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My sleeping mat gave up in the Dales after long service. Any good recommendations for inflatable pads for bikepacking duties. Fairly small roll up size needed of course. What are you using?
Thermarest Neoair Xtherm (the rectangular version, Max I think it's called). I had the regular version but found it too easy to fall off.
It's great, if rather expensive and quite crinkly-sounding.
Thermarest here.
No idea of the model as its 20+ years old.
Exped Synmat UL. It's good, was on sale.
I would recommend an insulated one, makes a lot of difference
Exped Synmat HL7
I could get away with something lighter in the summer months but that does me right through the year.
Thermarest NeoAir XTherm here, just regular though, not the max. Very warm even when bivvying and find I can stretch the use of my lighter bag longer, offsetting it’s slightly higher (but still very reasonable) weight.
Another Exped Synmat user here.
3/4 length decathlon ultra lite something or other
OEX jobby not thermal but quite comfy
I saw a Sea To Summit one recommended on Paul Messner's YouTube channel recently.
Exped Synmat 7 here too, brilliant things, super comfy. Had a wee local Galloways overnighter in -10 in April, even with a 3 season bag I was warm enough.
I've a couple. Multimat summit, which is ok in a 3-4 season setting. Called 25/38 38mm upper body, 25mm legs area, rolls up to about 11"x6" has a foam core,self inflating.
And an exped HL5.rolls a bit smaller, about 10"x4 or 5" Both together for Scottish winters(plus foil backed,plus foam pad,plus a jacket,cant have too much under you when the ground is frozen solid 😆
The multimat is about 1/2 the price of the exped,and 1/2 as thick, but id rate it just as good,if not better and certainly good enough for most people- Im a cold sleeper.
Alpkit - Cloudbase for bikepacking and ultralight(ish) use, dumo for a bit of luxury (all things are relative). The numo is even smaller and lighter than the cloudbase but smaller in use too.
xtherm here. Take earplugs, warn anyone you are going with…
If you’re a short arse like me, and/or a side sleeper, there’s few lighter than a Nordisk Ven 2.5.
I had one for a good while and it was comfy, quiet and absolutely minuscule when packed down. Like a Pringle can but less tall.
Another Xtherm here. 3/4 length, probably overkill that, but the boy can have it if I ever feel the need to get a bigger one, it'll be full size for him almost.
Not a recommendation but I can say do not buy a cheap one from Go Outdoors, the one I have is beyond crap and seemingly it and my sleeping bag combine to make the perfect frictionless interface.
THERMAREST NeoAir XLite Sleeping Mat
I bought the women's version as it was shorter (but long enough for me). They now do a short version - not sure the difference with that and the women's? I find it quite narrow but as far as I can see, same width as the men's. But there is a wide version at 13cm wider, which I'd probably go for now, albeit it's longer. Short wide version please!
The insulation of it is superb. It is noisy but this seems worse when other people have one rather sleeping on it yourself.
Exped Synmat - the Ultralite is rectangular, the Hyperlite is mummy shaped. My wife has used hers at -16C in the Arctic. Packs up just a bit bigger than a 750ml water bottle.
There's two lengths and two widths. I'm 1m80 tall and the standard is long enough but I'd recommend getting the wider model.
Sea to Summit Ultralight Insulated Regular (the orange one). Picked mine up from Bergzeit pre-Brexit at a decent sale price. An older Robens Vapour 60 (same as the Cloudbase) if warmer out as a bit smaller packsize and a smidge lighter too
Thermarest in orange. It was a light version.
It's been used infrequently since 2004 🙂
If not needing insulated then I have an air mat, from aliexpress. Weights about 350g and is comfy. Perfect for summer bikepacking and backpacking. Cost about £20.looks like a klymit V.
Something warmer,Big agnes insulated air core. Best part of 950g. Comfy, cosy but overkill for summer.
I also have one of these from the #1 Outdoor Brand:
https://www.westhikers.co/products/mattress-pro
Yes, it cam from China via a Facebook advert because I just liked the idea of the built in pillow. Sure it'll be fine as a 2 season but the pillow is just a bit too high to be comfy for me (I'm a one thin pillow kinda guy). But, if anyone thinks they'd like it for £20 I'll happily let it go (paid £40).
Exped Synmat 7
Once you try one of these you won't go back to anything else. They are a bit bulkier than most others on the market though
Superb wee pillow, packs down tiny too -
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/trekking-inflatable-pillow-grey/_/R-p-311258?mc=8557111&c=GREY
I've actually got the same as Jimmy above aswell. Use it on top of the folding camp beds and in the back of the car. Actually pretty comfy.
Thanks kids I’ll have a google on some of them later.
Robens ThermoCore (now Primacore). It is quiet, comfy and warm, a tad narrow for 'broad' me, but skinnier_oab's love it.
We had Decathlon mats for years - heavy, but lasted well over a decade of hard use.
Nemo Tensor insulated mummy here, no complaints and really does pack small and light. Comfy enough too.
Another Thermarest Neoair Xtherm here. Brill, Light enough, warm, comfy. Bit of crinkle noise but it doesn’t bother me much at all.
Another vote for the Alpkit Cloud Base. I used to have the Numo and it was a bit creaky and not _super_ comfortable, but I've found the Cloud Base quick to inflate, quick to deflate, packs small, light and very comfy to sleep on.
^ Same
