UKC

which one for alround use, winter and summer combined because I can't afford two.

Lightweight but good for a snow hole type stylie would be good.

Please recommend me one.

ADJC

In reply to ADJC:

thermarest prolite, regular length, the 3.8cm thick one. if you don't want to spend the ££ there are countless imitations you can pick up for circa £25 that do the job but are quite a bit heavier.

In reply to Max_01:

light is good

how much is the one you mentioned???? do you have experience of use in winter????

In reply to ADJC: For what it's worth the prolite 3/4 is a good bit of kit but for true warmth against frozen ground, you'd be best off looking at the exped downmat 7cm. A bit more of a fiddle but the extra comfort and warmth is well worth it. A bit more expensive than the thermarest.

In reply to Bimblefast:

prices of the two?

what situation would you use the exped downmat in????

In reply to ADJC:

I've just ordered an Alpkit mat. £25 for basically the same size/weight as a prolite 4. Check out the website. For that price you could get 2 if you ever do any serious winter camping and use em together?

In reply to James Gordon: have you used them yet or know anyone who has?

will take a look at website now

thanks mate,

ADJC

In reply to James Gordon:

p.s. which alpkit model????

In reply to ADJC:

IIRC Downmat 3/4 length (longer is not necessary, use your rucksack for your legs) weighs maybe 250g more than the thermarest 3/4, is about £75 vs £65. Much, much warmer, and hugely more comfortable due to its thickness. Use in just about everything except ultralight bivvying because of this.

http://actionoutdoors.co.uk/shop/exped-downmat-34-length-p-1620.html?curren...

680 g vs thermarest's 370g.

http://www.penroseoutdoors.co.uk/acatalog/Thermarest_Prolite_3_Short.html

Note it says of the Prolite 'The mattress is engineered for 3 season backpacking.'

In reply to ADJC:

which alpkit model is the warmest insulator????

In reply to ADJC:

Not used it yet! Dont know anyone who has. I couldnt resist at that price! If its any good I am going to get a "Fat airic" or "wide airic" for serious camp comfort.

I went for a slim airic to get a full length one i could use on a trip where i might be in a campsite or bivvying (hard campsite ground not comfy on a 3/4 length mat)

In reply to ADJC:

The Fat Airic.
I've just got one, and have only tried it in the house so far, and it is very comfy and toasty warm.
It is about to get its field trial next week - 3 weeks trekking. So I'll see how it gets on.

But its a bit of a brute to carry if you are winter camping.

Traditional solution for winter camping is a 3/4 length thermarest type thing plus a thick full-length Karrimat. This gives a good combination of warmth, comfort, weight and cost. It is also a flexible system you can adapt to summer use by leaving behind the thick karrimat.

In reply to ADJC: I've had a 3/4 lenght ultralite thermarest for the last 17 years. I use it for all 3 season stuff, including many nights sleeping on glaciers in the Alps, then for winter use I add a ridge rest, but any similar cheaper copy would do the job.

Unless you are ridiculously tall don't bother with a full length, just put you rucksack under your feet.

Having two mats in winter, one foam, means that even if the thermarest punctures you'll still have some insulation, plus it protects the thermarest, plus you can use the foam mat outside a tent for sitting on without worries.

I've had only two punctures in thermarest in 17 years - if I add all the trips up I've maybe slept something 1.5 years of that 17 on that mat! - but we bought cheap, thick, full length thermarest-copies a year ago for car camping and one of them is already leaking. Maybe luck - i'm not sure - but it may be you get what you pay for?

I should add I live in Finland, and camp and bivvy in winter each year - normally in temps between -10 and -20. So believe me, I've had plenty of time to think about any weaknesses in my system and regret them! Some pictorial evidence of the fun of winter camping in these posts (scroll down):
http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.com/2008/03/home-from-norway.html
http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.com/2008/01/weekend-climbing-photo-essay....
http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.com/2007/01/ice-climbing-at-helvetinjrvi....

In reply to TobyA:
Not related to this - in the picture of the gear drying on your bathroom floor, next to the shunt, you've got two krabs joined together somehow. What's the deal with them?

In reply to ADJC: Just to add I have a couple of fat airics and they are very warm and comfortable down to well below freezing, (water in tent froze)and quality wise are as good as my thermarests, (I have std and 3/4 lite). The fat airic i wouldn't not recommend for other than car camping simply because of its size and weight but it is a good barometer of alpkit quality. They are the best company to deal with bar none.

In reply to ADJC:

New from multimat, and at £40, could be a replacement for mu thermarest 3/4:
http://www.multimat.uk.com/product.asp?Ref=3&Label=Adventure&Nav=1&...

In reply to cybergibbons:


Well spotted! It's an ice screw rack folded flat. It is missing one of its cross struts though - better picture here, although sorry it a bit out of focus as I was taking pics of the krabs next to it!: http://bp2.blogger.com/_3bhSo6922y4/R7hq9AUM6wI/AAAAAAAAAeM/1eQ8uyx_N2k/s16...
You can see it in use here:
http://bp2.blogger.com/_3bhSo6922y4/R7hqjAUM6vI/AAAAAAAAAeE/DANnWLjnMJU/s16...
And how to make one:
http://www.frozentime.se/climbing/iceclip.html

Been using mine for years - something like 5 or 6, every weekend for the winter season, and a couple of the zip ties finally snapped this winter (find another zip tie and fix in 30 seconds). They work so well and are so cheap (you can use any krabs really) I don't why everyone doesn't use them!