Inflatable Sleeping Mats

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willem jongman
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Re: Inflatable Sleeping Mats

Post by willem jongman »

Indeed: heavy and cold. But it is quite cheap.
iandusud
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Re: Inflatable Sleeping Mats

Post by iandusud »

simonineaston wrote: 6 Apr 2021, 10:46am The old engineering maxim, "you can have light, well-made and cheap - but only 2 from the list at the same time..." probably applies as much to camping mattresses as much as cycles. Presumably Trekology get round this issue by describing the decidedly portly 750g as "ultralight" and keeping their fingers X'ed behind their back...
Where did you get the weight of 750g from? It is speced at 560g and the only review I've come across that has weighed it came up with 568g. Many reviews have people rating as more comfortable than their Exped and Thermarest air mats, with the proviso that it isn't as warm so prob a summer mat. Although if I go for these I might put a reflective mat underneath if only to give added protection at 85g I think I can cope with that. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Highlander-Ref ... 6293&psc=1
Even with the reflective mat it comes in at more than 200g lighter than the Big Agnes mat I was looking at. There are quite a few Youtube reviews from serious users which are very positive.
I should probably add that this will be for summer use only and in nearly 60 years of camping almost every year using mostly uninsulated airbeds I have not had any problems with being cold using a 3 season down sleeping bag.
iandusud
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Re: Inflatable Sleeping Mats

Post by iandusud »

willem jongman wrote: 6 Apr 2021, 10:58am Indeed: heavy and cold. But it is quite cheap.
560g heavy for a mat that measures 190x57cm and more importantly, from a comfort point of view 10cm thick? What do you consider to a reasonable weight for a comfortable air mat?
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simonineaston
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Re: Inflatable Sleeping Mats

Post by simonineaston »

Prob'ly just lazy copy / pasting! I did think it was a strange weight to get excited about! ;-) If measured at the lower figure by a punter, more credible. To answer your Q. the lighter the better :-)
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PH
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Re: Inflatable Sleeping Mats

Post by PH »

I've seen some positive reviews of these mats, including a you tube channel I follow, Paul Messner. I have a Trekology pillow which I like, the mat wouldn't suit me for several reasons, not least the R value, but quality wouldn't be one of them. The reviews I've seen say you can use the Exped Snozzle to inflate and I see Trekology now offer their own version, this to me would be a plus, I haven't seen a better method.
willem jongman
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Re: Inflatable Sleeping Mats

Post by willem jongman »

What I read was the 750 gram. 560 is better, of course, though such a low R value would restrict its usability for me. Fine for summers in France or Italy, but cold in the Spring or Autumn that I rather like for touring.
iandusud
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Re: Inflatable Sleeping Mats

Post by iandusud »

simonineaston wrote: 6 Apr 2021, 2:04pm Prob'ly just lazy copy / pasting! I did think it was a strange weight to get excited about! ;-) If measured at the lower figure by a punter, more credible. To answer your Q. the lighter the better :-)Screenshot 2021-04-06 at 14.00.13.pngScreenshot 2021-04-06 at 13.57.14.png
You're quite right that Trekology give the weight as 750g? Strange as on the Amazon page it give it at 560. In this Youtube video he weighs it at .53kg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5B38yL ... tOrNothing
Not sure about "the lighter the better" after all one of those reflective mats by itself at 85g would be the dog's doodahs :D
Bmblbzzz
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Re: Inflatable Sleeping Mats

Post by Bmblbzzz »

I quite like my Thermarest NeoAir. I wouldn't say it's particularly noisy. Nor is it especially warm but it's comfy, as long as I don't over or underinflate it. I got an extra wide one.
willem jongman
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Re: Inflatable Sleeping Mats

Post by willem jongman »

There are now many different models and some are much warmer and noisier than others.
iandusud
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Re: Inflatable Sleeping Mats

Post by iandusud »

Just thought I'd feed back here. We've been away for the weekend using the Trekology UL80 air mats and we were very impressed with the comfort. I would also add that we used Highlander reflective mats underneath and for the 100g that they weigh they are amazing. I didn't realise just how effective they were until I came to pack up. Having packed away the sleeping bags and the air mats I became conscious of the temperature difference between the groundsheet and the mats. It was huge. I think for what they weigh and the extra protection they offer both in terms of thermal and physical protection they are amazing. The two of them cost £12 inc postage!
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horizon
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Re: Inflatable Sleeping Mats

Post by horizon »

iandusud wrote: 27 May 2021, 8:14am I didn't realise just how effective they were until I came to pack up. Having packed away the sleeping bags and the air mats I became conscious of the temperature difference between the groundsheet and the mats. It was huge. I think for what they weigh and the extra protection they offer both in terms of thermal and physical protection they are amazing. The two of them cost £12 inc postage!
I certainly agree that the effectiveness of air mats is fantastic. - they really have transfomed cycle camping for me. So the problem (even the price isn't an issue) is reliability - will they last? We've had the discussion and I'm still weighing things up. Nearly all reviews praise air mats - lavishly. The problems are described on specialist forums where people get to use them more and for longer periods. I look forward to a futher review further down the line.
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
willem jongman
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Re: Inflatable Sleeping Mats

Post by willem jongman »

I more or less agree: they are superlight, comfortable and relatively well insulated. From personal experience I also agreee with the concern about reliability. So my advice would be to avoid the superlight models, unless you really need that kind of weight saving.
Oggi
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Re: Inflatable Sleeping Mats

Post by Oggi »

I bought my first self inflating mat in the early 1980 s and have now owned 4 or 5. Only 2 have punctured, once by a deliberate act of a disgruntled young man, and once by an African thorn the size of a darning needle. Both were repairable in the field using the same principles as bicycle punctures. I am a mountaineering instructor who has spent at least 30 nights a year camping for the last 35 years. This includes expeditions to every continent, except Antarctica. I now have a thermarest neoair which is the lightest and most compact and the most comfortable I have used. Why be concerned about puncturing when you can repair easier than an inner tube.
willem jongman
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Re: Inflatable Sleeping Mats

Post by willem jongman »

I love my current Neoairs, but after my experience with Exped Downmat and Synmat UL mats I have become a bit weary. Because it is not just little holes that can indeed be patched, but also delamination. Admittedly I am not sure this is a bigger issue with ultralight models than with the heavier ones. However, it is uncomfortable when it happens.
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horizon
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Re: Inflatable Sleeping Mats

Post by horizon »

Oggi wrote: 27 May 2021, 6:08pm Why be concerned about puncturing when you can repair easier than an inner tube.
Just to emphasise what willem has said - we're not talking about puncturing, we're talking about internal delamination. This is where the sidewalls between the baffles become unstuck and combine to form large balloons, making the mat (although full of air) unusable.

The problem is worse because it seems to be unpredictable: it could happen in the middle of the night in the middle of a tour; it could happen with an old mat or quite a new one. And it happens suddenly. If they just got old and wore out, that would be fine. The system seems to rely on replacement under warranty. So it's a wonderful product that you basically cannot use (even though many people do and successfully).
When the pestilence strikes from the East, go far and breathe the cold air deeply. Ignore the sage, stay not indoors. Ho Ri Zon 12th Century Chinese philosopher
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