Roll mat help

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dasy2k1

Nomad
May 26, 2009
299
0
Manchester
Another peice of advice is always store self inflating mats flat with the valve open. If you store them rolled they can take days to inflate again propperly
 

chris_irwin

Nomad
Jul 10, 2007
411
0
34
oxfordshire
I would add a roll mat to your existing inflatable mat, you have already paid out for it you might as well carry on using it.

My advice would be add a dutch army roll mat; they are closed cell foam but 18mm thick. they are very very comfortable and don't feel like other foam mats! they are in a league of their own!!!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Dutch-Army-Sl...Collectables_Militaria_LE&hash=item3a65490e1c

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MILITARY-ARMY...s_SleepingMats_Airbeds_CA&hash=item2eb4539dbd

no link to seller, etc etc

890 grams :O. At that weight, might as well get a thermarest.
 

Mike8472

Full Member
Jul 28, 2009
1,163
3
west yorkshire
Good thing a out the dutch mat you aren't bothered about where you chuck it down to sleep; where as with a self inflating mat one thorn and your mat is stuffed and your night is ruined. Unless you have a repair kit and even then you have to wait for the adhesive to set and its hours before you can use it again.

Thermarest used to do a mat called "toughskin" which had a ccf base inside it to help combat this threat but i don't think they make them anymore.
 

Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,208
1,574
Cumbria
+1 on storing with valve open and store flat. If you don't it compresses the foam inside so quite likely will never self inflate the way it should.

A few breaths always helps. However if you over inflate it loses comfort as it becomes harder and doesn't allow it to conform to your body. If it is a particularlythin mat then it is less likely to have the room to give at contact points and you could just be hitting the hard ground there. Inflate more perhaps but does sound like a duff buy for you.

Alpkit do thicker self inflaters as do TAR and POE indeed Multimat do too. The ALpkit ones could be a lot cheaper though. They do light through to rather hevy base camp mats.
 

trekkingnut

Settler
Jul 18, 2010
680
1
Wiltshire
Truth be told none of the self inflating mats are much good, one of those things in life where you believe the hype until try it. You can get some thick ones from someone like Alpkit? but then you may as well take a proper air bed and sleep in real comfort and save a few quid. I would take a cell foam mat and plonk a pukka airbed on top, sleep like a baby. Airbeds are lighter in weight too.


I have never disagreed with something so much on this forum before as that statement im afraid....

I use a therma rest prolite in the mountains whilst at work and a closed cell in the jungle as self inflators will just pop and the difference in comfort is not comparable.

the prolite means i wake up in the morning without sore joints or pain from sleeping on my hip bones etc. it has been worth every penny and everyone who has ever borrowed it has gone out and bought something similar immediately afterwards.


the most common problem in terms of comfort that i find with self inflators is people over inflate them and then they find that their back is both sore and cold. if you sleep on something solid then your back is not naturally positioned as it has a curve in it. get on your mattress and open the valve a teeny tiny bit and start letting air out. when you feel its actually conformed to the shape of your back a bit better, close the valve up. this subtle difference will make an enormous difference to your nights sleep.

a prolite is only 2.5 cms thick.... but it beats 8mm of foam....
 

trekkingnut

Settler
Jul 18, 2010
680
1
Wiltshire
coincidently, i do tent to use a very very thin roll mat to protect the bottom of my therma rest anyways. german issue roll mat is extremely thin and folds instead of rolls so it sits nice inside my bergen at the back.
 

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