Thanks for all the advice

[Tango]

Thanks guys, I am sure some of my posts were a repetition of many you have already seen

I have just returned from a 7 day cycle camping round trip on Calais

Learnt a lot about tents and what I would look for to improve over the £35 one I had in the shed

Can't get to grips with self inflating ground mats, not very comfy, had to trn over every 45 mins or so

Loved the trangia (never had one before) had some real enjoyable meals, but pasta bolognese wins hands down

What a wonderful enjoyable experience our first cycle camping trip was.

Thanks all

[BeeKeeper]

You might want to look at Exped down sleeping mats. These are a sort of Lilo but with down in them for insulation and to prevent the condensation you can get with a normal air mat. They come in thicknesses up to 9cm thick. Mine is 7cm thick and much more comfortable than the Thermarest I used before. Only "down" sides of them are firstly they are not cheap, but they are light and fold up small. Which is the other slight disadvantage - you don't have much option but to roll it up very small as the supplied bag for it is cut very tight and it takes some effort to get all the air out of it so it will fit back in the bag.

[al_yrpal]

...or, the Halfords £8.99 backpacking matress with a built in pump. In summer there is ittle advantage in an insulated mat.

Al

[Tango]

Cheers guys, will have a look

[pjclinch]

There's self inflating mats and self inflating mats... certainly the case that some are comfier than others, though as usual there's a trade off in bulk and weight. I have an old Thermarest "Regular" and a lighter "Ultralight" (about the same as the current Prolite 4 in overall design goals) and the former is far more comfortable than the latter. But it does take up a lot more space.

I've started using a T-Rest Neoair. You have to blow it up but it's very light and very comfortable and far more effective insulation than a plain air-bed. Not cheap, but no regrets.

Pete.

[RickH]

I've started using a T-Rest Neoair. You have to blow it up but it's very light and very comfortable and far more effective insulation than a plain air-bed. Not cheap, but no regrets.

+1 for the NeoAir. I got one on Go Outdoors' "10% cheaper than any other offer" when I saw one online (Field & Trek I think) that was about 2/3 of most others (I think they had priced the regular at the price of the 3/4). I used it for 8 nights doing Lowestoft to St David's Head recently & found it the most comfortable camping mat I've used, and I have a number in my collection - including an original yellow Karrimat & an original Thermarest.

I bought the new pumpsack too - a 40l stuffsack with a hole that seals over the Neoair valve - which I also recommend. It makes inflating it much easier and if you don't fully inflate the NeoAir you can roll it up, put it in the sack & use it as a seat.

Rick.

[les tocknell]

I find that a few blows of air into a Thermarest makes a huge difference in comfort and support. I had the same experience before discovering this trick.
As far as insulation is concerned, I have been very uncomfortably cold in France in the middle of summer sleeping on an airbed with no insulation. I now do not use airbeds even when car camping.

[willem jongman]

My ageing bones no longer take kindly to self inflatables, and even earlier I never was impressed that much by their comfort. I think insulated airbeds like the Downmat and the Neoair are the future, for now and until some even better technology comes along. They are thick and comfy and yet lighter and more compact to stow than remotely comparable self inflatables. The Neoair All Season would be my favourite for three season cycle touring. It is only 540 grams, and packs tiny. Yet it is good enough for a few degrees of freezing. If you need more insulation, there is the Exped Downmat. If budget is tight, the Exped Synmat Basic is a good compromise with a insulation that is good enough for most cycle touring trips that I think I could still enjoy, and a still quite acceptable weight and pack size.
Willem