Lightweight sleeping mats

[whitestone]

What do folk on here recommend for a lightweight sleeping mat?

Probably looking at an inflatable mat as these will (should) compress down to be fairly compact when not in use. I've a full length Thermarest which will do for late autumn - winter - early spring, but I'm after something for the warmer times of the year. I'd be happy with a 3/4 length mat. Current choices are between the Klymit Inertia X-Frame & the Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite.

NeoAir: 350g packs to 23cm x 10cm
Klymit x-frame: 300g with pump, packs to 15cm x 7cm

For lightness and pack size the Klymit wins but is it actually the better mat? Anyone else have anything else that they'd recommend? Back when I was alpine climbing I'd use three sections of Karrimat taped together and carried in a sleeve down the back of my rucksack. Total weight of less than 100g, you didn't really notice it take up space as it was being used as cushioning in your sack. I still use it occasionally these days but increasing years are leading me to something slightly more comfortable.

[Bearbonesnorm]

If it's only really for summer use, then you'll likely get away with an uninsulated air mat. Karrimor do a very light one, it's exactly the same mat that Multimat sell for nearly £50. Think they weigh around 300g. Ignore the fantasy temp ratings on the website ... pure fiction

http://www.fieldandtrek.com/karrimor-6- ... e=78217490

[whitestone]

For £19 it looks worth a shot

So long as I'm not in direct contact with the ground pretty well anything will do for me.

[Bearbonesnorm]

A few people have used them with decent results, just as long as you don't require a warm mat they should do exactly what you want.

[johnnystorm]

I've got a neoair and had a Klymit. The neoair is better in every way. I'd rather carry the minimal extra weight for the extra comfort.

[Ben98]

For the summer I find somewhere soft and use a piece of ultra thin blue foam that I've cut to "body" shaped, weighs ~70g and actually doesn't take up much room.

[whitestone]

Thanks for the replies.

Like I said, I've used pieces of karrimat taped together. Used it for events like the OMM as well as bothy trips but it does require that I'm using a rucksack, or at least that's how I've always done it. Old bones are leading me to a "softer" solution

[Farawayvisions]

Exped Synmat UL7.
Warm, light, packs smallish and comfy without crinkly noises.
Got my first puncture though and struggling to locate it.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Got my first puncture though and struggling to locate it.

Might not actually be a puncture, could be the valve. Wipe a bit of spit round the valve inserts before you put them in, then give them a little twist / rotate them once they're fitted in place.

[Scattamah]

+1 on the Neoair XLite. Relatively light, very comfortable, packs small. > 3K miles on mine and no punctures yet. The only thing I've noticed is the mylar inside seems to have come apart on one row.

Greetz

S.

[Farawayvisions]

Got my first puncture though and struggling to locate it.

Might not actually be a puncture, could be the valve. Wipe a bit of spit round the valve inserts before you put them in, then give them a little twist / rotate them once they're fitted in place.

Cheers Stu, will check that out tomorrow - too tired to blow it up again now. will let you know the outcome.

[Alpinum]

+1 on the Neoair XLite here too. In the short version. Supplementary, I sometimes use a 30 ×40 cm piece of bubblewrap for the feet.

It must have taken my first neo-air 100 nights to go all funny (big bubbles). Should they get a puncture they're really easy to mend. In the short version they weigh in at 220 g and in winter you can boost them with a foam mat.

I sometimes use a quilt and believe the klymit won't go along that well. Also the width, better lack of it, seems a bit on the narrow side. Having said that, I never used one.

[Farawayvisions]

Stu
That worked a treat. Mat stayed inflated all night.
Mwah.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Stu
That worked a treat. Mat stayed inflated all night.
Mwah.

Good stuff, however I can't take credit as it was Hux who mentioned it to me.

[Justchris]

I have a multimat superlite three quarter. Its 300g. And I looked last night on ebay and it was £32. Used on last summer for a few nights and did the job at a reasonable price.

[Farawayvisions]

Stu
That worked a treat. Mat stayed inflated all night.
Mwah.

Good stuff, however I can't take credit as it was Hux who mentioned it to me.

I gave you credit on my blog for the tip

Hux, I'll change that over to you now.

[rudedog]

I've had the multimat adventure superlite self inflating mat and found it OK - I tended to roll off it a lot although I attributed this to the design of SIMs rather than something particular to this mat. It developed a leaky valve after a couple uses and was sent back to multimat who exchanged it for the superlite adventure air. I preferred the air mat version but it was a bit too narrow for me to get a great sleep on. After only a couple of uses developed a slow leak which I haven't been able to locate.

I've now got a exped synmat 7 which is great - it's a good bit wider than the multimat but is also a much more stable construction due to how the tubes are welded. The outside tubes are wider than the others which helps to prevent rolling off the mat during the night. The flat valves are also really good and it can be blown up really quick with my home made instaflator (a pedal bin bag with a nozzle taped to the bottom corner). I've probably had about 40ish nights sleeps on it so it's been much more robust than either of the multimats and I'd definitely buy another if something happened to this one.