For centuries, those who slept outside – armies, travelers, stock herders, hikers, etc. – relied on a ‘bedroll’ for their sleeping needs. The classic bedroll consisted of only a canvas ground sheet, a blanket or two, and maybe a small pillow.
Today, though, the bedroll looks a bit different, thanks to the designers at Born Outdoors.
The new Badger Bed 30 offers a wilderness sleep system that beat most hotel beds for comfort and support. We tested the Badger Bed 30 Baja Bundle for several weeks, using it in car camps, on rafting trips, and during a backcountry horse-packing trip.
The Badger Bed 30 employs an XXL MondoKing Thermarest self-inflating mattress enclosed in a fitted sleeve of durable 600-denier ripstop nylon. The sleeve provides great protection for the mattress, ensuring it can used on the ground regardless of surface – we slept out on sand and river gravel, forest duff, and heather meadows.
The Baja version of the bed includes a synthetic quilt and a cotton sheet that fits over the mattress, inside the nylon outer shell. That provides cozy comfort atop the 4-inch-thick super-supportive mattress. And by keeping the ‘bed’ components inside the tough outer shell, the Badger Bed is suitable for stand-alone use outside – no tent required.
Come morning, the Badger Bed 30 can remain fully intact. Just deflate the mattress, close up the cover, and roll everything up together. The package compresses down to rough 3 feet long and just under a foot in diameter.
For cooler conditions, Born Outdoors offers a Sierra version of the Badger Bed 30. This features a flannel sheet set rather than cotton percale, and a down quilt rather than synthetic.
The Baja version of Badger Bed 30 sells for $785, while the Sierra version runs $825. Buy now.
