Alps Mountaineering Vertex Twin Sleeping Pad Review

The Vertex Twin sleeping pad from Alps Mountaineering is an oversized air mattress that’s great for camping or throwing on the floor at home for unexpected guests.

It’s the 80″ long by 39″ wide, 6″ thick and can cary 250 pounds. It weighs 3 pounds 4 oz and packs down to 15.5″ x 12″ x 4″

It comes with a small bag, a repair kit and a battery-powered pump.

In this review of the Vertex Twin Sleeping Pad we tested how fast it inflates, how comfortable it is and how fast it is to deflate and pack up.

Best Camping Mattresses of 2023

The EXPED was part of our Best Camping Mattresses of 2023 test. See the rest of the mattresses here:

• Exped MegaMat Max
• NEMO Roamer XL
• Big Agnes Captain Comfort Deluxe
• REI Camp Dreamer XL
• Therm-a-Rest MondoKing 3D XL
• Alps Mountaineering Vertex Twin Air Bed
• Elegear Double Sleeping Pad

Specs

Inflating

Inflating the Vertex is just like any other air mattress. One dual-layer valve let’s you blow it up and deflate it.

The the first layer of the cap screws and is a one-way ‘in’ valve and then the second layer screws on to keep the air in. To inflate, unscrew the top cap and blow or pump air through the one-way valve.

Blowing with your mouth takes a while because the mat is so big. It took me about nine minutes. The one-way valve doesn’t really keep air in until it’s 3/4 full. The air pressure holds the valve in place, stopping the air at that point. Blowing with your mouth takes a while because the mats so big.

A small battery-powered air pump is included and it works pretty well. It has a few different nozzles included to blow up other things and their attached to the pump so you don’t lose them. The nozzles are hard plastic and just stack so a bit of air leaks out but most of it gets through. I used it to test pumping with all the other mats in our test this year.

The pump is battery powered and comes with AC (home) and DC (car) chargers. You can use it while it’s plugged in too.

The valve is on the middle of the side of the mattress is odd but doesn’t affect inflating. It does impact deflating which I’ll talk about below.

Method	Time
Self-inflate	n/a
Inflate from nothing – Blowing up	9:00
Inflate from nothing – Pump	8:00

Comfort

The size of the Vertex is great at 80″ long and 39″ wide. Plenty of room for one person to roll around. It makes for a great camping mattress and keeps you well off any sort of ground or just at home for company.

The quilted pattered on the top and bottom is comfortable to lay on. Like any air mattress, it’s a little bouncy since there’s no foam inside. No one else will be sleeping on the mattress with you so don’t have to worry about being bounced off.

Because it’s very flat with no built-in pillow, I usually use more than I do for a pillow at home. I sleep on my side so this is how I found all the air mattresses.

Alps Mountaineering says there is a 250 pound weight limit.

Deflating and Packing

Deflating takes a bit more time with the Vertex. The valve is in the center of the side of the matt. This location doesn’t affect inflation or using the matt but rolling the air out when you want to pack up takes a little longer.

I rolled from both sides at the same time into the center to the valve to get the air out. I had to make sure the valve was open to let air out. I’d rather this valve be at the end.

Once the air is out, it’s easy packing. It packs down to 15.5″ x 12″ x 4″ without much trouble and the bag is a generous size to hold the mat and the pump. A draw cord keeps everything in.

Deflate and pack time

2:00

Size and Weight

At 3 pounds 4 oz, the Vertex doesn’t weigh much. It’s certainly more than the 1 pound of the tiny ultralight mattresses but for a car camping or home mattress, it’s light and small.

When it’s rolled out the, the Vertex is 80″ long, 39″ wide and 6″ thick. A nice thick mattress for any kind of ground camping.

The 15.5″ x 12″ x 4″ packed size is very small compared to all the other mattresses we tested and easily fit in our camping gear.

Who is Alps Mountaineering?

Alps Mountaineering was founded by Dennis Brune in 1993. Denis start his career building outdoor products with Kelty. He wanted to make high quality, affordable gear for camping and exploring the outdoors. Along the way he’s made specialty gear for Sir Edmund Hillary and others.

ALPS in the name isn’t actually a reference to the mountain range in Europe but an acronym: Active Lifestyle Products and Services. Helping you get outside and keeping you affordable has always been the goal. Brune and his family still own and run the company.

Conclusion

The Vertex Twin air mattress from Alps Mountaineering is a great air mattress for camping or guests at home. It’s easy to inflate, packs down small and comes with a great little battery-powered air pump. At 80″ long, it’s a bit longer than most other air mattresses too if you need the room.

I’d prefer the valve to be on one of the ends instead of the middle of the side for inflating but it’s not a dealbreaker. I just had to roll it differently when packing. The bag is a generous size and easily fits the mat and the pump.

If you’re looking for a solid air mattress for 1 person that you can use anywhere that doesn’t break the bank and actually fits in the car, check out the Vertex.

Verdict: Recommended (if you’re tight on space)

Usual Price: $159.99 USD