Evening All

I'm looking to purchase a sleeping mat in the next couple of weeks. I've short-listed a few from around £40-50 with no R-rating up to £130 at R2.9 and only 158g. Realistically, this is more than I want to spend, so I'm looking for a good value, decent quality and reasonably light. So, can you recommend any options?

Can you also give me an idea of what R ratings is required for spring/autumn use? Or temps, if that will make it easier? I'm unlikely to camp in Winter conditions too often, so I'm looking for mainly the 3 seasons. Tips on how to keep warm using a lower rated mat would also be of help.

Cheers for any responses.

My 3 seasons would still include sub-zero temperatures so a 3.3 rated Exped Synmat HL is what I use.

You might also want to consider what you'll be using it with. I now have a quilt for the less-cold nights but then the slightly warmer mat works well. With a full sleeping bag, I could get away with a lower-rated mat.

Exped synmat HL, warm enough for most uk conditions. The right balance between tough and light. Definitely get the wider version unless you’re a snake.

Another Synmat user here. I'm a fairly cold sleeper (bit nesh), but it's been ok for year round use in the UK. I think -4°C is the coldest I've used it at.

Exped mats

I have an Oex Traverse IMX mat (£50) (who thinks up these names?). It has no additional insulation. But it is very Compact and reasonably light @ about 400g, tapering contributes to this. (Size about 2/3 coke can size) The is an extra air sac that is on offer at Gooutdoors at £10. It is 50mm/2 in. thick and comfy. I guess its budget to mid-range.
I slept out first time at 10°c, that was damp a with a damp synthetic bag. Note I also had a 3mm. Underlay mat.. The construction seems light and also robust
Here a, link to the spec.

https://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/15904974/o ... t-15904974

The only experience I have of other mat are a 80's foam Karrimat and Thermorest original (Cascade Designs it's from the early 90's).
Unlike similar mats on amazon & AliExpress, you have a UK brand who stands by it products .

The way R values are measured changed recently and those manufacturers who've adopted the new standard have found their mats now have a lower R value ... same mat doing the same job with a different number, so make sure you're always comparing like for like. I used to say R4 for all year in the uk but now it appears to be around R2.4.

Unlike a bag, your mat can't be too warm, so I rarely see much point in travelling with an uninsulated mat. Big fan of Exped and although over budget, I've just found an Synmat UL7 for less than £90. https://www.outdoorgb.com/p/Exped_SynMa ... eping_Mat/

It does seem like a lot of money but you'll be both comfy and warm. Exped are also good with warranty etc should something happen.

If you do buy an uninsulated mat, the only thing you can really do to boost performance is to double up with a closed cell foam mat. Don't waste your time with foil blankets and such as they'll do nothing. Whatever you use needs to have its own insulation properties. A CCF mat will also work better if it's placed on top rather than below an uninsulated air mat.

+1 on Exped. I have a Synmat 5 lite (R2.5) which I've found comfy and warm when in tent or bivvy bag when it has frozen overnight (frozen water bottles etc). Paid about £60 for it.

After recommendations on here, I bought an Exped Synmat HL. Only used it in anger the once so far. No regrets though, as mentioned previously, it's a good combination of insulation, comfort and weight/bulk.

"A CCF mat will also work better if it's placed on top rather than below an uninsulated air mat."

Is this the voice of experience, or based on a fact/principle?
I have used it with a CCF underneath before, to boost the R value and guard against thorns etc, not that I've ever had a mat puncture.

s this the voice of experience, or based on a fact/principle?

Both. An unisulated air mat loses heat to the ground via convection. With a mat below, this can still happen within the mat itself which has a cooling effect on you. With the CCF mat on top, any cooling effect brought about by convection within the air mat goes unnoticed.

guard against thorns etc

Yep, obviously a benefit you won't get with the CCF on top.

Cath has the tapered version of the mat Stu linked to and has used it in the Arctic at -16C without problems (other than it being fekking cold in the morning! ).

When we started bikepacking she got a cheap Multimat (sold under various brand names) for about £20. Uninsulated it weighs very nearly the same as the Synamat and is similar packed size. I don't think she's used it since getting the Exped.

As Stu says, a mat can't be too warm, well it's not actually generating heat just slowing heat transfer from you to the several trillion tonnes of rock and earth you are lying on. In hot temperatures the material of the upper surface of the mat will have a bigger effect on comfort.

One tip with Expeds: inflate fully then let a little air out. This gives the internal welds a bit of a buffer when you sit/lie on it. If fully inflated they are under a lot of tension then you apply more and they can unzip which is disconcerting to say the least!

whitestone wrote: ↑Sat Feb 20, 2021 3:21 pm One tip with Expeds: inflate fully then let a little air out.

It's a dead good tip is that. I learned that early on with mine. Too much inflation and you roll off anyway, but the difference in comfort after letting even just a couple of cc of air out can be a revelation.

Hi there.

I use a neo air xlite all year around. It's very small warm and I've forgotten what the r number was. I've had it out on -5 and it's been great.

I have much less experience compared to most people here, but anyway... I have Klymit Static V that I bought in the US for $41 about 2 years ago. I had no plans to sleep in anything colder than ~10 degrees, so went for a non-insulated budget option. Had 10-15 nights on it so far and it's comfy enough for my needs. The last trip was slightly cold, so we've got a car window shade. We placed it under the tent, and horizontally under the torsos of myself and a friend. As said earlier, I don't have much experience, but I think it helped a lot. For reference, I'm a cold sleeper and use a Decathlon TREK500 5° light sleeping bag.

Thanks again everybody. Some great advice and focused the search to what will work well. I'd prefer to buy better once, so accept that spending a bit more is probably the way to go. I had bookmarked a Thermorest Neoair Uberlight at R2.3, 158g @£130 but, on the balance of positive posts towards Exped, I'll likely got for one of their mats. Cheers

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Sat Feb 20, 2021 8:49 am Big fan of Exped and although over budget, I've just found an Synmat UL7 for less than £90. https://www.outdoorgb.com/p/Exped_SynMa ... eping_Mat/

Maybe worth noting that this is a 'synmat ul lite', not a synmat ul7 , the rrp for the ul7 is about £150 now . Seems the lite version is 5cm thick instead of 7cm and comes with a minipump instead of a snozzle.

I paid £65 for my ul7 about 5 years ago (this was before they came with a snozzle pump bag though)

I really wish they'd stop introducing new things with similar names

Yes, the link is for a synmat UL lite which is indeed 5cm thick. It used to be that they made a synmat UL7 and also a synmat lite but now we have a synmat UL lite ... which is quite confusing

https://www.outdoorgb.com/p/Exped_SynMa ... 9&tc=10867

Oh dawg it's worse than that: seems that my Winterlite has been renamed Synmat Hyperlite Winter . In fact I'm pretty sure it was called something else before that too....