Bedchairs

How to Choose a Carp Bedchair

A bedchair has three jobs, staying level on rough ground, carrying your weight without sagging and folding small enough to move. Every frame listed folds for transport and stands on legs that adjust one at a time.

Widths run from about 70cm on the slimmest frames to 101cm on the largest, with 78cm to 90cm the most common. Lengths go from roughly 190cm to 223cm, so a tall angler should check length before anything else.

A bed that is too narrow leaves your arms hanging off the side on a cold night. A wide frame also eats more floor in a bivvy, so measure the space you have first.

Most compact and standard beds stand on six legs, while wide and heavy duty models usually move up to eight. Extra legs spread the load on soft banks and keep the frame steadier, but every pair adds weight to carry.

Leg adjustment on the beds listed sets the frame anywhere from about 26cm to 60cm off the ground. Low beds suit small bivvies and shelters, while taller frames are easier to sit on and leave room for kit underneath.

Each leg adjusts on its own, so the bed can sit flat on a sloping swim or a gravel bank. Wide, swivelling mud feet stop the legs sinking into soft ground as the night goes on.

The bedchairs here weigh from about 7kg to 20kg, and the heaviest are wide memory foam models. Folded, they pack to roughly 80cm to 100cm across and 24cm to 38cm thick.

If you barrow or carry kit a long way, every kilo counts. For anglers who park behind the swim, a heavier bed costs nothing extra in effort.

Basic beds use a padded fabric mattress over the springs, while dearer models add 30mm to 60mm of foam. Memory foam moulds to your shape and spreads pressure on hips and shoulders, which side sleepers tend to notice first.

A fleece or quilted top adds warmth on cold nights. Some mattresses unzip or come away from the frame, which makes drying and cleaning them at home much easier.

Most frames listed are rated for 105kg to 150kg, and one heavy duty model claims over 225kg. Choose a rating with plenty of headroom over your own weight, since kit, a sleeping bag and sitting down hard all add load.

A flatbed lies fully flat and suits anglers who mostly want to sleep. Beds with a separate head section let you prop yourself up to watch the rods, which helps on day sessions too.

Buying the frame on its own lets you keep a sleeping bag you already trust or swap bags with the seasons. If you would rather have the bag fixed to the frame, complete sleep systems have their own range.

A bivvy with a narrow door or a low roof may not take a tall, wide bed. Check the bed's width and height against the bivvy's inside measurements before buying either.

What Carp Bedchairs Cost

The dearest bed listed costs about six times the entry model, and prices update as reputable online tackle shops change theirs. Entry beds are light and simple, while the top end is wide, heavy and padded with memory foam.

Extra money buys a thicker mattress and a stronger frame with a higher load rating. It also buys width, as most of the wide frames sit in the upper half of the price range.

Our reviews have scored 9 out of 28 in the bedchair range, on comfort, levelling, weight and value. The scored beds are compared side by side in our best bedchairs guide.