You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I'm sure its been done to death, but what is the current lightweight, robust and affordable sleeping mat. I assume in classic buying terms, I get to choose 2 out of the 3 requirements. On that basis, affordable and light.
Will be used for daughters DofE and occasional bike packing and trekking. Currently got an old, and heavy thermarest that has served well for 30 years.
Ideally looking £50ish, £100 absolute tops. I can access decent discounts at Alpkit, Go Outdoors and Cotswolds
Cheers
We recently got air mattress
this for my daughters DofE & scout camps. She's used one of our similar vintage thermarests on scout camps & DofE practice but it doesn't pack small hence the change. This one means that all the equipment can now fit in the rucksack.
The material doesn't seem as robust as the themarest, a bit "plasticky" but comfort testing on the lounge floor seemed ok & testing in the wild in a few weeks time.
I've just bought a Sea to Summit insulated ultralight mat. It was on offer at Blacks anyway, then I got some discount with my Defence Discount Card. £95 with free postage because I signed up to their newsletter.
I spent 2 nights on it so far, camping out of a car at Heaven of the South. It's a doddle to inflate with the combined stuff sack/pump and comfortable. It's a decent 5cm thick. Packs up small and weighs less than half a kilo. If you buy a pillow from STS it attaches with Velcro so it doesn't slip off. Probably 3 season at best, maybe not one for winter camping. Pretty pleased with it so far, though I've not really tested it properly.
Edit: this one. Seems it's currently £114. STW member discount at Blacks is 15% taking you under the ton.
https://www.blacks.co.uk/15921485/sea-to-summit-ultralight-insulated-sleeping-mat-15921485
I tried several cheaper ones before biting the bullet and buying a Thermarest NeoAir X Lite. Based on previous ThermaRests it should last and last, so works out cheaper in the long term.
Thanks
Any experience of the Alpkit Cloud Base?
Alpkit Cloud Base? I slept 3 nights on my Cloud Base over the bank holiday weekend inside a bivi bag. For me at 6ft and 78kg it was great; I needed to firm it up with an extra couple of breaths on the first night to keep my bony hips off the ground.
It packs up really small, tiny.
The only mildly negative thing is the slippery plastic which makes it tricky to keep a pillow under control, but I resolved that by putting my pillow inside the hood of my sleeping bag.
For the price I think it's an excellent mattress, but you might need something warmer/thicker if you're camping out in cold weather.
I have a Cloud Base. Decent comfort for the size/weight/price. For cold weather it would need a closed cell mat under the hips - shoulder zone. Which would improve comfort as well.
I'm 16 stone. So I assume a lighter person would have fewer points where they were grounded.
I recently bought a Vango Aotrom, looks pretty similar to the cloudbase. It's about 400g and smaller than a drinks bottle. Comfort not bad but no insulation. Took 12 breaths to inflate and has a one way valve.
After my exped synmat ul 7 failed (baffles expanded) I asked on here and @ton recommended the following mat
Its also available in XL which is the one I've got.
Its just as comfy as my exped. Packs down just as small and inflates just as quickly and is about the same weight at 600g and it cost me £40. It has silicone in the top to stop you sliding around which the exped didn't have. It is almost as good in every way, except one, it's r rating (warmth) is just 1.5 vs 3.9 of the exped and it made a huge difference with how warm I felt at night.
They do a warmer mat for slightly more money but it is around 800g so a bit of extra weight.
So if your camping in warmer weather its great and I highly recommend it.
I second the decathlon one, for warm weather camping it's excellent.
What about a short mat ?.
I recently moved from the old trusty Thermarest, onto a RAB 'stratosphere 4' inflatable lilo type mat. After plenty of searching around it came up cheapest at SportShoes.com (yes !) And think I paid £89.
Nice and deep for side sleeping (I'm 6ft tall and no lightweight!) And it just seems more robust than some others. Not crisp-bag noisy like my mate's inflatable Thermarest neo-air Thermarest either. I've used it bike packing for a few days in Scotland.
There are defo smaller packed sizes and weight out there, but for the ££ I'm so far happy with it and for the price waaay better than the alternatives like Exped or S2S, Thermarest etc
I cannot kill my Thermarest XTherm even with months of wild camping from deserts to glaciers and being a fat lump. At 400g and packing down to bike bottle size whilst having an amazing R warmth value it’s one of the best bits of kit I’ve bought. Expensive but worth it.
We've got two Roben's Primacore mats. They're lovely and comfy and warm. No silly crisp packet noises either. Ones been heavily DofE and p*ss*d student treated...
We've an ancient Decathlon one which is thinner and less comfy - but super warm, robust and refuses to die.
I've just ordered another Robens super light one for youngest on his travels next year for £40.
Alpkit Cloudbase - cheap, light, small and comfortable
Just not insulated, but I guess she won't be winter camping so it'll be fine.
anagallis_arvensis
Full Member
I second the decathlon one, for warm weather camping it’s excellent.
Thirded. Just spent four nights on one, I'm 88Kg, and it was really comfortable, light, small and great value.
Jumping on this (sorry OP) but any recommendations for a wide mat? I've got a neoair which is light and small, but I spend most of the night half off it. More likely to be used car camping/sleeping on people's floors so cheaper is more important than weight
Just not insulated, but I guess she won’t be winter camping so it’ll be fine.
Just be mindful women typically feel the cold a lot more. As a woman carrying more fat than your typical teenager, I found uninsulated mats really chilly, even in summer, so eventually gave up on being uncomfortable and got an Exped Synmat, and trips became significantly more enjoyable. Probably not within budget but I’d look for something with a R value.
I've had a few cheap un-insulated air mats, found them to be too cold and too narrow.
Now have a Exped Synmat UL MW, synthetic insulation and 65cm wide, very comfy for me as a side sleeper and warm.
Exped seem to have changed the names in the range so I'm not sure what the current equivalent is.
Unfortunately out of your budget OP, but what price a good night's sleep?
Jumping on this (sorry OP) but any recommendations for a wide mat? I’ve got a neoair which is light and small, but I spend most of the night half off it. More likely to be used car camping/sleeping on people’s floors so cheaper is more important than weight
For car camping / spare bed type requirements, we've got a couple of Outwell Dream-something-or-other mattresses. They're a whole world of difference from the old school inflatables, too bulky for the bike / backpack but fine for what you describe.
https://www.outwell.com/en-gb/ecommerce/sleeping/self-inflating-mats