Recommend me a sleep mat

[Yorkshirewanderer]

Afternoon guys, I'm after a sleep mat and looking for some advice/recommendations. I'm looking for a self inflating type £50 or less ideally weighing as little as possible for the money. I normally use an airbed if i go car camping but want something i can carry in my pack just wondered what you guys use and if you could point me in the right direction for some good deals. The brother-in-law uses a cheap one that he got from Go-outdoors and swears by it but i'm not sure weather to spend a bit more on one or just get a cheap one.

Cheers

 

[DurhamBushcrafter]

IF ya can find one, a Swedish or Dutch Army 18mm thick kipmat are awesome... OK, they are foam, but full length ( can be made shorter with a blade!) and weigh next to nowt. I prefer em to a self inflater as there is nothing to uninflate if a spark or a knife punctures it

 

[cranmere]

The trouble is that the cheaper self inflators are relatively heavy. I have a Vango one that I use for car camping and it's pretty good, but for backpacking I used a Thermarest which is a good third lighter. If cash is a primary consideration I'd follow Durham's suggestion of a decent closed cell foam mat.

 

[Yorkshirewanderer]

I have seen a thermarest in go-outdoors for £50 any thoughts? 590g is quite light.
http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/therm-a-rest-neoair-venture-sleeping-mat-p292551?gclid=CjwKEAjw6Z2pBRCmvaXq6d7FjUoSJAAc5Lritn2hYKZnFDDdcRw-OuhwnqELYalmF0oxBZ467VnZhhoCmlvw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Are the kipmats just like the cheap foam roll mats? i used to have one as a kid and always found them a bit too thin and uncomfortable.

 

[DurhamBushcrafter]

Are the kipmats just like the cheap foam roll mats? i used to have one as a kid and always found them a bit too thin and uncomfortable.

Im 23 stone and the Swedish/Dutch ones are 18mm thick (3/4" as near as darnit) as opposed to 10mm or 12mm and a better density of foam. Trust this, If I can sleep comfortable on one....then they must be good!

PS GOOD LUCK finding one! I have been after another for a year as I (STUPIDLY) left mine behind when bushcrafting, OK, it was dark as i set off home, forgot to lash it to my pack, was gone when i went back that afternoon..... If anyone has one for sale.......HINT HINT!!

 

[Yorkshirewanderer]

Lol! You never know somebody on her may have one they don't want anymore. The mats maybe light but they would be quite bulky I would have thought, also as you say they are quite hard to find. 18mm is quite thin compared to most self inflaters which even the thinner ones look to be at least 20mm thick upwards. I suppose there is a balance between weight and comfort but from what I have seen so far there is a good selection of them between 500g-800g mark which I wouldn't consider too heavy.

 

[DurhamBushcrafter]

Lol! You never know somebody on her may have one they don't want anymore. The mats maybe light but they would be quite bulky I would have thought, also as you say they are quite hard to find. 18mm is quite thin compared to most self inflaters which even the thinner ones look to be at least 20mm thick upwards. I suppose there is a balance between weight and comfort but from what I have seen so far there is a good selection of them between 500g-800g mark which I wouldn't consider too heavy.

Yes, they are a bit bulkier than a standard mat, but absolutely the best closed cell foam mat on the planet....period! I paid £25 on fleabay for mine 2 yrs ago and was gutted when i lost it...

 

[sausage100uk]

Ive never actually slept on mine!

 

[bambodoggy]

Bit more than you wanted to spend but my mate Squidders has a couple for sale.....

http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=131049

Hope that helps

 

[Chaard]

probably not too useful unless you fancy a long drive for a mat but the camping shop near me, cotswold outdoor' has a nice feature.

they have a raised wooden platform covered in big rocks that you can try their mats out on to find your fave.

as soon as my DD travel hammock arrives im going to go and see if they will let me string it up in store so i can try the mats in hammock and if i end up using it as a bivi.

i know decathalon do foam mats and self inflators too.

 

[Old Bones]

I'd agree with Cranmere - you get what you pay for. The old adage with hiking stuff is 'you can have it light, you can have it cheap, and you can have in durable - pick any two'.

There are no cheap highly compact but really warm sleeping mats, any more than there are small, light, warm and cheap sleeping bags - its not how it works. Your trading off one thing against the other, and if you want to go lighter/smaller, then its either less warmth or more cash.

If you want cheap/warm but heavy see what Aldi has coming up in their camping special buys (comes up about 3-4 times a year). Pretty heavy, but for £15, its fine. Brands like Multimat and Vango tend to be a bit lighter, but not that pricey. You'll have to look up their 'R' value (how efficient they are), but the more you pay, the lighter/better the R value. Mountain Equipment has some reasonably low priced ones (about £40). Alpkit has just started doing theirs again (the Airo 180 has always got very good reviews), and has a nice little guide https://www.alpkit.com/spotlight/choosing-a-sleeping-mat . Thermarest isn't cheap, but they are the original ones. Mines a Classic from 12 years ago which I bought in the States. Its pretty heavy, but comfortable. I got a new Multimat 25 for £3.99 from a local charity shop a couple of months back, which is smaller and thinner, but a fair bit smaller. You can pay well over a hundred for a mat, but this will be very light and small, yet very efficient, with perhaps down as an insulator.


There is one thing about closed cell mats - they are pretty uncomfortable compared with inflatables, and I'd never go back. Even the thick ones are not that comfortable, compared with the alternative. Endi's has the 15mm Dutch ones, at about £22 for Grade 1 plus. However, they weigh 760g and pack down to about 18in long and 8in wide. I dont know how warm they offically are, but you can get a ME Helium 3.8 for £45 which weighs the same, and packs down to about 10in x 6in. And I bet that the ME Helium is more comfortable. Its more than twice as thick as the closed cell when inflated.

Have a look at Outdoor Magic for recommendations, 'cos this question always come up, and there are people who combine a self inflator and a classic closed cell to get the most out of both (you can use something like radiator foil underneath the mat as well), but I'd look in Cotswold, Go Outdoors etc for something - you might do OK for about £40-50 quid.

 

[Yorkshirewanderer]

How do the R ratings work? Is it the higher the value the better they are? is 1.8 good or bad?

 

[PeterH]

Higher is better, 1.8 in closed cell terms you are talking tesco festival kit, yoga mat etc. OK that might be a bit harsh but you get my drift.


Sent mainly by pure luck using Tapatalk

 

[Yorkshirewanderer]

1.8 is for a thermarest nio air, I thought they were a good brand

 

[Barney Rubble]

Hi, get yourself down to go outdoors, probably the best place to get a sleep mat for less than £50. I got their Hi Gear Ultra lite mat for £20. Its 3/4 length which is fine for wild camping and best of all its 4cm thick and very comfy. Weighs 460g according to the website and packs down to the size of a nalgene water bottle. used mine a few times and seems to be holding up well, I'm a pretty large bloke @17st by the way!

 

[Yorkshirewanderer]

I'm off to my local one today to test some out, not sure on the 3/4 ones surely your feet would get cold? I do like fact they are less weight tho.
Was thinking, would a space blanket underneath help the 'R rating' if it wasn't so high as they are only a couple of quid and weigh next to nowt, just a thought. I not looking at camping out in the snow btw, so does the 'R rating' matter that much?

 

[Yorkshirewanderer]

I'd agree with Cranmere - you get what you pay for. The old adage with hiking stuff is 'you can have it light, you can have it cheap, and you can have in durable - pick any two'.

There are no cheap highly compact but really warm sleeping mats, any more than there are small, light, warm and cheap sleeping bags - its not how it works. Your trading off one thing against the other, and if you want to go lighter/smaller, then its either less warmth or more cash.

If you want cheap/warm but heavy see what Aldi has coming up in their camping special buys (comes up about 3-4 times a year). Pretty heavy, but for £15, its fine. Brands like Multimat and Vango tend to be a bit lighter, but not that pricey. You'll have to look up their 'R' value (how efficient they are), but the more you pay, the lighter/better the R value. Mountain Equipment has some reasonably low priced ones (about £40). Alpkit has just started doing theirs again (the Airo 180 has always got very good reviews), and has a nice little guide https://www.alpkit.com/spotlight/choosing-a-sleeping-mat . Thermarest isn't cheap, but they are the original ones. Mines a Classic from 12 years ago which I bought in the States. Its pretty heavy, but comfortable. I got a new Multimat 25 for £3.99 from a local charity shop a couple of months back, which is smaller and thinner, but a fair bit smaller. You can pay well over a hundred for a mat, but this will be very light and small, yet very efficient, with perhaps down as an insulator.


There is one thing about closed cell mats - they are pretty uncomfortable compared with inflatables, and I'd never go back. Even the thick ones are not that comfortable, compared with the alternative. Endi's has the 15mm Dutch ones, at about £22 for Grade 1 plus. However, they weigh 760g and pack down to about 18in long and 8in wide. I dont know how warm they offically are, but you can get a ME Helium 3.8 for £45 which weighs the same, and packs down to about 10in x 6in. And I bet that the ME Helium is more comfortable. Its more than twice as thick as the closed cell when inflated.

Have a look at Outdoor Magic for recommendations, 'cos this question always come up, and there are people who combine a self inflator and a classic closed cell to get the most out of both (you can use something like radiator foil underneath the mat as well), but I'd look in Cotswold, Go Outdoors etc for something - you might do OK for about £40-50 quid.

Thanks for your input Old Bones, your always very helpful. I will have a look over at OM too.

 

[ozzy1977]

The karrimor xlite is a good bit of kit, around £20 and weighs 1lb, it is the same mat as the multimat superlite 25 but blue not red, they also do the 38mm one too if you want the extra warmth

 

[Old Bones]

No problem - as long as it works for you, thats the one you should buy. The Karrimor gets pretty good reviews http://maceachain.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/karrimor-x-lite-self-inflate-sleeping.html , with the weight given as 475g. The price is decent, but its difficult to tell what the R rating actually is from the website, but looking at an old discussion from OM, I'd discovered the R rating was 2.2, although that was possibly the thinner model.

If I was upgrading, I'd give a serious look at the Alpkit Airo 180 - http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/gear-news/just-in---alpkit-airo-120-mat/7164.html - 630g and great reviews, with a R rating of perhaps 2.5 (its cover is 33D nylon, not the 20D for the Karrimor). There is a discussion about the karrimor, etc here: http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/forum/gear/karrimor-x-lite-self-inflate-mats/41709-2.html. The ME Helium has an R rating of 3.2, but does weigh .75kg.

If you want to go for the Karrimor, my advice is to order online. I hate Sports Direct shops (every time I go in one, I think it will be better, but no..), but I bought a cheap stove and windshield from Lilywhites last year. It turned out to be £4 more to buy the stove instore than online, and the windshield was more expensive as well. Since they charge £3.99 for P & P, if your ordering a couple of things, its cheaper, much nicer not going in, and its only a couple of stores where they do their full Karrimor range anyway.

 

[Philster]

I use a Dutch Army surplus Thermrest - paid less than £20 on Ebay and its been flipping great! Recommended!