decathlon blow up sleeping mat?

[Sweep]

Apologies if this has been covered before, couldn't get a search to work, though i do seem to remember that al recommended a blow up mat of some sort a whilebago.

So, anyone used one of these?

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/forclaz-air- ... 98497.html

I was in my local decathlon earlier and rather liked the look of it - looked tough, compact and seemed easy to blow up. And at first sight seemed a big improvement on poor blow up mats of old.

So anyone ever slept on one?

Is it comfy and does it insulate from the ground well?

Will it stand up to prolonged use?

I already have an old thermarest but have certain reservations about it.

[Sweep]

No one any feedback?

I'll settle for views on modern blow up mats in general.

I know when i was younger they were seen as inferior to new fangled self inflating things, msybe because the old blow up mats were bulkier and heavier znd hard to blow up by mouth/tended to lose air in the night, but i must szy i am tempted. I did like the way the Decsthlon thing packed up.

[nmnm]

Looks good, you should give it a go, blow up mats are great. Not used this one, but £33, great price, not tooo heavy, couple of fine reviews. Cheery colour.

Here's a page of other blow ups:
http://www.ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/ ... rbeds-c138

[mercalia]

trouble with blow up mats is that u have to rely soley on the air for support where I have found the the foam in my ultrasport does a very good job even with the valve open ( letting the air out and the mat adjusting it self ). My memory of blow up mats is either very hard due to fully inflated or partlially inflated & sliding around as the air moves from one part of the mat to other as u move

[Sweep]

Was that with an older mat though mercalia? I have an impression that they have improved somewhat and also have access to better materials.

[bohrsatom]

Hi Sweep. I've not used that particular mat but have used inflatable mats before.

Is it comfy and does it insulate from the ground well?

Comfy? Yes. Very! You will find that inflatable mats are several times thicker than self-inflating ones and when I was testing them I found the extra thickness of the inflatable variety to be much more comfortable.

But for insulation, well, it depends. My mat was an Exped Synmat and the synthetic material inside helped insulate from the ground. I'm not sure whether a mat without some form of insulation would be as good. Perhaps OK for spring/summer but if temperatures started to drop you may feel the cold

Will it stand up to prolonged use?

This was the big drawback of my Synmat. I got through two on my 4-month trip. Not because of punctures but because the internal dividers between the air pockets that run top-to-bottom failed. When they fail you are left with a big bulge which can make sleeping quite uncomfortable. And if you get a puncture then you're sleeping on the floor!

IMO the trade off is - inflatable mats are comfy when not broken but very uncomfortable when they fail. Self inflating mats are less comfy when working OK but are less susceptible to punctures/failures.

Oh and they can take a while to blow up. If you like to break camp and move on every day then it's worth getting one that has a pump accessory.

[sabrutat]

This was the big drawback of my Synmat. I got through two on my 4-month trip. Not because of punctures but because the internal dividers between the air pockets that run top-to-bottom failed. When they fail you are left with a big bulge which can make sleeping quite uncomfortable. And if you get a puncture then you're sleeping on the floor!

Ditto. This seems to be a common problem I found while researching mats when my seams blew. I returned from my first long tour and sent my Synmat 7 UL back literally the day before the warranty ran out, and they replaced it without question. The new one seems to be more robust, with slightly thicker seams, but I've only used it for a couple of weeks so far.

[Sweep]

This was the big drawback of my Synmat. I got through two on my 4-month trip. Not because of punctures but because the internal dividers between the air pockets that run top-to-bottom failed. .

Thanks for the reply but i'm sorry, that is a product unfit for purpose in my book. Even if the company replaced a few free of charge. I rather hope the decathlon thing is better than that. I think on the basis that it is cheaper and couldn't be much worse i would be inclined to go for the decathlon. With their various stores around, including abroad, replacement under guarantee would very probably be simpler as well.

Still interested if anyone has particular experience of the decathlon thing.

[simonineaston]

It's my impression that Exped are market leaders in that technology, so when theirs go (and that doesn't seems uncommon...) you have to worry about the also-rans. Or maybe Exped are simply better at their PR...

[Sweep]

Yes they do have a very high profile, but there's a long history of products which are too clever by half/pushing things too far.

Many examples in the bike trade of high-end weight weeny stuff which i wouldn't want to use for day to day cycling or touring. And ferraris are impressive works of engineering but i wouldn't go camping in one.

Your post seems to confirm that expeds can be problematical.

[mercalia]

Was that with an older mat though mercalia? I have an impression that they have improved somewhat and also have access to better materials.

older - neverlooked at them again

[bohrsatom]

This was the big drawback of my Synmat. I got through two on my 4-month trip. Not because of punctures but because the internal dividers between the air pockets that run top-to-bottom failed. .

Thanks for the reply but i'm sorry, that is a product unfit for purpose in my book.

Actually I didn't give the whole story - I had two mat failures and my girlfriend one, both Synmat UL7s. I can't fault their service but you're right about it not being fit for purpose. I found lots of good reviews for the UL7 so not sure why we had such little success but perhaps it is aimed at those who only go on the road for a few weeks each year.

We were in Germany for the first round of failures and as luck would have it Germany is where Exped service is based. So after a quick phone call they arranged to deliver the first replacement Synmat to an outdoor store in a city we would be passing through a few days later. Unfortunately about one day after picking up the replacement my girlfriends broke in exactly the same manner so we did the same thing again, this time in Hamburg.

My replacement broke a couple of weeks later and I couldn't be bothered to go through the hassle of getting yet another replacement but the original company I bought it from - complete outdoors I think - gave me a full refund when I got back home.

I expect the service you might get through Decathlon would be even better given how ubiquitous they are across Europe.

[william07]

Just bought one ,IOW for the weekend ,let you know my thoughts,gave it a quick try indoors ,width and length good for me ,5ft 10,removing air to get it back in the stuff sack needs a bit of practice !!!

[Sweep]

Look forward to your feedback william

[william07]

Re DECATHALON blowup camping mat,well found it comfortable ,easy to inflate ,not much puff needed,good thing !!! held its air ,no going down noticed over night
Two would fit in my Taurus 1 tent very well,width wise it was just about ok for me ,time will tell about its hardiness !!!
All in all pleased with mine ,for the price,good luck with whatever you choose