UKC

Any recommendations? Anyone tried the Alpkit ones?

In reply to Jonny Tee 69:

pretty chuffed with my alpkit one so far (slim airic) Needs extra puffing from me to inflate, esp if it's been squished in a bag, but all good once it's up.

In reply to Jonny Tee 69: The airbd I got from Argos

In reply to Anonymous:

Woohoo, good one!

In reply to Jonny Tee 69: wot u using it for - Ive got 2 - a 2/3 length very thin and lightweight & and fulllength big fat deluxe one - both Thermarests had em for years with no problems.

In reply to Jonny Tee 69:

Thermarests.

In reply to David Hooper:

I've got two Thermarest. My Luxury Camp XL delaminated, but I got it replaced free of charge, as per the guarantee.

In reply to Jonny Tee 69: I use a 3/4 length prolite 3 for lightweight backpacking. Good compromise between weight and comfort

In reply to Jonny Tee 69:
Exped down 9, absolute luxury and doesn't weigh much more than a thermarest.
Does tend to squeak a bti though

In reply to Jonny Tee 69:
Thermarest good if you are carrying it. Compare weight with Alpkit cos they look as good.

Best value airbed someone left outside my tent at V Festival. Brand new, and self inflating. Always thought they were for wusses but lovely to sleep on! And if anyone claims it was theirs and wants it back prove it!

In reply to Jonny Tee 69:

Don't really understand the point of an inflateable mattress. Is it any good when it inevitably gets punctured? Is it any lighter than the alternatives? Is it really important that the packed size is smaller than the alternatives? Doesn't the fact that hot air in plus a cooling night makeing them deflate to the point your hips dig into cold ground, hack you off?

In reply to VisionSet: Never been punctured despite being used in all sorts of developing countries with stones and thorns and things - however i always carry a puncture kit just in case. They dont deflate - in fact mine kind of expands during the night (maybe from body heat?) and I have to let a little air out - wouldnt go back to a foam mat.

In reply to VisionSet:

Doesn't the fact that hot air in plus a cooling night makeing them deflate to the point your hips dig into cold ground, hack you off?

No. Mind you, if you have big hips, don't get one.

In reply to VisionSet:
You obviously never tried one, thermarest or similar so much more comfortable than foam and better insulation.

In reply to cas smerdon:


Well that is certainly untrue. And yes I have tried them, don't like them, each to there own.

Personally I'm a big fan of Moutain Hardwear sleeping pads. I'm obviously alone there because I don't think they make them anymore.

In reply to VisionSet:

Do you still climb in nailed boots?

In reply to VisionSet:

Well lets see... they have foam inside and air and are about one inch thick instead of 1cm. Def better insulation.

In reply to cas smerdon:

Yes very scientific.

In reply to VisionSet:

and your proof is?

In reply to Jonny Tee 69:

Bickering over sleeping mats.......shakes head and walks away muttering..........

In reply to David Hooper:

Aye, and we can have a great sleep ater a long walk in our Thermarests.

In reply to David Hooper:

Not a question of bickering OP wanted suggestions of which to buy. Giving various views so that he can make considered opinion.

In reply to cas smerdon:

Open cell is extremely compressable at pressure points eg hips. When open cell is compressed it has almost zero insulation. It is well know that despite the fact they are accepted to be more comfortable they are not better insulators in real situations.

In reply to cas smerdon:


But stated interest in only inflateables. So my post was tangential or a hijack. Sorry OP.

In reply to Jonny Tee 69:

I have a normal Alpkit one and one of the tiny ones for wild camping. The tiny one needs repairing (I thought it had developed a fault, until investigation revealed a large gash in it - gaffa tape will sort that) but the large one has been fine for a couple of years now. And Alpkit have great customer service / repairs / refunds etc.

I used to just use a foam mat, and comfort wasn't really a problem (when I started bivvying out, I didn't have a mat at all, so anything was a bonus!) but warmth was. I sleep very cold, and after a few unhappy winter nights waking up shivering, I thought the extra insulation of an inflatable mat may help, and it did. Never have a problem sleeping through the night in the cold anymore.

In reply to Jonny Tee 69:
Ive slept on Karrimats and infalables and my hips dig in much more on closed cell - maybe its a personal thing and Ive only used Karrimat not your Mountain Hardwear one

In reply to Jonny Tee 69:

When the inevitable happens and you get a puncture, you WILL have a shit night and be cursing the bloody thing, and you will have a rubbish day climbing somewhere you probably don't go often in perfect weather and drove miles to get to. I'll stick with my guaranteed good nights sleeps thanks.

And I'd run a mile from something knocked up in china for a fiver.

In reply to Jonny Tee 69: Exped down by a mile. What a nights sleep you get on one of these. Juicy Lucy is quite comfy too, but don't try and give her a love bite

In reply to VisionSet:

LOL when my Alpkit wee-airic had the hole mentioned above, that was on a trip to the Dewerstone in perfect weather, and had been a 4hr drive to get to. Had a shite night's sleep, but an amazing day climbing. For just a weekend, how I sleep has no real bearing on how I enjoy my days

In reply to VisionSet:
Saying you will never use inflatable mat because it will get puncture one day is a bit like saying you will never drive a car because it will get a puncture one day.

What about all those lovely comfy warm nights when you don't have a puncture?

In reply to Caralynr:

I am astounded you felt cold with a closed cell. I've used thin KIMM ones (~7mm) in the alps at 3000m and well below zero. I'm always astounded how well they insulate. However I have had deflation with cooling and whilst thermarests are fine while they are unpunctured and retaining original pressure, I think they are rubbish when they don't, and I find they don't.

MH pads are a non inflatable laminate of closed and open cell then skinned in pertex, they are bulky and a little bit heavier than a karrimat.

In reply to cas smerdon:


It isn't because I have a totally viable alternative that I find is better. A car on the other hand is the only real solution for getting to far flung crags. A car has never let me down whilst climbing whist your infernal inflateable contraptions have... twice.


My mat is perfectly comfortable and warm. And I don't even have to huff and puff. Doesn't even have to be reverse rolled like a karrimat to stop it auto rolling up.

In reply to Caralynr:


I'll give you that one, but it sure nicer to have had a decent nights sleep. Doesn't seem to matter later in the day, but for some reason the morning does seem to go with a bit more zip.

In reply to David Hooper:


This is a comfort/insulation distinction. Comfort-wise there is less give in closed cell, hence the perceived discomfort. And hence the MH solution of closed cell/open cell laminate.
However it illustrates the superior instulation. No give! It's impossible to compromise more than negligibly the insulation in closed cell at any point of contact.

I'd probably be disappointed but I'd be interested to know what professional guided expeditions use for stuff like 8000ers. Where bulk isn't so much an issue but performance and reliablity is.

In reply to Jonny Tee 69: if all you're going to be doing is lobbing it out of the back of a car then if i had my time again i'd buy a fat blow up bed that, like, normal camping people buy - they're really comfy and would save a bob or two

as it is i bought a mid-range thermarest and it's been good enough

In reply to VisionSet: Believe it or not - an inflatable on top of a closed cell !!!

In reply to David Hooper:

That's what I use when I'm sleeping on the ground. Thermarest on top of an army surplus rollmat.

In reply to VisionSet:

and, as the girls I in the group I was supervising discovered on Sunday, soak up condensation.

In reply to Jonny Tee 69: I've used the old style foam mats... urgh. The new style alpkit fat aeric ( sp?) and an air bed. The only one i dont get really painful hips on is the air bed. My hubby and son both love their fat airics though so it is just me!

I also find cold coming up from the ground a problem ( at easter my legs went numb ), but a bit of carpet helps if there is room in the car.

In reply to Pauline:

I find it fits in the car if I fold it up under the kitchen sink. ;¬)

In reply to Jonny Tee 69:
I have an alpkit (fat airic) one I as many others found that they pucture/fail around the nozzle very easily. Also it's not nearly as comfy as the tesco airbed.

My advice:
Car camping, a normal tesco 8 pounds air bed. This is very comfy and when it's cold just put a sleeping mat over the top of it.

Long walks ins, the super light 3/4 length thermarest jobby, not nearly as comfy but light enough and much better than a roll mat.

In reply to Jonny Tee 69:

Thanks for all the replies & help. Entertaining reading, never thought sleeping mats could spark such debate.

In reply to nikinko: you pack the kitchen sink too?? i thought that was just me!

In reply to Pauline:

oh yes... can't cope in the hills without running water.

In reply to Jonny Tee 69:

Insul-Mat Max Thermo (or Ether 6 as it now seems to be called) is also another option.

It's an inflatable, like the Exped down mats, but it uses a synthetic insulation inside instead of down. It's lighter and packs smaller than a Thermarest, and far more comfortable.

Some people find the coffin-style shape a bit hard to stay on in the night (and no, they're not vampires...)