Author Topic: Air filled sleeping mats - what's currently the recommended kit?  (Read 2426 times)

So, we've been dragging Exped downmat 7's around for a few years and a few have failed at the baffles.   I have a pair of failed mats here awaiting posting to the UK distributor.   mllePB has a synmat 7 which is one season old but I hold out little prospect of it surviving.   It's a nightmare on tour when one spots the first baffle popping.

Frankly I'm BAFFLEd with Exped for not addressing this long-standing issue.   The fact that their mats have been easily the best that we have used has kept our loyalty.

However, I'm looking for a more hard-wearing and cost effective solution that is still genuinely comfortable.   No thermarest-style foam-filled flatties please.  A travel blanket would be just as effective.   Given that an Exped Downmat weights in at nearly 900 grams weight is not too much of an issue though pack size is for touring.   

So, over to you guys to extol the virtues of the various mats you have tried and love.    Remember, hard-wearing and cost effective as well as comfortable please.

Re: Air filled sleeping mats - what's currently the recommended kit?
« Reply #1 on: 22 January, 2015, 08:41:48 pm »
I currently use Thermarest Neoair.

These depend on internal baffles to prevent convection rather than down, and there's nothing inside that's going to suffer badly from damp, so inflation by mouth is possible.

The light weight version (Xlite) is similar to a light self-inflating mat with a punched foam core, good down to 0 to +5 deg C.
The warmer version (XTherm) is similar to the Downmat 7 in warmth.
Thickness is the same as Exped (7cm).

The baffles run crossways rather than longways, so some people may find they fall off the edge more easily, but there are also wider 25" versions as well as the standard 20".

A short Xlite rolls up to the same size as a water bottle, the full length XTherm is maybe 75% fatter when rolled.

I've not had any failed baffles in the 5 years or so I've been using them.


If you want tough and reliable, closed cell foam mats like the original Karrimat are where it's at. The penalty for reliability is bulk and comparative lack of comfort.

Self-inflating mats:
A 2.5 cm mat is OK if you sleep on your back or front, but side sleepers may put a hip down onto the ground if the mat isn't fairly firm. Thicker are OK.
If the foam core is punched full of holes (for lightness), the mat isn't as warm, so a 2.5 cm mat may only be good down to +5C.
A 2.5 cm unperforated core mat is OK down to maybe -8C.
They can delaminate, which is the equivalent of the failed baffle. You get a big bubble where the shell is no longer bonded to the foam core, all the air goes into the bubble, and you go down onto the ground. Because the shell meets the foam core at an angle at the edge of the bubble, the bubble grows very easily.
I've had two cheap & cheerful self-inflating mats delaminate after very little use, and one pukka Thermarest when left inflated hard inside a closed tent on a sunny afternoon in Briancon whilst we looked for a replacement set of forks for my mate's bike.

All temperature judgements are for me. YMMV

Kim

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Re: Air filled sleeping mats - what's currently the recommended kit?
« Reply #2 on: 22 January, 2015, 08:54:04 pm »
That Big Agnes thing that nikki's got looks interesting.  Too early for a durability report, thoguh.

Re: Air filled sleeping mats - what's currently the recommended kit?
« Reply #3 on: 22 January, 2015, 09:02:37 pm »
It does look good and I recall it being nice to lay on at Long Itch, but, reviews online show it to be quite narrow so rather an issue for a 'larger than your average' bear. 

If nothing more interesting comes up I'll buy another synmat ul for now.

Re: Air filled sleeping mats - what's currently the recommended kit?
« Reply #4 on: 22 January, 2015, 09:26:29 pm »
Sea to Summit have introduced a line of sleeping mats with an interesting eggbox appearance. Some are dual layer, so if one layer gets a puncture you've the other layer as a thinner mat to get by on.
http://www.seatosummit.com.au/sleepingmats/series/?series=comfort-plus
They are new, and I've not heard any reports yet.

Re: Air filled sleeping mats - what's currently the recommended kit?
« Reply #5 on: 22 January, 2015, 09:27:44 pm »
Have a look at the Multimat range PB.  They are a step up from Thermarest but still very light and very durable.

Re: Air filled sleeping mats - what's currently the recommended kit?
« Reply #6 on: 22 January, 2015, 09:41:02 pm »
reviews online show it to be quite narrow so rather an issue for a 'larger than your average' bear. 

There was a problem with the manufacturing early on and they didn't take into account the wrap-around with expansion and so the mats weren't as wide as they were supposed to be. This seems to have been resolved (with mine, anyway). There is a wide variant available IIRC, but I've not used it enough to be able to vouch for durability or graceful failure. I'm hoping that the short length of the baffles will mean it's non-catastrophic if one does go, though.

Aushiker

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Re: Air filled sleeping mats - what's currently the recommended kit?
« Reply #7 on: 29 April, 2015, 03:08:37 am »


Bikepacker Magazine have posted a "first look" at the Nemo Equipment NEMO Astro Insulated Lite 25L Sleeping Pad. Might be worth a read.

Andrew