on the hunt for the ultimate All season Sleeping Mat/Pad

[grey-array]

Dear Lad's and Laddies,

I came across a lovely adventurous lady, last Saturday who was looking for a sleeping mat, however she needed a sleeping mat that would perform superb to -20 degrees celsius.
I only ones I came across that had the capabilities to deal with these temperatures were the :

Thermarest Neo Air - All season Mat ( great mat however makes a lot of noise but the price point is pretty good at 100 Euro/ 80 pounds)

Exped Down UL 7M ( which besides of being a great mat costs you dearly at 180 euro/150pounds)

Big Agnes Q-core SL ( Superb mat however needs to be ordered from america which will take time but at a 110euro/85pounds delivered not to bad either)


I am not very familiar yet in the arctic mattresses yet, but am looking to find some better or other alternatives, do you know of any, or might you know a good place to look for one, please give me a heads-up.

Yours sincerely Ruud

 

[tartanferret]

Have you looked at the x-therm by thermarest?

http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/mattresses/fast-and-light/neoair-xtherm/product

 

[susannewilliams]

Would strongly recommend that whatever mat she gets, she puts a (cheapy) closed cell mat underneath it... Makes a HUGE difference...

 

[wales1]

I can certainly vouch for the downmat 7. Most comfortable warmest mat I have used (doesnt sound like a crisp packet like some of the neo airs either , i use it in hammock also.

steve

 

[Countryman]

I'd read about the Neo Air being noisy but I've used mine a lot this year and I can't say it's noisy at all.

It's extremely effective insulation. As a big bloke I can vouch for it's durability and it's really comfortable.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Quixoticgeek]

I have the synmat 7 UL, it's exceptionally comfortable, and provides good insulation. I haven't used the downmat, but if it's anything like the synmat it will serve you very well.

I second Susanne is right tho about the foam mat underneath. I personally use the foil backed bubble wrap loft insulation under mine, it's crude, but works. Also keeps you warm if your mat deflates on you.

Julia

 

[wales1]

Yea had trialled the synmat, comfort wise it's effectively the same as the downmat, only difference being the efficiency of the insulation when the temperature drops. Which ia why i chose the downmat, more comfort in the cold weather. Used mine down to minus 15 in a tent and was snug as a bug

steve

 

[Squidders]

I used the Thermarest Xtherm LW over the winter and was well impressed with how warm and comfortable it was. The pack size is also very good considering its other strengths.

 

[crosslandkelly]

If you can get one of these, http://www.militarymart.co.uk/index.php?_a=product&product_id=1778 They are great, car camping only though.

 

[grey-array]

Thanks for all the experiences and recommendations ^^, we are still looking, the lass is going for an amazing journey up the Kilimanjaro and thus it does need to be low in weight and size.
I have used the Thermarest Neo air's myself and think indeed they are mighty noisy, however only the All season and the Xtherm, due to the added foils, great heat though, and the only problem I saw with the down Exped was its a hassle to inflate at the end of the day So I am now kind keeping the:
Xtherm
the Neo air all season
and the UL down mat from exped in mind however still a bit iffy about the durability of the "Ultra light" mats as I have heard some complaints about the durability in those sorts of terain.

I have also been looking toward the closed cell Foam mats as they are often way tougher, easier and more reliable. only problem I cant find one that give me the right isolation ratings yet.
She will be using an aluminium coated foam pad underneath her main mat which will also increase the durability of the lighter mats but am still searching might their be a better solution.

Thanks all for your responses already ^^
Yours sincerely Ruud

 

[wales1]

Don't forget that with the exped downmat you can get a schnozzel bag to significantly speed up inflation. google it. It's an ingenious invention from exped. Cheap and solves the problem

Thing with closed cell foam mats, from my experience is you don't feel entirely rested after a nights sleep on one. They are bombproof though..

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Inflation of my synmat, even using the pillow pump, rather than the Schnozzel bag, I can pump it up quicker than my friend can get their thermarest self inflating mat up to the right pressure. The schnozzel bag is even faster. I would imagine the down mat is just as fast.

Julia

 

[petrochemicals]

A foam ice mat, 120cm across 20cm thick, and fold it double for extra comfort, they ain't cheap though for what they are, or small, it's like 4 mod roll mats in one. But it gives you a large working area on ice. Probably ridiculous really.

Tell a lie, they're only 14mm nowerdays, used to be 20, failsafe all the same.

http://www.multimat.uk.com/store/products/ice-mat-14

 

[northumbrian]

you could get one of these cheaper http://www.endicotts.co.uk/componen...m-dutch-15mm-olive-green-2252-detail?Itemid=0 at 15mm ?

 

[susannewilliams]

I can certainly vouch for the downmat 7. Most comfortable warmest mat I have used (doesnt sound like a crisp packet like some of the neo airs either , i use it in hammock also.

steve

My vote for the downmat UL 7. I have one and it even comes with me on UL trips.... nothing better....

 

[R.Lewis]

Hi Ruud!

Exped Downmat is very compact and lightweight Very impressed with mine although I have yet to really test it! Not seen the others to comment on.

 

[Imagedude]

I use a Neo Air All-Season on top of a Z-Lite Sol.

 

[petrochemicals]

you could get one of these cheaper http://www.endicotts.co.uk/componen...m-dutch-15mm-olive-green-2252-detail?Itemid=0 at 15mm ?

To be honest you could just take 2 cheapo roll mats and have 8mm on your legs and a warm and comfy 24 mm on your torso

 

[rg598]

I've used the Neo Air XTherm down to about -30C, and it worked fine for me. It's indeed noisy, but in conditions like those, it's the least of my concerns.