It can be uncomfortable, using a sleeping bag that's laid directly onto the floor of a tent. Utilizing a cushy sleeping pad helps, but that's one more thing you have to pack along … and that's where the inflatable AirBag is designed to come in.
Invented by New Jersey-based outdoorsman Matt Turcina, the AirBag sleeping bag incorporates an air mattress all along its underside.
When setting up camp, users remove the cap on the bag's built-in two-stage valve, then put their mouth to that valve to blow the mattress up – it's claimed that five to 10 breaths should do the job. When packing up, they deflate the mattress simply by pulling out the valve's mouthpiece, allowing all the air to quickly escape.
According to Turcina, the AirBag eliminates the pressure points that occur in body parts such as the hips and shoulders when either no pad or an overly-thin pad is being used. Additionally, by providing an insulating air gap between the user and the cold ground, it's said to keep them warmer.
Some of the AirBag's other, more conventional features include a drawstring hood, a two-way zipper, a wind-blocking draft tube along that zipper, an internal pocket for gadgets like smartphones, dual layers of insulation, and a water-resistant shell.
Plans call for three models to be manufactured: the AirBag 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. Featuring a polyester ripstop shell, taffeta liner and hollow fiber fill, the 1.0 and 2.0 are rated to ambient temperatures of 55 and 40 ºF (12 and 4 ºC), respectively. The more "extreme" 3.0 has a nylon ripstop shell and liner with goose down fill, and is reportedly good to a limit of 15 ºF (-9 ºC).
Should you be interested in getting one, the AirBag is presently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign. A pledge of US$70 is required for a 1.0 (planned retail $79 child-size and $89 adult), $100 for a 2.0 (retail $129) and $225 for a 3.0 (retail $299). Assuming they reach production, shipping is estimated to take place in July.
Sources: Kickstarter, AirBags