MEC - Reactor 6.5 Double Sleeping Pad

I had this exact one. It was phenomenal… for the first hour. Then I ended up on the ground. Leaked on its maiden voyage. Going back to use my old MEC Reactor 6.5. Never leaked once in 4 years.

Mec reactor double sleeping pad. It it thick and insulated. And I would fight someone with a willow switch if they took it from me.

I have the vectair. I bought it in 2020. It has gotten an insane amount of use, and straight- up abuse. Lots of backcountry camping, and I preferred it to the big rubber air mattress we used for car camping. When we were moving our son from his crib to a toddler bed in his own room, it got literal months of nightly use as we took turns sleeping on it beside his bed. It stayed inflated for that entire time. Once we didn’t need to be there every night, we kept it inflated in his room just in case we had to move there during the night. I’ve slept on it while breastfeeding, co sleeping with my kids. I slept on it while pregnant with my second. It was comfortable even in the beginning of my third trimester, when even daily living of life is horribly uncomfortable. I was still getting a decent night of sleep, I’ve used it on shoulder season camping trips when the temps have gone below zero, and been toasty warm to the point of being to unzip my sleeping bag. I’ve taken it canoe camping and backpacking, and I travel light when I’m backpacking (I use a 22L bag - pad and sleeping bag go in their own dry bag and get strapped to the outside.) Even though it’s bulky and heavier than what I had before, it’s worth the extra bulk. I had one pinhole leak during the sleeping on the floor period. It was easy to fix. I suspect it was cat claw damage. The only issue I’ve had? A tiny bit of insulation sometimes pokes out into the valve, preventing it from creating a seal, so the pad slowly leaks. As soon as I figured out why that was happening, and started making sure the valve was totally clear, it hasn’t happened again. I have since moved to a double mec reactor pad for car camping, which is almost as comfortable as a real bed. My vectair is still my favourite for backcountry. If I have my partner or extra kids with me (nieces) while car camping, and we don’t have enough space on the double pad (fits two adults and the smallest kid, or fits one adult and two kids of any size,) the kids get the vectair. It’s stood up to camping with a large dog that is convinced she belongs on the bed, and to young children who have trouble remembering not to run and jump and stomp inside the tent/on top of the air mattress. I once caught my son and niece doing belly flops onto it. It did not break or start to leak. I highly recommend.

As others have said, an exped megamat duo is probably the best option out there but it's pricey. There's a few from other brands that are a similar design (soft top, filled with foam so labeled as self inflating, etc.). Alternatives would be Nemo Roamer, Sea-To-Summit Comfort Deluxe, REI Camp Dreamer, MEC Reactor. The foam filling and soft top make them way more comfortable than the massive intex matresses or the one you have posted even though they are significantly thinner.

+1 for mec reactor (my solo, 5 years old) or klymit static insulated (double, for doubling, 3 years old) and aquaseal uv for field repairs and aquaseal seam grip for reinforcing the repair at home

been using a mec reactor for years, like 10 or so years. hundreds of nights on it, including a couple seasons tree planting. no leaks, no complaints. stuff sack is a bit shredded but otherwise, its been perfect for me.

dang yeah mine was $79 when i bought it, looks like the price has gone up a lot