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Slowly gathering up kit to enable the odd night away under the stars when Spring heads our way.
So...
In terms of a nice, light, small but comfortable sleeping mat.
Just a case of having a look at Alpkit and selecting something like the Cloud Base?
Thanks in advance.
Trekology for me. Reasonable weight, great size and comfort. I'm big and a side sleeper so works well for me. Changed from a sea to summit that was lighter/smaller but comprimised on comfort for me.
I had one of them (Cloud base) and it was good until it started deflating overnight and I couldn't find a hole to fix. Could just have been unlucky.
Thermarest NeoAir is good but spendy and quite rustly.
I love Exped gear and have their lightweight and Down insulated mats. Plus the big one for car camping. Really good quality.
For the UK I'd recommend a mat with some insulation. Personally I go with the Exped Synmat.
Been using thermarest for 25 years. See no reason to change. They sent me a new one for free when the 15 year old one delaminated.
We have three Cloud Bases, they're great for being small, light, comfy and pretty cheap. Probably not the warmest, but that's not a problem for me. Not had a puncture in one yet, but they are fairly lightweight so it wouldn't amaze me.
Exped synmat all year for me too.
Personality I'd give an air only mat a miss unless you only want it for true warm summer nights.
Personality I’d give an air only mat a miss unless you only want it for true warm summer nights.
Mileages vary tho. Especially with milder climate. I run fairly warm so the last 5 years I’ve camped (inland/low-level) from February to October and everything in between with just a Lidl lightweight self-inflating mat Found it to be easily adjustable, sturdy, light and the most comfortable camping mat I’ve used to date, incl Thermarest, Alpit etc.
Also, with a foil emergency-blanket between yr bag and the mat it works even better.
Exped synmat or downmat for insulated. I've also got an insulated thermarest (but not the shaped very spendy ultralight ones, can't remember the name but it's rectangular and green. It came with an electric mini pump which worked once) and that one I find comfiest. I'm now at the point though where I will sacrifice weight for comfort.
Edit: I also always used a silver foil blanket underneath, but found it too bloody rustle-y - I saw a recommendation somewhere for using the slightly padded windscreen covers you can get. Another fella used the foil bubble wrap
Personality I’d give an air only mat a miss unless you only want it for true warm summer nights.
I dunno, Thermarest reckon their air only ones are warmer than their lightweight foam ones.
I've been pretty impressed with their NeoAir XLite.
^^ Yeah it may not be worth the rustle for the small benefit. Merino thermal underthings would probably be better.
I’m very happy with my Thermarest NeoAir. It’s comfortable and warm but also light and small when packed.
I've got a Thermarest NeoAir XTherm, it's very comfortable and warm, packs very small and is lightweight. If you sleep warm then you might get away with the regular NeoAir. The rustling has never bothered me
Yeah, the rustle doesn't bug me that much. It might annoy me more if I had to share a tent with someone else with one, though.
Cloudbase is (was) on Amazon with a different colour/name and cheaper. Comfort is acceptable, but it is light and packable.
Ive been using a neo air extherm too, probably done 200 nights on it. Really good, it doesn't rustle and the insulation is phenomenal, you can use a lighter sleeping bag/quilt. I've punctured it a few time but it is very easy to repair in the tent on a frosty night. It doesn't have any down or primaloft insulation so I blow it up with my mouth. Downside is it is slightly less supportive at the edges than the exped models - I'd say they are better for side sleepers. Also they are very expensive now!
If you go to go outdoors or similar you can try them all out usually
Cloudbase is (was) on Amazon with a different colour/name and cheaper. Comfort is acceptable, but it is light and packable.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultralight-Sleeping-Backpacking-Waterproof-Inflatable/dp/B09F9YDRQK/
The cloudbase is a good lightweight mat at a decent price. No insulation but I've used it down to freezing temps and it's been fine. Used an Alpkit airo before that but I found the lack of volume made it quite uncomfortable, the cloudbase was a big improvement.
I've since replaced it with a Thermarest Uberlite (which I've not actually used yet). It's half the size and has insulation. It's also twice the price and feels like a crisp packet. Bit concerned about durability but we'll see.
If you want lightweight, I think this may be the lightest:
Having used one a couple of times I can't vouch for them being all that comfy though 🤣
Another Exped Synmat recommendation.
I have the Synmat 7 wide/long. Comfy and warm. Also quite, not crisp packety like some others.
Synmat 7 seems to weigh most of a kilo though (m is listed as 850g). Not sure that classes as lightweight these days.
My Neoair XTherm Max is about half the weight AFAICS
It's personal pref. I'd personally rather carry a bit more and have good night sleep.
That's fine but the OP said lightweight 🙂
My Synmat HL M (including storage bag and inflator sack) weighs 471g
Yeah that's more like it! Fair bit cheaper than the Thermarest equivalent also.
Happy with mine but if I was buying again I'd probs try one of them.
Worth a look at Tim Moss's site for comparisons:
https://thenextchallenge.org/camping-mats/
(He's like a uk cycle touring DCRainmaker)
It’s personal pref. I’d personally rather carry a bit more and have good night sleep.
...
That’s fine but the OP said lightweight 🙂
Weight vs comfort is always going to be a compromise. If absolute weight at the cost of comfort is your end goal, sleep on the floor. I've just weighed my No Mat and it came in at 0g.
I'm being silly, of course. But the OP also said 'comfortable' and you can weight weenie too far.