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The Ultimate Guide to Choosing an Ultralight Sleeping Mat

Posted by Andy Neil on Jul 17, 2024

When preparing for a hiking or backpacking trip, selecting the right sleeping mat is crucial for ensuring comfort and warmth during the night. We’ll delve into the different types of sleeping mats available and the importance of R-value. Our aim is to equip you with the necessary knowledge to make an informed decision when choosing the right sleeping pad for your next adventure. leeping …
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Rab Sleeping Mat Guide

Mar 28, 2024

Rab's collection of inflatable sleeping mats are designed to insulate you from the chill and support you on all terrain, providing all the retreat you need from bitter conditions and plummeting temperatures. From compact, ultralight sleeping pads for fast and light missions, to robust self-inflating roll mats for regular camping use, to winter sleeping mats built to insulate you from the deep free …
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Big Agnes Sleeping Mat Buying Guide

Posted by Mark Richardson on Mar 18, 2024

In this post we look at the Big Agnes sleeping mats that we stock and tell you a bit about them. Big Agnes's sleeping mats start at around 400 grams, they tend not to make extremely lightweight pads, preferring to focus on comfort and high insulation value, their pads are light for the job that they do. Designed for ultralight backcountry adventures, the Zoom UL Insulated eliminates the …
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The Ultimate Guide to Choosing an Ultralight Sleeping Mat

Feb 26, 2024

The key factors to take into consideration when choosing a sleeping mat are the pack size, weight, your budget and most importantly what time of year you will be using it which, determines the level of insulation you need. Comfort in an outdoor sense is partly dictated by being able to iron out the lumps and bumps in the ground with the mat, but insulation is king and if you’re cold you won’t slee …
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Exped Sleeping Mats Explained

Posted by Mark Richardson on Feb 23, 2024

What's in a Name? Exped have named their mats in a way that identifies the key features of the mat. Some examples are dissected here. — The Ultra mats are the lightest series and are made using 20D recycled ripstop Polyester. The Dura mats are built to be durable (what else?) and use 75D Polyester on the top and 170D Polyester on the base, so they are much more puncture resistant than th …
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Nemo Equipment Sleeping Mat Ranges Explained

Posted by Mark Richardson on Feb 22, 2024

We stock the key ranges of Nemo sleeping mats, find out which they are and what they do here. — Improving on our original, best-selling Tensor line, Tensor™ Trail offers versatile warmth for three-season adventures where weight is the top priority. Designed to take you from spring to fall, it keeps nights restful and packs up light. The pad’s interior features NEMO’s proprietary Spacefra …
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Thermarest 'Fast & Light' Sleeping Mats Explained

Posted by Mark Richardson on Jul 05, 2022

Thermarest divide their sleeping mats into three distinct ranges, Fast & Light, Trek & Travel and Camp Comfort - In this post we focus on the Fast & Light category explaining the differences between each mat and giving our opinion.

Knowledgebase Page - Choosing a Thermarest Sleeping mat

Sep 10, 2018

Knowledgebase Page - Choosing a Thermarest Sleeping mat Which Thermarest mattress is for you?Thermarest offers a great choice of mats from self-inflating to closed-cell foam. Choosing your camping mat is entirely dependent on how, when and where you plan to camp. Knowing how you camp is the first step in choosing your mattress. Thermarest breaks down their mattresses into three categories to make …
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Thermarest Mat Range - Summary

Jul 16, 2018

Thermarest MatsWith so many Thermarest mats to choose from, we've written this summary page to help you make sense of the range. There are some key features and things to look out for:Closed Cell Foam Mats; are the least comfortable as they are the thinnest, but they do provide insulation and can be cut to size to save weight. Thermarest mats have different designs cut into them to increase comfor …
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Exped Mat Range - Summary

Apr 16, 2018

How to choose an Exped MatWith so many Exped mats to choose from we've written this summary page to help you make sense of the range. In addition, for Spring 2017 Exped have renamed and re-packaged most of their mats so will also indicate the old name where this is applicable. The new versions also come with an inflation device such as the Schnozzel Pumpbag and the Fast+Lite series mats have a new …
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Which Exped Downmat?

Apr 16, 2018

Which Exped Downmat?If you are considering a downmat at all it is probably because you need a warm mat for use in cold weather and for sleeping on snow or frozen ground. There are other forms of insulation in mats but down remains the best warmth to weight ratio of any insulator. Down loses insulation value when it gets wet, so Downmats should not be inflated using the mouth, rather they come with …
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