All Air Camping Mats

[shep]

There seems to be a new trend for camping mats that you blow up and have little or no insulation in them.

I like the idea since they are super light. But are they just glorified lilos? Does anyone have any experience with the likes of the alpkit numo or the multimat air ranges? I would use them in a hammock and on the ground if they up to it.

 

[widu13]

I've recently changed to the Exped Lite 5 (not the Ultra light which is even lighter) which is good own to -12c (allegedly) and after a test run is just as comfy as my 9DLX. It weighs 600g inc the pump!

 

[treadlightly]

I have the Numo. It's a bit more sophisticated than the old airbeds in that it has extra insulation in the hollows which gives it an R value of 2.5 which is about the same as a lightweight self-inflating mat. It is comfortable but I guess eventually it will puncture as all inflatable mats do.
I bought it for lightweight hiking only to replace my self-inflatable which gave up the ghost.

 

[Bhoy1888]

I have a cheap Eurohike one that comes on all my exercises and any other days/nights in the field. It has done me fine down to -9 although I feel a lot of the comfort is down to being in the 'bouncing bomb'. It does make a big difference in comparison to the issue roll mat. I am alos able to fold it up quite tight so fits in my bergan with no fuss.

I went for the cheaper one so that when it does inevitably go tits up it's not an expensive loss (Thermarest). Certainly does the job for me.

 

[rik_uk3]

Lilo type and a £4 roll mat = warm. Couple of bits of self adhesive velcro keeps the mat in place.

 

[ADz-1983]

There seems to be a new trend for camping mats that you blow up and have little or no insulation in them.

I like the idea since they are super light. But are they just glorified lilos? Does anyone have any experience with the likes of the alpkit numo or the multimat air ranges? I would use them in a hammock and on the ground if they up to it.

Well I wouldn't really call them new, There has been various light weight "all air" mats for years that also give good insulation like the Thermarest NeoAir which folds up to size of a energy drink can and are really comfy (I have one). There are also some others newer ones that are even smaller/lighter like the Klymit Inertia X-lite but these are mostly for ground dwelling I think but may also give some insulation in hammock. Tbh any cavity with air in will.

 

[Outdoordude]

I have an alpkit dirt bag and I absolutely love it. It so comfy and gives you real support.

 

[kiltedpict]

I've had various Alpkit ones in the past, but more recently bought a multimat superlight air which although a bit noisy when moving around on it, was surprisingly comfortable! No insulation means its I've bought an exped Synmat UL and its ace! I also have an Exped Downmat 7XL for winter camping and its the mutts nutts!!

 

[shep]

Thanks for that. It sounds like a thumbs up. The exped mats seem to cope fine even without any filling.

 

[Imagedude]

Used a Neoair Allseason in Finland last winter without any hassle.

 

[Dreadhead]

just bought two of these multimats not tried them out yet but nice and light/compact which i was after says 4 season rating, but i have never much understood the ratings for mats and such

 

[rg598]

I am not familiar with the exact brand mats you mentioned, and I'm not sure if you are asking about them specifically, or about all inflatable mats, but not all inflatable mats are the same in terms of insulation. While some offer no more insulation than a standard closed cell foam pad (a R value of about 2), there are some that offer much more and are designed for winter use. The NeoAir All Season has an R value of 4.9 and the NeoAir XTherm has an R value of 5.7. Neither of them has any fill, and they are perfectly suited for winter use.

 

[Paul_B]

Be careful about R values. The European version is different to the US one. A 4 in US scale I s about 2 in Euro scale apparently. Think it's down to differences in testing methods.