The Best Night's Sleep I've Ever Had Camping in the Boundary Waters

When I find something comfortable I tend to stick with it.  I've used different sleeping pads over the years and I tend to go with the thicker the better because I have a bad back.  Scoliosis doesn't play nice with flat on the hard ground, so I go big, because if I have to splurge on space in the pack, I'm o.k. with doing it for the sake of a great night's sleep.

So… inflate assist or not, by the time you're finished blowing up a 3 inch thick pad, you are red in the face and you feel like you might just pass out.  Especially if you've waited until you're too tired to think straight anyway.  Then you do it for the rest of the crew, because your a good dad and pretty soon everyone wants to know if they should call in the lifeline helicopter.

You know what I mean.  Even after all of that and even if you've got a bag that fits the pad perfectly and won't slide off your neck never seems to be at the right angle when you shut out the last headlamp and call it a night.  Come on, I know how particular most of you all are about your pillow, your preferred position, your eight or nine hours.  Most nights I average 5 or 6 hours and I need them all.  Coffee to follow.

My solution?  Well, first don't be afraid to try new things.  And number two?  Try new things from NEMO.  Nemo is a fantastic company.

Their Cosmo™ series of sleeping pads blow everything else away.  Did you get the pun there?  Three generous inches thick with an integrated foot pump that -- wait, what?  Stop, you had me at integrated foot pump!!!  That's right.  Super easy to use.  A dozen or so steps on the pump with my foot while standing and eating a Peanut Toffee Buzz® CLIF Bar and my new sleeping pad was nearly effortlessly ready to crash on.  The opposite end of the pump area is elevated and serves as nice pillow rise pad like a second pillow under your favorite pillow at home.  It also has a fine tune valve right at your fingertips.  I'm never and I mean never going camping again without a Cosmo™ pad.  Nemo even makes them with a Pillowtop Combo that is so soft you'll think you're laying on a mattress collection in your local furniture store.

This is the product description of the Nemo Cosmo™ Air Pad:

No more blowing until you're blue! Ultra-comfy sleeping pad with internal foot pump.  The Cosmo™ series of pads take inflatable comfort to another level. Cosmo Air™ is a lightweight sleeping pad with an integrated, super-easy to use foot pump. Dual air intakes on the integrated foot pump make inflation fast! This pad has generous 3" thickness. Horizontal I-beam baffles eliminate any bouncy feel and also tend to support body contours better than vertical baffles. Cosmo™ Air offers a lot of comfort in a small package!

SPEAKING OF YOUR FAVORITE PILLOW… Nemo's Fillo™ Luxury Pillow insures that I don't wake up with a stiff neck.  You gotta get one of these!

For $205 you'll sleep like a baby in the woods from now on!

p.s. One of my least favorite things to do is try to roll up a sleeping pad tight enough to fit it back into its original stuff sack.  It seems to take almost as much effort as it does to blow it up.  These are the kinds of activities that I don't relish repeating 5 times when it is time to go home.  The Cosmo™ pad deflates even easier that it inflates, just pull the dump valve at the head of the pad and fold the sides in and roll up nice and compact.  All the air is gone.  No fuss, no muss.

The COSMO Air Pad:

The FILLO PILLOW: