent last night out in the backyard under my new tarp (my first) in my new Ridgerunner. Put it in porch mode. First time ever under a tarp! Slept great! Trying to get used to tarp rigging, snakeskins, ridgelines, etc. Fun stuff! I have picked up so much useful info from this forum (and YouTube videos).
I'm using an inflatable pad (Exped Snymat 7) and it really is comfortable under my Ridgerunner. Nice flat lay. But being a previous tent user I'm finding there were some conveniences that made life a little easier. Are there any tricks to deflating an air mattress while in the woods? I'm used to laying it on a hard tent floor and squeezing the air out and rolling it up tightly to fit in that little (too small) stuff sack it came with. I was able to get most of the air out while laying it in the hammock but I brought it inside the house to do the final deflating/rolling. Can't imagine any way to deflate it to that extent without putting it on the ground. I can see I'm going to have to get a larger stuff sack. Please don't recommend a UQ. Right now I would like to make this inflatable pad work because of the wonderful flat lay I get with it. Also, most of my outings initially will be milder temps until I get used to this new camping system. I think the inflatable pad will be sufficient for that. Even though most of my use with this Ridgerunner will be car camping (I've got "drop foot" - so my lengthy hiking days are over), total mattress deflation is still going to be awkward. Any tips from you guys? I'd hate to carry and extra ground cloth just to lay my mattress on the ground to deflate.
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