Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

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horizon
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Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

Post by horizon »

Some while ago I bought an Exped Synmat from this forum. It was the answer to my prayers: warm, comfortable, light, compact, easy to use. And as it was second-hand it was affordable too. For me it transformed cycle camping: from now on it would always be warm and comfortable, not something that you could easily say before.

And then the inevitable happened: it delaminated. I knew it was likely and it was only a matter of time. I did get some good use out of it so I certainly didn't regret buying it. But now it is time to consider options for this year and I'm not inclined to buy another.

It would almost certainly have to be new (otherwise I could be back to square one). They retail at about £100. I would happily pay that for a robust, repairable piece of kit that gives so much in terms of comfort. But they aren't AFAIK robust or repairable. I'm tempted to go back to closed cell mats or at the most a simpler self-inflating mat.

I'm not really looking at competitors' products because to my mind the whole concept is flawed as they cannot really be made reliable or long lasting, try as they might. And that would be fine if you could repair them, which you cannot. Even worse, delamination could happen in the middle of a tour, in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere.

So what am I to do? I'm very open to any advice or opinions on this - it feels like a crossroads moment.

Here's one from Trekkit (most prices are around the £100 mark):

https://www.trekitt.co.uk/sleep-shelter ... -mat__2539

And here is another option:
https://www.andescamping.co.uk/99435-an ... g-mat.html

Ho hum, as they say.
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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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
I used a Lilo Some 45 years ago.
It started off New but on the third day it wasn't lasting very long.
I'm quite happy using a foam mat, they are just reliable.
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
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PH
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Re: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

Post by PH »

I've been through three, the alternative for me is not getting as good nights sleep and the effect of that is not gong camping as often. You're wrong about the inevitability, some get many years of good service from them, it's just too common to ignore. Manufacturers have always been aware of the issue and have been working towards solutions, so it makes sense to consider some of the developments. Firstly shorter tubes as in the neoair which seem to have less failures and more recently the development has been in button cell construction. I've recently bought an Exped of this design, but the cutting edge seems to be Sea to Summit who are so confident of their construction they're offering lifetime guarantee.
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simonineaston
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Re: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

Post by simonineaston »

Here's what I think: a) one hears rather too many stories about Exped mats failing for comfort. I'm not clear whether that data is accurate or simply users who've paid top dollar venting their spleen. That is to say, maybe a lot of air beds fail but no-one complains about the ten quid jobbie from Halfords when it does. b) at one time - maybe ten or fifteen years back, the Synmat / Downmat range had the market to themselves - I think that's changed now, as some more light-thick-and-insulated products have come onto the market. Whether cheaper alternatives will fail at the same rate as Expeds appear to, remains to be seen.
Perhaps enough Cycling UK forum readers own air beds to make a survey worthwhile? My own MegaMat has not failed, but it's stored & used as per Exped instructions and I'm under 10 stone. :wink:
As for the cross-roads moment, I've drifted towards star-tours as I've got older, which has had something of a profound impact on my sleeping arrangements. Whereas I used to strive for the familiar balance of weight/performance/cost which we all aim for, that took me down the Synmat route, I now pitch up (are used to...) with any old clobber in the back of the jam-jar, set up camp and cycle out and around each day, returning to the same camp at the end of the day. Hence, I'm using any old airbed including the aforementioned Halfords double-mattress on occasion, and very good it is too. Thus the pressure to re-buy an Exped product should mine fail has rather dropped off.
Last edited by simonineaston on 30 Apr 2021, 8:34am, edited 1 time in total.
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pjclinch
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Re: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

Post by pjclinch »

Self-inflators can be reliable and repairable IME. My original Thermarest was bought in 1991 and is still fine. It's had one puncture (a spark from a fire, fixed with the repair kit) and there's never been a hint of delamination.

The light insulated airbeds (as opposed to self inflators) do seem to have reliability issues. Our (original) Neo-Airs have been good, but as we only bought them after we had a family usage has not been anywhere close to pre-children levels.
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Norman H
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Re: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

Post by Norman H »

I get the impression that the ultra lightweight insulated mats are more fragile than the non insulated mats constructed from slightly more heavyweight materials. Unless you have a requirement for a lightweight 4 season mat it may be better to go for a more basic model.

My original insulated Exped mat delaminated after very little use and was replaced under warranty. When the replacement also failed, albeit after I'd had good value from it, I replaced it with a non insulated Thermorest mat.

I was in Decathlon a while back and was impressed with their own brand mats. Reasonable weight and very competitively priced. Also available in XL size.
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horizon
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Re: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

Post by horizon »

Thanks all for the replies. I would still be inclined to look at alternatives but as PH has pointed out and simonineaston also that these air mats fill a wide gap beween the relative discomfort of cycle camping and well provided-for car camping: it is really hard to let go of what they offer. I would even say that a Synmat or equivalent makes it possible to camp to the same level of warmth and comfort as someone in a car.

What continues to put me off is something I read to the effect that Exped and other firms have little incentive to make their products robust. The mats themselves have enornous initial customer satisfaction but the very nature of the product means that they might not get much use and might even be discarded in favour of other types of camping or holidays quite quickly. Those customers who go on to use their mats for longer trips or more seasons but find them unreliable can be fobbed off (my words) with a replacement, even I would say with a lifetime guarantee.

I'm going to give it more thought.
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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simonineaston
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Re: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

Post by simonineaston »

I would even say that a Synmat or equivalent makes it possible to camp to the same level of warmth and comfort as someone in a car.
That was my experience, although I did find a bridge product, an air mattress made by a Canadian company whose name I forget (Seacraft ?). Their core business was inflatable canoes - I'm not making this up! - so their glueing technique had to be fairly effective! I had one of their three-quarter length, four-inch thick mattresses. It was super-comfy and weighed well under 1000g. Its weak-spot was the inflation, which was via a pair of old-fashioned Mae West-type locking valves, which took a lot of puff to operate - the last thing you want when you rock up at the campsite after a long day in the saddle.
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willem jongman
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Re: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

Post by willem jongman »

We have been using insulated air matresses for quite a while now, and have moved from Exped to the Neoairs. Of the three Downmats that we had, one started to spew down (replaced under warranty) and one delaminated, just like the Synmat UL (neither of them under warrarnty). I find the Neoairs more comfortable, and they also seem more robust as long as you avoid the ultralight models. We have had issues with one of them, but it was replaced without question. I am a bit puzzled by the current Neoair lineup, however: if you want a mattres that is good for colder weather, you have to choose something that is either very light and fragile (the Xtherm), or quite heavy. The old 550 (?) gram Allseason model has disappeared. The nearest thing now would be the Topo Luxe model at 650 gram for the regular size and 10 cm of luxury thickness, and R=3.7, but quite expensive. We bought one for my daughter who has back problems, and it looks pretty sturdy with 50D material.
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Re: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

Post by bohrsatom »

To revive a thread: I took my Synmat UL7 on a recent camping trip and three nights in woke up with a feeling that the mat had deflated. Turns out it was yet another baffle failure - now the third time this has happened to me.

The mat was bought in 2016 but had only been used around 25 times. I emailed the UK Exped distributor (as the original retailer has closed down), and the response was pretty much "it's out of warranty, these mats aren't made any more, so tough luck".

The equivalent Exped is now £150, and so if I do replace it (*) I'll by buying another brand

(*) - The morning after it happened I was complaining about the problem to my German neighbour at the campsite. It turned out he - like me - has a keen interest in buying camping equipment and offered to sell me an inflatable mat he bought last year from ALDI but has never used at cost price: 15EUR. It has no insulation but rolls up small and was just as comfortable as my Exped. Product is this: https://www.aldi-sued.de/de/p.adventuri ... 16734.html
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Re: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

Post by willem jongman »

A few months ago our last Exped Downmat delaminated. This means that of the four Exped mattresses we have had over the years, fthree have delaminated (two Downmats and one Synmat UL), and one Downmat started to spew down.
RobinS
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Re: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

Post by RobinS »

Wife and I started multi-month tours using Thermarest mats (the new lightwieght ones). By three weeks into the first tour both had failed and were unusable so we had to buy whatever we could get in Decathlon on the road to finish the tour. We sent them home, then returned to Thermarest who replaced them, but refused to comment on reason for failure, or whether the new ones would fail as well. We sold those, and bought two Nemo Tensor Insulated mats - lighter, smaller packing and more comfortable (and more expensive!).
On the next three month tour my wife's developed punctures, basically the internal baffles pulled slightly, creating pin holes in the shell. We could though repair these as we went along so it made it all the way through the tour. Back home it was replaced without question, and subsequently the manufacturer contacted us for exact details of what had happened so they could check manufacturing processes to stop the issue reoccurring.
Since then we have used the Nemos without fault for long periods of time - such that for such a lightweight bit of kit they are showing remarkable durability.
Norman H
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Re: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

Post by Norman H »

Just to add to the comments in my earlier post, I've since purchased one of the Decathlon inflatable mats.

I sometimes carry minimal camping gear when hostelling, especially if I've not pre booked. I was looking for something a little lighter and more compact than my full sized Thermarest mat so I opted for the ¾ length version ( 1200X520mm). It packs down very small (80X180mm) And weighs in at 360g. I also comes with a 2 year guarantee. I can't really comment on durability as it's only been used for three nights so far.
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Re: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

Post by Slowroad »

My solution after using four different mats over the last 10 years is to have a short lightweight self-inflating mat underneath, and my cheap Alpkit blow-up mat on top! It does lose a little air during the night but that's not a problem with the one underneath there, which also stops the cold getting through.
I'll get a better blow-up one once they sell one which you can blow up with your bike pump - moist breath rots them in a year in my experience. Meantime my 5cm-thick Thermarest still works, it's just too big.
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horizon
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Re: Should I really buy another Exped Synmat?

Post by horizon »

Norman H wrote: 6 Jul 2022, 3:55pm I can't really comment on durability as it's only been used for three nights so far.
I might have said this upthread but a lightweight air mattress is one of those products that has super credentials - it really is the answer to your prayers - but fails spectacularly further down the line. This means that the mountains of glowing reviews simply aren't worth the webpage they are printed on. And that makes buying one tricky as you don't know what people are experiencing after a degree of usage. I'm struggling to think of another product that has such great initial promise and such an appalling outcome. So, basically, no matter how good it appears at first sight, it is just a wind up.
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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