If we were to give one piece of advice for getting a good night’s sleep when you’re camping, it would be to down half a bottle of whisky just before crawling into your sleeping bag. OK, that’s not official Camping magazine policy. Always drink responsibly. And instead get yourself a self-inflating mat.

Mats are infinitely better for your liver than copious amounts of alcohol, far more comfortable than an airbed and easy to inflate – you basically lay them out, leave them for a while, then give a couple of puffs to get to the right level of firmness.

The Monstamat from Zempire, available as a single or double, is an excellent example of the camping mat. It’s a super-comfy 10cm thick and coated with a luxurious stretch ripstop fabric. The 360 degree valve makes inflating and deflating quick and easy and the heavy duty 150 denier base provides extra.

These are a bit bulky to pack, especially the doubles, and are certainly not lightweight, but for family camping trips they are well worth creating a bit of extra space in the boot.

Expect to pay £167 (single)/£225 (twin)
zempire.co.uk