4-Season, Wide Sleeping Mat Needed Quickly

[OurJud]

Looks like I'll be ordering this online and because I plan to head off for the Lakes by the 21st of this month, at the latest (if I miss that window it'll be well into the new year before I can go again), I need to be ordering asap.


Can anyone recommend a wide (at least 2-feet), full length 4-season sleeping mat that will keep me warm in the Lakes at this time of year? Doesn't have to be self-inflatable (in fact I'd prefer it not to be to keep down on price and weight) and I'll be using it with the Mountain SB. MY budget is about £15.


Thanks in advance.

 

[Outdoordude]

I've got the alpkit birt bag and it is very comfy and doesn't weigh too much.

 

[Gray]

Looks like I'll be ordering this online and because I plan to head off for the Lakes by the 21st of this month, at the latest (if I miss that window it'll be well into the new year before I can go again), I need to be ordering asap.


Can anyone recommend a wide (at least 2-feet), full length 4-season sleeping mat that will keep me warm in the Lakes at this time of year? Doesn't have to be self-inflatable (in fact I'd prefer it not to be to keep down on price and weight) and I'll be using it with the Mountain SB. MY budget is about £15.


Thanks in advance.

I think your going to struggle a bit there to be honest, I've got a highlander thermalight self inflating but even there over 30 quid, exped ones are a fortune, I've got a cheap self inflating one, brand new you can have if you want to collect it, wrap it in a space blanket, will probably do for now.

 

[PDA1]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SEASON-OLIV...sr_1_3?s=sports&ie=UTF8&qid=1352753171&sr=1-3

This fits your budget and warmth spec. Any 25 mm CCF mat would be warm enough. Have a look in your local camping shop for equivalents. Over here I get mine in the camping section of Walmart ot Target for $6 each

 

[blacktimberwolf]

A British army mat should do you ....http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/British-A...Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item337cf94daf


They can be bought new for about a tenner.

 

[Retired Member southey]

A British army mat should do you ....http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/British-A...Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item337cf94daf

yup, should be able to find a surplus store near you,

 

[OurJud]

Thanks everyone.

Gray, thanks very much for the offer, but I'll keep looking for the time being.

The BA ones at ebay look perfect, but I don't have a store nearby. Might contact them and ask if they can guarantee deliver before the 21st.

I have a SportsDirect store five minutes from my front door and have been looking at these (only 5cm wider than the norm, but it would do at a pinch). If someone would care to cast their expert eyes over it and give me their opinion it would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.sportsdirect.com/karrimor-expedition-foam-mat-782137

 

[Mesquite]

I have a SportsDirect store five minutes from my front door and have been looking at these (only 5cm wider than the norm, but it would do at a pinch). If someone would care to cast their expert eyes over it and give me their opinion it would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.sportsdirect.com/karrimor-expedition-foam-mat-782137

It's virtually the same as the BA one apart from size

 

[Gray]

Wow, these are 5 season, didnt realise they were so cheap. You learn something everyday

 

[TinkyPete]

they are a bit smaller than the Brit army one, and if you can go for the Arctic mat white one side and green the other. It is better than the all green and tighter foam but light weight. I use mine and have no probs with it.

 

[PDA1]

The karrimor is 10mm thick. The NATO model is 25 mm thick. Insulation is directly proportional to thickness in any CCF mat. I'm not sure I would trust a 10 mm pad down to -10 as claimed in the ad. i have used 10mm pad down to about 5 deg C. That was OK, but to go much lower i would double up the pads, or get a thicker pad.

 

[OurJud]

I know the NATO ones are the way to go, but I'm just concerned about it arriving in time, and am also slightly put off by the 'used' aspect. Who knows what kind of battering they've had?

Sorry, I was getting my links mixed up there. The NATO ones are, of course brand new from amazon.

Oh, I'm confused. PDA, where are you getting the 25mm thick from? This is what it says in the product details:

Open: 180 x 50 x 1cm, Rolled size: 50 x 15cm
300g

1cm = 10mm, doesn't it?

 

[PDA1]

The NATO mat is from Highlander. They are available inManchester at:
[h=3]Newcross Army Surplus
Manchester
0161 832 9683[/h]

 

[OurJud]

Thanks. I might take a trip up there in that case. I thought you were referring to the onle you'd linked to at amazon.

 

[brambles]

The NATO mat is from Highlander. They are available inManchester at:
[h=3]Newcross Army Surplus
Manchester
0161 832 9683[/h]

Highlander mats are 1cm thick as well.

You're not by any chance misreading the description

4 season rating
Waterproof and washable, excellent insulation
Superb compression recovery, Density: 25kg/CBM
Hygenic and non-allergic
Includes elastic retainers

as 25mm thick are you?

The only foam mat I still have as opposed to inflatable/self-inflating is an original gold 4 season Karrimat kept more for nostalgia than anything else , at 185cm long by 0.95cm thick , it is 16cm in diameter when tightly rolled so a 25mm mat of the same length would be about 40cm in diameter rolled!

 

[OurJud]

Well whatever thickness they are I hope they're good. This guy wants almost £1,000 for his

http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/2808...ixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&adtype=pla&crdt=0

 

[brambles]

Sports Direct are selling the Karrimor Expedition mat for a tenner
http://www.sportsdirect.com/karrimor-expedition-foam-mat-782137

You will , however, probably find sleeping only on any foam mat uncomfortable as they are insulation only. The best answer is air and insulation but that's not cheap ( I should know I've just had to persuade myself to spend £130 on a Downmat 9LW! ) but you could try using something like this

http://www.sportsdirect.com/campri-6-tube-inflatable-mattress-782140

with an emergency foil thermoblanket or even some of this http://www.diy.com/nav/build/insulation/pipe-wrap-radiator-foil/reflector_foil/B-and-Q-Radiator-Reflective-Foil-500mm-x-5m-10647764?skuId=11138406 folded underneath it, to provide a thermal barrier. That way you get comfort as well as insulation and don't pay through the nose for it.

 

[OurJud]

I'm going to need a bloody cart horse at this rate!

I'd already kind of settled on the Karrimat from SportsDirect - there's a store within five minutes of me so I can pick one up tomorrow, but now you've gone and put doubt back in my mind.

How do you lot manage to carry so much - what do you use, a 170L rucksack?

 

[brambles]

A purely inflatable mat like the one I linked to and a bit of thermoreflective will pack up a lot smaller than a foam mat

 

[OurJud]

*Sigh* How is that simple, lightweight and comfortable wildcamping trips are only made possible for the rich? If you're unemployed or on a tight budget, you may as well forget it... decent walking shoes: £140+; quality tent: £200+; warm and comfortable sleeping mat: £130+

I personally think the price of branded outdoor gear is extortionate! Mind you, if money wasn't an object, I suppose I'd be spouting the old, "You get what you pay" adage. Hey-ho.

Anyway, thanks, brambles, I'll give the inflatable and thermoreflective option serious consideration.

You reckon an inflatable with this under it would do the job? http://www.sportsdirect.com/karrimor-survival-blanket-784224