Ground air mats

[Wushuplayer]

Hi guys,

I'm looking for an insulated ground air mat to use in conjunction with a German Army folding ground mat. Need it for moto camping/hiking/wild camping so
ideally something light, has a small pack size, decent warranty, in a muted colour, warm enough for the British winter, non slip, and not noisy!

Too much to ask?!

Cheers in advance.

 

[C_Claycomb]

Too much to ask?....maybe
What do you consider an acceptably small pack size?
What do you consider a decent warranty? 5 years, 10 years, life time?
When you say, warm enough for British winter, where in Britain are you thinking of, and is that in a tent or under a basha?

Most important of all, how much are you willing to spend?

...Also, what are you willing to compromise on first?

 

[Erbswurst]

I guess the German army folding mat has an R-value of approximately 1,5.
Multimat also gives us that value for their pretty similar copy.

As he wants to protect the air mat with the folding mat, one can add the 1,5 to the R-value of the airmat.

Are the (Irish made) Therm-A-Rest Neo Air versions still so noisy as before?
I have seen they also offer a dark grey one and a basic green one.

 

[Wushuplayer]

Too much to ask?....maybe
What do you consider an acceptably small pack size?
What do you consider a decent warranty? 5 years, 10 years, life time?
When you say, warm enough for British winter, where in Britain are you thinking of, and is that in a tent or under a basha?

Most important of all, how much are you willing to spend?

...Also, what are you willing to compromise on first?

Sorry I should have been more specific. Something less than 30x15 packed. Life time warranty, winter camping under a tarp, don't mind spending if the product is worth it.

Would comprise on maybe 3 season camping under tarp and warranty to 5 years.

Cheers

 

[C_Claycomb]

There are some really good Exped mats that might fit your needs.

I have one of the original Thermarest-NeoAir mats and would not recommend them for winter use. The R value is low to begin with, but they also flatten out as the air you blow in cools and shrinks. I have used mine in freezing weather and been cold in a tent with no drafts.

I am not sure about all the Expeds, but I recently sent a Exped Downmat TT 9 to a friend and was very impressed with how small it packed for the thickness and warmth. Probably overkill for you, being maybe a little too bulky, but I think there are lighter versions. The supplied pump/bag meant that it didn't deflate so much overnight from shrinking of the air used to inflate it.

 

[Wushuplayer]

I had a Exped Synmat HL which I too was impressed with the pack size and weight, up until the one way valve failed in just over a year of very light use.

Looking online, apparently failure of the exped mats is quite common.

 

[Broch]

I can't really help I'm afraid because, as I've mentioned on another thread recently, I have never found a suitable compromise between weight, size, price, performance and robustness/reliability. I suspect the reality is there is no one mat to rule them all - different mat compromises for different applications.

 

[Nice65]

I can't really help I'm afraid because, as I've mentioned on another thread recently, I have never found a suitable compromise between weight, size, price, performance and robustness/reliability. I suspect the reality is there is no one mat to rule them all - different mat compromises for different applications.

I agree. It’s the same with stoves, tents, sleeping bags, knives etc.

Over all the years I’ve been using and reading about gear, Exped and Thermarest come up most as good mats. As an addition, I had a Multimat for ages that I was mega impressed with. The inner foam on them is brilliant, I managed a sleep even after getting a puncture. Not a great sleep, but a sleep.

 

[Erbswurst]

Which multimat?

 

[C_Claycomb]

I had a Exped Synmat HL which I too was impressed with the pack size and weight, up until the one way valve failed in just over a year of very light use.

Looking online, apparently failure of the exped mats is quite common.

The exped I mentioned has separate and independently inflated tubes, so a single valve failure does not deflate the whole pad.

 

[Erbswurst]

My impression if reading German internet trekking forums is that Exped mats are overrated and overpriced. On top of the bad quality comes in Germany a really bad client service.

Therm-A-Rest NeoAir mats delaminated in the past and had been very noisy, nearly as disturbing as a snoring neighbour on the camping ground. But they change a failing product without any problems.

The yellow lightweight Forclaz mats are incredibly bad. I bought such a mat and had to change it twice in just a couple of weeks. First time Decathlon gave me immediatly a new mat without any questions, second time I got my money back immediately because I didn't want to try a third one.

I am satisfied with my Klymit Inertia O-zone so far, but didn't yet try it out in cold conditions and used it only half a year in continuous use.
But anyway, 6 month of continuous use without any problems is already not so bad for an airmat. I own the old bright grey model, now they sell a dark grey one, what's surely better for most users.

 

[MrEd]

I agree. It’s the same with stoves, tents, sleeping bags, knives etc.

Over all the years I’ve been using and reading about gear, Exped and Thermarest come up most as good mats. As an addition, I had a Multimat for ages that I was mega impressed with. The inner foam on them is brilliant, I managed a sleep even after getting a puncture. Not a great sleep, but a sleep.

I was going to say I have an inflatable multimat - a trekker 25 - it’s the main mat I use, it’s not very thick but more comfortable than it looks, also quite durable and cheap as buttons!

 

[Nice65]

I was going to say I have an inflatable multimat - a trekker 25 - it’s the main mat I use, it’s not very thick but more comfortable than it looks, also quite durable and cheap as buttons!

Pretty sure I had the Trekker 25 too. I was concerned having our Jack Russell trotting about in the tent that it would get a puncture, but the bloke I spoke to on the phone said he had a Jack Russell and not to worry about it.

It was dragging through some bramble and rose that caused me a rough night after much use. The rubber cement in the repair kit had dried up.