Sleeping mat decision

[whitestone]

I'm looking for a 3/4 season sleeping mat that's light, compact and cheap (yes I know the "pick any two" saying - within reason, price isn't an issue), anyone have any thoughts on either the thermarest neoair xtherm or the thermarest neoair xlite?

The xtherm has an R-rating of 5.27 against 3.2 for the xlite, it's 90g heavier and the pack size is about 2cm wider. There's the slight matter of the Xtherm costing £50 more

Anything else that might be worth considering? From a previous thread I started you may assume that compactness is a desirable feature

Edit: I should say that I tend to sleep on my side which can make a difference.

[dlovett]

I bought the xtherm and I'm very happy with it. Toasty warm and it really doesn't sound like you are sleeping on a bag of crisps. Expensive, but worth it to be warm and comfortable.

I got the large for about 20 quid more than the normal one @ http://www.bananafingers.co.uk/thermare ... -2983.html

d

[Bearbonesnorm]

Synmat UL ... probably the best mat I've ever used.

[jam bo]

xtherm here too. Had a couple of cold nights on a alpkit airo and realised I don't sleep well cold.

really comfortable, really warm, highly recommended. Got mine from bananafingers for £115 I think.

[Nevis]

Exped downmat lite for me.
183 x 52cm, R 4.1, 645g
Packs about 12 x 28cm

They're about £75 ish

I like to have mine a little under inflated so it kind of "cuddles" you. Less chance of rolling off then.

BTW I really like it

[ianfitz]

i like a full length mat for colder times of year so for me I don't get the point of an Xtherm 3/4s. We have a full length one which is scarily warm. You can feel your body heat being fired back at you!

I do have a 3/4 normal neo air though,. You be glad to know its very compact

and comfy too

[Richard G]

I'm probably going to get an xtherm ready for the winter event. What's this about the 3/4 versions?

I noticed on their website that they seem to do a rectangle version now too.

[Scattamah]

Neoair Xlite side/belly sleeper here...slept on it numerous times when the mercury is at or below freezing. Like the heat reflection it gives off but it does sound like you're lying on a crisp packet if you wriggle about. When this one goes, I'll opt for the small version over the regular and shrink my sleep kit down a little more.

Greetz

S.

[Taylor]

Have a neoair and an exped down mat ul7 regular.
Down mat wins hands down(excuse the pun).
Always feel perched on top of the neoair as the baffles go across. Exped baffles go lengthways with the two outer baffles being slightly larger to keep you "in" the mat.

[benp1]

Neoair large here. The original one

My one was replaced a year or so after I bought it as it had leaky seams. This one has been going strong for years, 6 maybe?

It's annoying having to carry bigger sleep kit as I'm tall - longer mat, longer mat, bigger shelter

I have the chair kit for it and that is truly ace, I can wake up in the morning and convert the whole thing into a chair so I can sit up and have a brew

It would be nice to have something warmer, I think mine is only R2.5

[whitestone]

I spent quite a bit of last night looking at the blurb for various mats and some cogitation. I'm 180cm tall and one of my few requirements when sleeping is a pillow of some kind, I'll often use a dry bag stuffed with spare clothing. There's no need for the pillow to have insulation underneath so I don't need a full length mat. In fact if the pillow is on top of the mat then it tends to get pushed off during the night.

So my needs equate to a mat around 160cm in length, some of the models such as the NeoAir Xtherm aren't available in that length but the XLite (women's version) and the Exped Synmat and Downmat are. The Exped Downmat looks way over the top for what I need so it's between the Xlite and the Synmat UL 7 which have a similar rating

[Bearbonesnorm]

one of my few requirements when sleeping is a pillow of some kind, I'll often use a dry bag stuffed with spare clothing. There's no need for the pillow to have insulation underneath so I don't need a full length mat. In fact if the pillow is on top of the mat then it tends to get pushed off during the night.

I need a pillow too. Just remember that the air mats are very thick, so if your pillow isn't on top, you'll need a very thick pillow to get any benefit. My solution is a small 'pillow case' that has elastic straps which slide over the mat and keep it in place ... just stuff the case with whatever I have to hand.

[benp1]

I've tried a few pillows and have finally settled on the exped one, i really like it

I either stick it in the hood of my bag, under the hood (and hope it doesn't move), or under the strap of the chair kit if it's still attached to the mat (which it often is)

One potential tip is to put a top (jacket, jumper, jersey) over the top of the mat and your pillow inside that to stop it moving

[ScotRoutes]

My "pillow" is a stuffsac with any spare clothing in it. I just put it inside the hood of my sleeping bag so it doesn't move around. Might work for me as I don't like a lot of head elevation in any case.

[Ray Young]

Exped downmat lite for me, I love it. I use a mammut pillow which I like but I need to find a way to stop it moving. I can't put it in the hood as I move a lot from one side to the other or sometimes on my back which is not good if I'm with others as I tend to snore in that position. Was thinking of maybe using Velcro to attach it to the mat.

[whitestone]

Cheers for the tips guys - you get/adapt a system that has worked well in the past but there's always something new to learn.

Ray Young: you can get sticky backed Velcro so you could put a couple of small squares at the head end of the sleeping mat and have a fabric style bag as your pillow so that it would catch on the hooks - dry bags might be a little too smooth for them to work.

[Farawayvisions]

Exped Synmat UL for me.

[Richard G]

A lot of the pads mentioned here have really low R values. Are you guys warm sleepers, or do you have really good sleeping bags? I found myself cold in March with my gear.

[Scattamah]

I'm usually cold when I get in the cot but wake up toasty. I wouldn't consider my bag to be the warmest out there (rated for 30F/-1C). Coupled with the Xlite and with the storm doors down on my Solplex, I'll get away with -5 or thereabouts.

Greetz

S.

[rudedog]

Another vote for the exped synmat from me.

Regarding pillows, a buff pulled over a drybag makes it feel a lot nicer next to your skin. I've got one of the ones that is part fleece which is particularly good for this.

[whitestone]

A lot of the pads mentioned here have really low R values. Are you guys warm sleepers, or do you have really good sleeping bags? I found myself cold in March with my gear.

Stuart's piece on sleeping mats - http://bearbonesbikepacking.blogspot.co ... -mats.html suggests that an R value of 3.5 is probably good enough for all year round UK use. I think the lowest rated that's been mentioned on this thread is the XLite with R=3.2.

A sleeping mat is just one part of the overall system though. A better mat can mean not needing a higher rated sleeping bag for a given set of conditions; you could use a better mat to "extend" the season rating of a sleeping bag for example. I think (could be wrong here) that this is because the mat replaces the insulation removed from the system by the weight of your body squashing the lower part of your sleeping bag. In which case you could argue that you need a mat with an R-value equal to that of your sleeping bag plus a bit to allow for conduction.

[Bearbonesnorm]

A sleeping mat is just one part of the overall system though. A better mat can mean not needing a higher rated sleeping bag for a given set of conditions; you could use a better mat to "extend" the season rating of a sleeping bag for example. I think (could be wrong here) that this is because the mat replaces the insulation removed from the system by the weight of your body squashing the lower part of your sleeping bag. In which case you could argue that you need a mat with an R-value equal to that of your sleeping bag plus a bit to allow for conduction.

Pretty much it, you do need to remember that convection always plays a part when it comes to air mats ... it's one of the reasons manufacturers look to include baffles or insulation to help prevent it happening. Reflective coatings or liners, etc are really of secondary importance.

[whitestone]

Made my decision But I'll keep it quiet until it arrives in the post

[whitestone]

As indicated in the "The Post man's been" thread I received an Exped Synmat Winterlite 7 M sleeping mat today

My reasons for going for this were:
Tapered: not everyone gets on with tapered mats but my bivvy bag is also tapered and a rectangular mat would be awkward at best inside it.
Light: 400g give or take, given that my Klymit Inertia X-frame is 250g and doesn't have an R rating that's pretty good going.
Compact: Once you get to the cooler months of the year everything gets bulkier so every little helps
Flush valve: a bit odd but the valve on the Exped mats are virtually flush with the material whereas Thermarest ones protrude and can be prone to damage (not likely in the overall scheme of things but ...)

First impressions - a bit narrower than I thought it would be but I tend to turn "in-situ" so not a big problem. Inflating the mat by mouth takes a while *and* there was a definite patch of moisture just from that one inflation so either a Schnozzlebag (Father Xmas) or Farawayvisions ghetto version is in order methinks. Apparently Exped test the R-value of each one individually so each has its own rating: the catalogue value is R4.9 but the tag on this is R6.0! A bit of extreme living room floor testing and it feels comfortable enough. Amazingly it goes back in its stuff sack - I've suffered the tent stuff sack syndrome where the tent has been packed in the factory by a gang of malicious dwarves laughing as they consider the poor user attempting to get the tent back in whence it came. Packed size is slightly larger in girth than I thought it might be but it's still not a big volume for what is a four season mat - it's about a third of the volume, possibly less, than that of my Thermarest.

Just need some colder nights to head out and test it for real

[JohnClimber]

First impressions - a bit narrower than I thought it would be but I tend to turn "in-situ" so not a big problem. Inflating the mat by mouth takes a while *and* there was a definite patch of moisture just from that one inflation so either a Schnozzlebag (Father Xmas)

I tested my WinterLite 5 LW last night (on the hotel floor) and slept really well on it for several hours.
I went for the W(ide) one for arm comfort, unfortunately they don't do a Wide version in the medium version so I had to get a long one.

But one thing to check with your supplier is that mine came with the pump in the stuff bag with the mattress https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irLE5QlhPsg
It only took a couple of minutes to inflate