I've finally given up on air mattresses, as a king size tempurpedic 51 weeks out of the year just makes that one week less than comfy. I purchased a 3 inch, queen foam pad, which is nicely compacted, sealed in plastic, and staying that way until it's in my tent. I'm starting to wonder/worry about packing out though...any suggestions for compressing and packing for the trip home? I have visions of wrestling/battling it, only to have it escape and expand and fill my Subaru on the 700 mile trip home...

I wonder if there is a way to put it in some kind of heavy duty plastic bag like a contractor garbage bag, and using someone's mattress pump on reverse/suck out the air from the bag?
Another thought is to get some kind of duffel bag that it will fit into and then have several belts/straps around the bag and really cinch it down. . .make the duffel bag into a jumbo compression sack. . .

I leave my 2" memory foam mattress unfolded during the year so she doesn't forget who she is! Then when I'm ready to pack, I lay it on top of a sheet of thin rip-stop nylon (you could use a big sheet of plastic), then fold it over then start compressing with my hands first, then my knees, folding the RSN from the sides to the center as I go, like you're wrapping a big burrito almost. The knees part is important; it compresses way more than I could do with my hands. Then, when I'm done, I quickly stuff the whole thing in the stuff-sack that came with my tent, before any air can start seeping back in.

Now yours is 3", so it's gonna be a bit harder. I'd recommend 1) opening that puppy up right now, since you're gonna need to practice this, 2) get a friend to help you roll, and 3) find a stuff-sack (or one of those giant Zip-Lock blanket bags) to fit. Then practice, practice, practice!

Where do you get the memory foam?
How much does it cost?

Overstock. com They sell memory foam toppers pretty cheap. Often they charge the same price for any size, twin thru king. Get a king size, fold it in half and it's like having 2 twin mattresses. ( So...a 1.5" topper becomes a 3" topper)

While I understand wanting to take advantage of the tight original packaging, you may want to unwrap it now so it can off-gas. The foam pads can give off a lot of foul-smelling (and head-ache inducing) gasses when they are new. I'd unwrap it and put it outside for a few days (pull it back in if it looks like rain!)

Re-rolling a pad this thick is difficult. Pick up a few belts at Goodwill and ask a friend to help you roll it. The belts are used to keep it from unrolling again.

Another option, depending on what kind of car you're coming in, is to just lay it flat in the back of the car and pack everything on top of it. Alternately, pack your car, then lay the mattress on top of all of your gear.

Good thinkin', Babs. Off-gassing is a headache - literally. And I only roll my mattress up so tightly b/c I fly.

Thanks for the good suggestions-I hadn't even considered the stank effect, so I'm going to set it free tonight to enjoy some airing out before I hit the road, and then practice my rolling techniques so I can hopefully have it mastered ahead of time. Wish me luck!

I got a 3" memory foam pad on ebay. It is very soft, thick and comfy, but wow is it heavy. Wound up putting it on the bed instead. It did kind of fold up when I moved it around. I think if you can do the weight you could compress it fairly well.

just a contrary opinion.

I got my first mem foam as a topper to my mattress. It feels so awesome! It hugs you. A lot. It's clingy. Sorry, Mem Foam, too much closeness for me. Just makes me sweat more.

So I took it off my bed and thought, Gee, this will be a great pad for sleeping on, in my tent! It conforms to your shape! It conforms to the shape of the sticks and twigs and pine cones underneath! Instead of a way to keep me separated from them, it is a way for us to get to know each other better!! No thanks.

I find that the standard type pillow foam, that you can find in the sewing stores, is better suited to supporting you, to keeping you AWAY from the pokey things, or the cold things, or the hard things beneath you. I use 2", but you can get 4 inch thick foam, like what you'd have as a futon mattress.

For me, memory foam just hasn't worked out to be an improvement over the old fashioned kind. But it does feel amazing!

Yeah, I wouldn't use a memory foam topper by itself, but on top of my Thermarest - now I'm in heaven. The Thermarest shields me from the cold, and the memory foam provides an extra-cushiony layer on top for comfort. I have an eggcrate foam that goes under the Thermarest, and a sleeping bag that's a kind of sandwich of fleece and satiny layers. If it's warm out, I sleep between the 2 satiny "sheets" on top; if it's cold I slide between the 2 polar-fleece sheets on the bottom. I think I'm near to perfecting the Fest sleeping experience, my sisters! This year I'm adding a thin cotton jersey layer on top, so my skin doesn't stick to the outer rip-stop nylon of the sleeping bag when I'm hanging out reading or taking my afternoon nap. Every year I tweak...

You could try those vaccuum bags they sell for storing clothes. You should be able to roll and compress the mattress enough to fit into one of the large ones; then use the vaccuum to shrink it more. The issue would be packing up at end of fest; I doubt those little whiny mattress pumps have enough power.

When camping within walking distance of my car, I take my portable vaccuum cleaner along and use a power converter. 5 seconds or less for a full size mattress, verses 5 minutes of annoying high-pitched whining from those little battery jobbies. Then carry mattress to tent.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I'm so glad I did unfurl and air it out ahead of time, as the fumes were awful! I lucked out at the thrift store and found a huge duffle bag designed for an artificial tree-it worked wonders! My honey helped me wrestle into the bag before fest, and my kids helped after. The best part was being totally comfortable! No freezing air beneath me, no need to reinflate, no rolling toward the center, no feeling sticks beneath me. I slept like a baby, and as i woke to hear all around me complaining of bed woes... I just smiled! Though I ended up giving the foam pad to my daughter for her bed at home, I will be on the lookout for the next time they go on sale at kohls and I've 30 % off!