A Review Of The Exped UL 7 LW Downmat

[kaizersoza]

Hi Guys

I have used this mat now for a year both in winter and summer conditions, I paid around £120 when I bought it and I know thats a bit of expensive kit but I have an arthiritic condition of the spine, so it was either spend some serious cash or give up the wild camping, Well in the pack you will receive a bag to keep it in a small repair kit the mat itself and a schnozzel pump bag.

Okay so my first impressions were as follows, (A) It rolls up to about the size of a 1 litre water bottle, (B) it is relatively light at about 26.5 ounces, (C) it has an R value of 5.9 and is very comfortable to sleep on both on your back or like me a side sleeper, I have used it in - 5 degrees and it has done the job amicably, very toasty with no cold spots, I either use my Snugpak Elite 4 in spring or autumn or my Carinthia Defence 4 bag during the winter months, I use a hammock during the summer months.

This mat has never let me down in the last 12 months, it is easy to pack away after use, but I would recommend rolling it up once to get most of the air out and then re-rolling it to pack away, the schnozzel bag is very clever once you get the hang of capturing air inside it, I believe they also come with an integrated pump, I chose the schnozzel bag and I have not been disappointed with it, it takes about 3-4 full bags of air to inflate the mat, great when you have just walked 10 miles of the Brecons and saves a lot of hot air from your lungs.

I keep mine fully inflated when not in use and it keeps air inside with little or no loss of air, blowing it up is easy it has a non return valve to inflate it and another valve to deflate it, it is also easy to regulate for your desired softness when in use, just by pressing the inflate valve it releases enough air for your comfort, this is the best mat I have ever owned and I would not hesitate to buy another one, it is made of a lightweight polyester and it seems a bit flimsy but fair play it has held up to some rough treatment and the occasional spill.

I hope this short review will help you to choose this mat I know I am not the best reviewer out there but I like to give you guys the heads up if I find a particularly great bit of kit and this is a great bit of kit, thanks for taking the time guys ATB Kaizer

 

[Silkhi]

They do look nice, have often been tempted myself so appreciate the review

 

[Wayne]

Thanks for posting. Always good to read people's experience using kit. Especially when it's a bit spendy.

I have yet to buy one but it's on the list.

 

[kaizersoza]

Thanks for taking the time to read the short review guys, as I have said I am not very good at reviewing anything but I like to give a constructive view so that you guys out there get an insight into the product ATB Kaizer

 

[rorymax]

kaizersoza, review much appreciated, I'd like to hear more of peoples actual experiences with their purchases.

Thanks for posting this.

rorymax

 

[Fiona1]

I've got the same mat and love it, used it in my Hammock, it fits well as its tubes so curves with the Hammock, also used it on the floor as well when I'm backpacking.

I've also had a Exped 10 cm comfort LW sim, the flat valves with the one way valve on both the mats works great, no trying to close the valve before air escapes, you can lie on the mats and the let tiny amounts of air out just buy pushing it with your finger till it's perfect then close the valve.

There also very easy to roll up and get the air out as there very plyable, I've had trouble with other mats as not had enough hand strength and the one way valve comes into play again, as it doesn't suck air back in when you take the pressure off.

Took me a while to cough up the money for one, kept thinking I'm not paying that much, but wish I'd done it years ago.

 

[Quixoticgeek]

I have the synmat 7UL, which is the same basic idea but with synthetic insulation rather than down. By far one of the best bits of kit I've bought, Brilliant.

If you can't justify the cost of the down mat, do consider the synmat.

J

 

[kaizersoza]

thanks for all the replies guys, much appreciated, its great to read all your opinions on the mats and all are duly noted for future reference, cheers all, Kaizer

 

[janso]

Nice review; I have also had several looks at these and the summit and never pulled the trigger! Would love to see them in the flesh to help my decision. I have sided towards the down mats for all year as a mat for summer and winter seems extravagant. I might just have to spend semi blindly!!

Good to hear on their realistic pack size and that they also sit well in a hammock.

Thanks for your efforts on the review mate.


Sent from my hidey hole using Tapatalk... sssh!

 

[kaizersoza]

+1 to Fiona, I am going to try mine in my hammock next time I am out, another great use for these versatile and warm sleeping mats, thanks for all the replies guys they are much appreciated ATB Kaizer