New mat advice, please!

[Tiley]

I discovered while away in the wilds of Greenland recently that I have a slow puncture in my Vaude Norrsken mattress thing. This meant that the night would start comfortably enough but, after a few hours, my kidneys and back would become lightly chilled by the ground. On my return home, further investigations revealed that the leak was in the valve, making it effectively irreparable. I liked the mat when I bought it and using it before it let me down oh-so-gently but I am aware that things have moved on and the selection of warm, inflatable mattresses has grown.

So, what would you folk recommend? I would prefer it full length, as durable as possible, not too bulky and light in weight. Things that have caught my eye thus far are the Exped Range of mats (down? synthetic?) and the Thermarest Neo Air All Season ones.

If you have any experience of either of these - or any other mats that you have found to be both warm and comfortable - please let me know!

Many thanks in advance,
Richard

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

I have an exped down 9lw and its the king of mats for deep cold. Ive also just got the thermarest extherm. Its like sleeping on the surface of the sun. I was way too hot on it up kinder scout last weekend so thats a good sign for when the proper cold comes. It has an R value of 5.9 from memory but bottom line if you want a mat thats good to -40 then the down 9lw from exped is hard to beat. The one thing the xtherm has going for it is weight. its about a third o the exped. ill be taking my exped to Norway in feb as i know it will work (even if the valve might freeze)

 

[brambles]

I have an Exped Downmat 9LW as well - best thing ever!

 

[Ahjno]

Another vote for the Exped Down mat, or ... my newest toy: Exped synmat UL 7 M - which is VERY light, comfortable AND packs really small

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

I would also add that the downmat 7UL is not a patch on the 9lw. It suffers with down migration and cold spots. You can sort it to move the down about but i want pump and forget. I hear good things about the new syn UL mats but not taken the plunge yet as they are not really rated down really low

 

[Gweedo]

I've got a thermarest neo air and I'm very impressed with it, though it does sound like a crisp bag!

 

[Squidders]

The crisp packet noises do stop after a few trips out on it... I love my neo air all season. I haven't had it very long but I love the pack size and weight and like the square shape for comfort.

 

[mountainm]

I have a pacific outdoor aerogel mat which I rate. Not sure if you can still get them.

 

[rg598]

I used to use the Thermarest Neo Air All Season and I loved it. Now I use the Thermarest Neo Air XTherm, which is warmer and lighter.

 

[Toddy]

If you're not watching the weight terribly hard, the Exped 9LW is brilliant I'd rather have it and forget the sleeping bag in a pinch. It's actually warm underneath me, and even with my aching joints I get a good nights sleep

cheers,
Toddy

 

[ADz-1983]

+1 for the NeoAir.

 

[Teepee]

I use the Exped 9 lw for deep cold, it's a good, comfortable and warm mat.

The valve is a real pain to open when the temps dip sub -10c though and it needs an inflation bag like a Schnozzel to work well in the cold.

 

[Chiseller]

I've got a yoga type mat ......beat that hahahahaha

If Woden Wills It , then it will be so

 

[Tiley]

I'm far too old and inflexible for a yoga mat!

Many thanks for the suggestions. It seems that the Exped down mat, the 9 in particular, gets a lot of people's vote. My only reservation about it is its size and weight; it seems that the 7 version of the down mat does not do particularly well. I might have a closer look at the synthetic version and compare it with the Thermarest Neo Air All season. I do not foresee long periods spent out in sub-zero temperatures (sadly!) so I'm not sure I can really justify the thicker, toastier down mat.

Many thanks again for the feedback; if there are any other suggestions or further observations out there - please keep them coming: they are all highly valued - with the possible exception of the yoga-orientated ones!

 

[brambles]

Whilst the Downmat 9LW is not a super lightweight item , it's by no means bulky. Mine is less than half the size packed of the foam self inflating Thermarest type mats we also have. You also have to remember that as it has a massive R value you are saving on the weight of additional insulation like sleeping bag liners etc.

 

[Chiseller]

Joking apart.....I do use a yoga mat , I've found it does the job , probably due to a toasty bag. I may have to look at an uq or one of them fancy down mats for this winter though.

Thanks for creating a thread that has garnered some good inputs. Cheers

If Woden Wills It , then it will be so

 

[bigroomboy]

I have a downmat 7. Great mat but if I made the decision again I would get the synmat UL if not sleeping on snow. The downmat requires more attention. If not stored for air to circulate then it really gets the stale down smell on deflation. Also the down can move around in there and requires shaking to spread out. Over time the down may lose loft and no longer fill the mat. The synmat has none of these problems. Always has Max insulation and is much easier to deflate and pack. Its not quite as warm but still good to -10

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Toddy]

I have to say that I've never had any of those issues.....and I have a really good sense of smell. Trust me, if it smelled of foosty chicken, it'd be out

I admit that my personal tendencies would be for synthetic, just because I'm not fond of feathers and how most of them are obtained, but I genuinely have not had any problems.
It did take me a bit to get used to closing the valves properly though.

I store mine with the valves open and loosely folded in one of the big airtight barrels in the loft.

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Andy BB]

Exped Comfort 10 http://fitness.mkroyale.co.uk/Detail_i547925

I have the long/wide one, and at R of 10, it sneers as the pathetic R-rating of the Downmat 9

Its a good half-kilo heavier than the downmat though, but incredibly comfortable. Two things I like about it are 1 - its self-inflating (with a bit of help to get it full!). If it gets punctured, it will still provide a lot more insulation than a deflated downmat would.

 

[petrochemicals]

Have suffered from deflation from the valve, now I cant see the risk outweighing the benefit, so I take foam.
Thermarest summit or half a foam icemat or the luxurious dutch armt roll mat, fold them right and you have a stool ! Or a carrycot, see Mad aboot gear.
As for the down, if its like a sleeping bag that compacts easily, I can't see the benefit. I carry a downbag and half the weight of it is compacted to nothingness beneath me. Maybe a top bag next time.