With the Summer here (at last) and the kids holidays looming, some of us will be planning days away here and there, whether its to the zoo or the beach, we will be organising the activities and picnics. One thing your portable airbed is very good for, is when you are on a picnic, no seriously, think about it. No more sitting on the hard grass, simply inflate your airbed and you have a comfy outdoor seating area in which to dine.

Once the serving of food is over, you can then use your airbed as a portable sun lounger, once it’s time to go, simply deflate and store in the car.

When the weather gets too hot its off to the coast and if you are like me and love the beach but hate the sand, well an airbed is the ideal way to have ‘your cake and eat it’ without crunching sand in between your teeth. Blow up your inflatable mattress and you will have the most comfortable sun lounger at the beach.
Airbeds are much more than just something to sleep on their uses are only limited by your imagination.

Here at the Air Beds UK store we have been caught up in all the magical aura that follows the festival around and have reduced our camping air beds and camping equipment to coincide with Glastonbury 2009.

Our festival special has seen us reduce our stock on certain items up to 10%. So, no more excuses about sleeping rough during the stay of the festival, just click on any of the below deals and we will make sure your products are with you before you head to Glastonbury later this month.

Outwell Double Flock Airbed	Outwell Single Camping Airbed	Coleman Single Airbed
Coleman Raised Quickbed Large	Campingaz Smart Quickbed Single	Campingaz Quickbed Airbed

We also have reduced some of our camping equipment which you might need if your going to be camping for the duration at Glastonbury. Make your festival experience worthwhile, plan and prepare your Glastonbury stay in advance…

Coleman Xylo Blue Sleeping Bag

PowerTraveller - PowerMonkey Classic

Coleman Phad X2 Tent

Falkirk will not be in Europe next year, they are only staying up in the SPL, but the true supporters may think this is a good sign for next season, however there are plenty of other teams that will be making the trip
to various cities in the Continent.

As an avid supporter you will be soon be waiting and watching to see what team and country you will be visiting. As the credit crunch is now biting hard, decisions have to be made “ how can I save money to watch MY team abroad?”

Cost cutting is what we in Britain do best, when the draw is made and your team is drawn to play a foreign team its straight onto the internet to get cheap flight tickets. Booking budget hotels are always good value but it’s a true saying “you get what you pay for”, basic room with a bed that a million people have used before you and a cover that has been woven out of barbed wire. Sorry that’s not for me!

Book that budget room and buy an airbed and a camping sleeping bag this will ensure that you have all the comforts of your own room and a great nights sleep, and the best news is that air beds, like sleeping bags, roll into a convenient sleeve and weigh virtually nothing so this will not interfere with your duty allowance.

With your tent pitched its now time to get out your clothes, boots, food and sleeping bag. The rain is now
falling heavier and there is now a ‘river’ flowing through the campsite.

Want to be the envy of your mates invest in an airbed they are more comfortable than sleeping on the ground. It will inflate in around 2 minutes so no need to unwrap it till the concert has finished. After the concert imagine heading to your tent through mud and water, unwrapping your airbed from its waterproof bag and within 2 minutes its up. Lets face it there is nothing worse than feeling hungover after a bad nights sleep. Camping Airbeds are available in single or double and on a positive note if the rain gets too heavy and the ‘river’ reaches your tent, they float!!

Before you set off, there are a few things to plan such as, where are you going to go? How are you going to afford it? Where to stay? There are a number of companies to chose from when arranging backpacking or gap holidays, look through them all, talk to people who have been before. A well planned gap year will enable you to see many different cultures at close hand.

One way to finance your trip is to seek work in the countries that you visit. Teaching English to local children is a good way to earn extra cash (TEFL) this is a recognised course (you may have to attend some training courses before you go) but if that is not for you farm work or holiday camps are always looking for people to work in them.

Where to stay? With their tent and sleeping bag many people opt for the local camp sites, sleeping on the
hard ground this is not the best nights sleep you will ever get. Modern day airbeds will roll up as tight as any sleeping bag and will give you a comfortable nights sleep, into the bargain. No more rolling and dodging the hard ground.

It is worth remembering that many hostels will only offer you a mattress that many people have slept on before and are properly not in the best of conditions, again your airbed will be something you can rely on to be clean, safe and most of all comfortable.

The modern day camper vans have fuel injected engines that are water cooled so no more fighting with the old air cooled ones. So what do you do when you find that idyllic site? Simply park at your chosen site and relax. For that extra little piece of comfort why not invest in an air bed? You might say a bit of old meets new, these modern air beds can inflate in seconds are in some cases more comfortable than traditional mattresses.

They are supplied in a carry case so again ideal for space saving. If you have been driving most of the day the last thing you want to do is rest your body on a hard surface, research has proven that if you lay on a ‘bad’ or improper sleeping surface it is like sleeping in the wrong position all night and will cause stiffness of the neck and back. After your great nights sleep simply plug in the pump and it will deflate your bed back to its original flattened state then simply roll it up for easy storage.

So, without any further ado, here’s our Top 10 Camping Tips to make sure your stay under the stars is as smooth as possible.

10 : Toilet Roll
This is as important as taking your passport if your going abroad. No-one likes getting too comfy with nature and quite frankly Doken leaves are a poor substitute for comfy Andrex toiler paper.

9 : Sunblock
Yep, we sometimes get the Sun here in the UK at summertime. Remember, you’ll be outside a lot more than normal when you go on a camping trip and even on cloudy days the Sun can still do damage to the skin. Protect yourself and especially kids from sunburn.

8 : Clothing
Make sure you pack ideal clothing for all the family. Heavy and light clothing is a necessity. Remember you are at risk to the elements and if the weather takes a turn for the worse you want to make sure yourself and family are prepared.

7 : Entertainment
This depends on the individual really. Entertainment might mean a chess board or a good book for some but others might need their DS Lite, portable DVD Player or a radio / ghetto blaster. If your of the modern gadget type then you had better be prepared to have a transportable energy source with you : such as batteries.

6 : Torch
Yep, you will need to see in the dark and even if your going to a campsite, they might switch the lights off at a certain time or they will be less bright than normal street lighting. If your going it alone to your own campsite then a torch is a priority.

5 : Footwear
Similar to clothing, running around in sandals when it is lashing down in a muddy field is not the best experience in the world.

4 : Fold Away Chairs
What you thinking about sitting on the grass all the time your camping? Camping is a great way to get near nature but you can still be comfortable while doing so.

3 : Cooking Stoves & Food
Again this will reflect where you want to go camping. Some of the larger well established camp sites have shops, eating halls etc … but many of the small ones leave it up to yourself. Also, make sure someone knows how to prepare a proper campsite fire if your doing your own cooking.

2 : Disposable Plastic Bags
Please take your rubbish away with you or dispose of it properly. No-one likes to see rubbish strewn all over the countryside or campsite.

1 : Camping Air Bed
Ideal for a comfy, luxurious night’s sleep. Most modern camping airbeds can inflate/deflate in seconds and are comfier than traditional mattresses. I most definitely wouldn’t go camping without my airbed, sleeping on hard, uneven ground is not a nice experience.

Bonus Tip : Tent
Yeah don’t forget this or your camping experience may not last that long. Enjoy the summer and happy camping.

A top of the range traditional mattress will still have pressure points where the springs are, its all in the design, where as a good air mattress might cost you just as much as a traditional one, but with 1 advantage you can adjust the amount of pressure on your spine, at the hi-spec end of the range it can be supplied with memory foam top therefore you will have a better sleep and wake up feeling refreshed.

It only takes a matter of moments for your air bed to be inflated, normally by a small pump (included in most models). With the credit crunch now hitting everyone, people don’t want to spend hundreds of pounds on spare beds for their houses, so what happens when family or friends come to stay? No more sleeping on the floor or pushing the chairs together, an air bed is the perfect solution to that problem, cheaper than conventional beds the air bed is light and can be moved to any position. The good thing is that when your visitors have left you can simply deflate the bed and roll it up giving you back all your space again. Visiting family and friends again the air bed is the perfect solution to any sleeping arrangements.

With its built in pillow and battery operated air bed pump this air bed is ideal for those nights when you are sleeping under the stars.

Playing rounder’s and football, then at night sitting round the campfire singing, having a few drinks as you bake potatoes and cook marshmallows, these were all great times, then came the part of camping that no-one liked, going into your tent getting ready for bed, and bang, body straight down onto hard uneven ground you can never get comfortable, tossing and turning all night, when you awake in the morning you cannot move as your back is so sore, it feels like you need to visit the nearest chiropractor.

Well, thankfully those uncomfy, sleepless, nights are gone, because we have some great news, those great times can still be part of your family holiday, the laughs, the tents, but with one big advantage you need never lay your head on hard uneven ground again, made from durable vinyl our camping airbeds are portable and easy to inflate, available in various sizes our airbeds will fit into most tents.

Hopefully, they’ll all be a lot more to say than this post.

Till next time,

The Air Beds Team