If you dont like blowing up your air matress

this is the thermarest air tap. This the video review I did https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M_5wKcwkCM&t=6s

Lots of possibilities, which do depend on the type of valve. For the Thermarest type, which most pads use, you can even use a large garbage bag with a small hole in one of the bottom corners, held onto the valve with a rubber band. The bag of course has other uses (not for garbage, though--you don't want rotten food in your pad!). There's the Big Agnes Pump House, which works well as a pump (takes practice) but is a failure as a dry bag.

For Exped pads (the UL series that don't have the built in pump), there's a gadget called the Schnozzle. It works quite well. Some folks pack their sleeping bag in it, but I'm a bit dubious about its waterproofness.

The problem with large plastic bags (as in the video) or the garbage bag or the Schnozzle is that in your normal lightweight one or two person backpacking tent, there's not enough room to deploy it properly!

I normally inflate mine outside my tarp but if I had to do it while it was raining I would leave the pad outside while I was inside. The pad would be part of the way in. Problem with breathing into one is mold developes. It can lower the R- value on some pad. I have read it will lower the r-value on the xtherm for sure. Thermarest uses reflective material in the xtherm. If mold grows it covers the reflective material and therefore will not reflect. The bag is actually pretty heavy duty. I would use it for a bag liner. It more heartier than say a trash bag

I've just been using a tall kitchen trash bag and holding the bunched up opening up to the nozzle by hand.

+1. Do the same with the trash compactor bag I use to keep my critical stuff dry.

This seems like such a great investment. Thanks for sharing!

+1 on the pump bags. They are sorta multi-use. I have both the Schnozzle UL bag and the BA Pumphouse.

I use the Schnozzle it as a pack liner since it's shaped for that. It plugs straight into Exped pads of course and a few other types with similar valves. It's a pretty well thought out system, with a little strap so you can hold down the base of the sack with your toe while using both hands to gather air, fold and push the air into the pad.

I grabbed the Pumphouse bag for a pad with a different valve type. It's not as large a volume as the Schnozzle so it's not as good a pack liner and takes a few more sackloads of air to fill the pad, but it's actually easier for me to use when the pad is laid out in a hammock.

Theoretically, you can use either as a shower, too. Haven't tried that.

I don't understand why anyone would want to use an air pad pump bag as a shower, risking getting residual water into the air pad's insulation!

I did test my Schnozzle in the bathtub (turned it inside out and filled it with water), and there was a small amount of seepage, which is why I wouldn't trust it to keep my sleeping bag dry in my pack.

I tested my Pumphouse the same way and it leaked like a sieve!

i prefer not to shower when backpacking. i want to get the full effect of nature

I usually don't worry about taking a shower when backpacking. I like to go where there's lakes or rivers and go skinny dipping.
Natures way ! Just don't use soap since it pollutes no matter where you use it or claims by manufacturer.

I just got a Klymit insulated static v lite pad and a pump made by Kylmit. Looking forward to trying it out soon.
Will report back. It took about 20 breaths to fill pad so will be interesting to see how the light weight pump works. (For some strange reason the older I get the less air comes out of my lungs !)

Just tried out my Klymit pump on my Klymit Static V mattress and it worked great. The pump unfolds from a small bag and self inflates thanks to foam inside which is also how the pump works. I was able to get the mattress real firm. A great $14 investment

I'm not sure if the pump would work on other mattresses without perhaps using a short piece of rubber hose to connect the two but it might be worth it given how inexpensive and easy to use the pump is.

Yeah, skinny dipping for the win. I usually do the same. No shower required

We recently bought the Sea To Summit sleep pads and pillows that use their dry bag air pump. The first night was one of the sorriest nights sleep, but I was able to better inflate my pad the next day and work on the firmness of my pillow as well.

I can't seem to find a video for it...

After much trial and error when I first started using an air pad, I now pump it up pretty full, then lie full length on it, letting out the air a little at a time until the mattress is squishy enough to be comfortable but keeps my hip off the ground when I lie on my side. Also, testing new gear at home is usually a good idea.

I don't particularly like the idea of showering or skinny dipping outside with the mosquitoes or in view of any passing public. Instead, I sponge off critical areas in my tent at bedtime. That seems to work well enough. I usually have a little lukewarm water left in my cooking pot so I don't have to freeze.

Im the same way OG. I like my sleeping pad soft and squishy

Nothing like a dip in a lake or a river on a hot day plus it makes it harder for mosquitos to find me and less body area exposed.
I've been skinny dipping for 50 yrs , mostly in wilderness areas, and never had a problem as far as other people since the few people I rarely encounter are often fellow skinny dippers. Not appropriate at the public swimming pool but acceptable in the wild.

Good advice about inflating a mattress. The first air mattress I got sprung a leak and I spent the mornings waking up on hard ground. Just bought a new one and will give it more TLC.

I used to have a Thermarest self inflating and it lasted 10 yrs.
Decided to go air mattress for comfort and weight savings but may go back to self inflating if I continue to have leak problems.