Exped Pump mats

[andym]

I seem to remember people on her raving about Exped mats. I wasn't convinced by the bag-pump jobby, but they've now introduced new models with an integral pump. Anyome got one? Any feedback on how useful/practical the pump is?

 

[jay clock]

I have one with the bag pump thingy. I find it works well. Quite a relaxing zen few minutes when I pump it up. Usually the last thing before I relax. Have not seen the newer ones

 

[jay clock]

now looked at them and very temped by a 9cm model....

 

[Ravenbait]

now looked at them and very temped by a 9cm model....

Random drive-by icon love.

Sam

 

[CycleTourer]

We have the 9cm deep models with the integral pump and they work fine. We are a bit split on our opinions of the Exped. My wife really likes hers and gets a better nights sleep on it than she used to on her Thermarest, she had problems with her hips touching the ground with the Thermarest and the depth of the 9cm Exped has cured that. I find the Exped is not so easy to get to the correct firmness for me and unless you have it pumped up really hard (which isn't comfortable)when you turn over it's a bit like being on a bouncy castle! Being a more restless sleeper I personally prefer the Thermarest.

One thing that the Exped seems to be better than the Thermarest is that it appears to be warmer, I suppose having more air and down underneath makes a difference.

 

[willem]

My wife and I have the 7 cm Downmats (regular size) with integrated pump. Before that we had 5 cm Thermarests (also regular size), and these were no longer comfortable enough fo rmy ageing bones, and relatively heavy (1200 grams) and huge to pack. The downmats are much more comfortable for me, lighter (about 900 grams), more compact (they fit inside a rear pannier), and significantly warmer (we like camping early in Spring or late in the Autumn). Finding the right pressure for a heavier person like myself is a bit hard. Too little and your hips touch the ground, too much and the mattress is too hard. For a heavy person it is a fine line, and maybe the 9 cm would be easier (but also heavier and bulkier).
Unless you are into really cold weather camping I think the R value is unnecessarily high. The Exped Synmat will do fine for the kind of temperatures that you encounter as a cyclist, I believe. It is a bit cheaper, a little bit lighter, and a bit more compact. There also seem to be fewer reports of leaks than for the Downmats. The new Synmat Basic lacks the integrated pump (you inflate it with your mouth), and has a simpler construction. As a result, it is much cheaper, much lighter (660 grams), and quite a bit more compact. It is also a little bit narrower. Its temperature rating is still some 10 degrees below freezing, which even if you take that with a pinch of salt will be fine for most cyclists. It is only at Alpine altitudes that you get the combination of rideable temperatures at day time and really low temperatures at night. So I personally think that this Synmat Basic now represents the perfect compromise for most cycle tourists.
If you are only camping at summer temperatures, there is also the new Thermarest Neoair. It is the lightest of these thick insulated (lightly in this case) air mattresses at 410 grams, and the most compact (it is absolutely tiny).
Willem

 

[andym]

Thanks for the really helpful replies guys.

I was looking to get something to replace a thermarest copy. I generally sleep on my side so I was looking for something a little deeper - but on the other hand I gave up on air pillows because of the wallowing effect. Food for thought.

Having spent much of the last three weels on campsites a bit above 1000 metres (the temperature differential is about 6 degrees for every 1000 metres)a bit of extra warmth would definitely be a plus!

 

[Wardy]

I got the Downmat 9 Pump DLX and it's absolutely brilliant. Previously I had the Exped Airmat 7.5cm which was pretty comfortable (although narrower than the Downmat) but I discovered that as it was only filled with air I needed a conventional closed-cell mat as well as the air became colder during the night. As to the pump (the newer integral one that is), it's a piece of cake to inflate with. You simply put your hands over the two marked hand outlines and press up and down - about two minutes work. It's also easy to regulate how hard or soft you want the mat. Another bonus is that it packs down very small - to about 11" x 6". The only downside is that it weighs 1270g, but heck, getting a good nights sleep is of paramount importance in my book so I don't mind that one bit.

 

[willem]

If pack size and weight are a concern (and for me they always are), the regular size may be more attractive than the thicker and larger versions. Similarly, the Synmat also packs a bit smaller. All of these mats have more insulation than you are ever likely to need. We have used that impressive insulation to design a topbag for two: http://www.tatteljee.nl/tweepersoons.html The mats take care of the insulation underneath, so we save on the weight, packed volume and cost of the bottom of the sleeping bag.
Willem

 

[summerdays]

What is the gist of that page Willem? Do you use a home made sheet to keep the two mats together and then a square bag opened out on top? But you don't get good square bags do you?

 

[willem]

Sorry I had hoped the pictures would speak for themselves. For two decades we used a square blanket style down sleeping bag zipped to a two person bag liner on which my wife had sewed a zipper. So we did not have a sleeping bag underneath, because compressed down does nothing to keep you warm. The insulation came from the two self inflating mattresses. When we needed something new, I decided to design a perfected version where down bag and down mattress are more tightly integrated. So it is a sleeve for two downmats with zipper all around. The bottom of the sleeve is lightweight nylon, and in our case the top that you are lying on is lightweight cotton, for comfort. Our bag maker then made a tapered down filled top that is zipped to the bottom. The way this is done avoids the leaks of warmth that we had in our earlier home made version. We also have a fitted silk top sheet for extra warmth, comfort and hygiene. Avoiding a sleeping bag bottom (and using the insulation of the down mat) saves weight, packing volume and money. See here http://www.wereldfie...etsvakantie.pdf for another picture towards the end of this text that I wrote for the Dutch cycle tourist club. I hope this is now clear.
Willem

 

[summerdays]

Thanks for the explanation ... I certainly like the idea of the one down sleeping bag to carry. Did you get your bag made yourselves then rather than buying something commercially available?

 

[willem]

Tatteljee who made our bag are a small sleeping bag workshop in Amsterdam who specialize in high quality custom work. I designed the rough idea, and they then worked out the details. Their prices are similar to what you pay for good standard down bags in Dutch outdoor shops. If you want to know more, send me a pm.
Willem

 

[andym]

Big Agnes do a similar system - but when I went looking around it didn't seem to be available from anyone in Europe.

 

[willem]

That's right, and it was for really cold US temperatures. Moreover, I wanted to use Exped mats. So I designed my own.
Willem