Alpkit Fat Airic
Price; £37.50
From: www.alpkit.com
Time tested: A year
My body is definitely getting old. If it’s not, then I’m getting a lot weaker. There was a time when I’d sleep straight on the ground or with a thin Karrimat. There was a time where dossing in a phone box would do as well or the nearest gutter but time, like my hairline, moves on…
A lot of my camping these days is from a car and a good night’s sleep makes Matt a happy boy. I really wanted something decent to sleep on and always hankered after a top-end Thermarest but could never really afford one.
Then comes along Alpkit; a little UK company on the net with some super priced outdoor gear, with the fat Airic being one of them.
Basically it’s a self-infl ating mat in the same vein as the Thermarest but after you’ve brought it you’ll still have money to actually take it on a trip somewhere. The idea is that you have die cut foam (it has more holes in it than normal foam) inside an airtight material with two valves at the end to let the air in and out. By undoing the valve, the foam tries to expand and drags the air in, a couple of puffs from you to get the fi rmness right and you’re away.
In use, very comfortable, affordable and do a great job of insulating you against the cold (airbeds actually makes you colder by letting the air move around under you) and are good for lounging on outside after a ride. Their only downside is that they’re bulky, even when defl ated and packed into their sacks so it’s definitely a car-camping mat (We reviewed the slimmer Slim Airic in issue 31).
Overall: Recommended, I can’t even feel that pea any more.
Matt
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