Foam mats?

[kneighbour]

I have bought a cheapish self inflating mattress from Anaconda. About $100. Looks ok and pumps up to 3.8cm. I tested it on the floor of my garage and seems more comfortable than I would have expected. Not brilliant, mind you.

Having said all that, I am a pretty heavy guy (114kg) and sleep on my side. This puts a lot of force onto narrow areas of the mattress. I have been car camping a lot, and I know from experience that most of the cold comes up through the floor. I camp in Queensland (around Brisbane) so not that cold - no snow or anything, but still pretty cold. So this area is of major concern to me.

I had not really given foam mats a thought - thinking they were an outdated technology. But they might be a good idea to supplement the self inflating mattress. I understand that I should only look at closed cell foam, but that is as far as my knowledge goes. My gut feeling is to go as thick as I can, but most seem to be 6-10mm. I have also seen some with an aluminum layer on one side. That also seems a good idea for insulation purposes. These seem to go for around $30 or so and weigh 0.35kg)

And then there are the dearer specialist items. Like the Thermarest RidgeRest Solar Sleeping Mat (0.74 kg), which is a silver looking mat that is in a hatch sort of arrangement. They seem pretty nice from the pictures. $80 or so. http://www.cascadedesigns.com/therm-a-rest/mattresses/camp-and-comfort/ridge-rest-solar/product

There is also the Klymit Inertia X Frame, which is a 0.3kg blowup mat with holes all over it. In fact, there is only mate in certain body areas.It seems you can put it inside the sleeping bag, which seems a top idea. About $70. https://www.klymit.com/inertia-x-frame.html

I have read of down filled mattresses, but have not actually seen any.

There are also the general inflatable mattresses that I did not even look at when I bought my unit. They seemed pretty big and not for hikers. I could be wrong.

Does anyone have any comments on all this stuff? My first impression was to go with a simple EVA foam mat for $30 or so, but I like the idea (if it works) of the aluminum coating on one side. Or even one of the dearer options if that is the best way to go.

[Giddy_up]

Don't be frightened to blow into the self inflating valve and add additional air, this will mitigate those spots that get extra compression and make your mat more usable and you shouldn't need any additional insulation and it's one less thing to carry. I have done this with plenty of self inflating mats and its works a treat.


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[Gadgetgeek]

your self inflator should have some foam in it already which will give more insulation that a plain blow-up mat. So I'd just go with that for now, until you decide to go lighter, or otherwise change your needs.

[kneighbour]

Will use my existing self inflating mattress - plus I just bought a Thermarest Z Lite SOL foam mattress. On the colder days will put that underneath my main mattress.

Should be pretty good. If that is not good enough, will look at the Thermarest Venture as well.

[andrewa]

Ahhhh! When I was young, closed cell foam mats were great. Better than sleeping on the ground! Then we got thermarests, which were much more comfortable than the "portable concrete", and these were like your Anaconda mat. The down mats and synthetic filled mats are warmer and more comfortable, but I remember how excited I was to move from a CCF mat to a thermarest. Pure luxury!

A

[Chezza]

I hover between 95 and 100kg. On my side my shoulder and hip feel the cold coming through on a Prolite pad - particularly my hip.

Any closed cell foam mattress will solve that problem and protect your self inflating pad. Both the EVA foam and the Ridgerest should work. You'll find the Ridgerest doesn't roll up very tight, though. I'd go with a thin generic foam mat. It will be a lot less bulky.

EDIT: The Z-lite is a great choice.

[Giddy_up]

Adding a CCF to your self inflator will significantly add to your "R" value. If you want to do a little research Google up sleeping mat R values and you will see all the different mats and where they are most suited for use.


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[Giddy_up]

Also your local foam and rubber shop will stock CCF in a wide range of thicknesses and a lot cheaper than buying from any outdoor shop.


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[nq111]

A good closed cell foam mat is the bomb. The only disadvantage (and it is significant) is they are very bulky. Other than that they are cheap, give the best insulation per gram of anything, durable (no leaks) and can be reasonably comfortable.
I'll second a good thin CCF under an inflating insulated mat could be close to the best of both worlds.

[michael_p]

Having tried both closed cell foam(CCF) and NBR mats, I think that NBR mats are better. NBR mats are sold at places like Big W as yoga mats: https://www.bigw.com.au/product/fila-fi ... 000207560/ .

NBR is softer than CCF (which can be hard to unroll and keep flat), just as light and as warm as CCF.

Cheers,
Michael.

[stry]

Ahhhh! When I was young, closed cell foam mats were great. Better than sleeping on the ground! Then we got thermarests, which were much more comfortable than the "portable concrete", and these were like your Anaconda mat. The down mats and synthetic filled mats are warmer and more comfortable, but I remember how excited I was to move from a CCF mat to a thermarest. Pure luxury!

A

And I remember how excited I was to move from only a groundsheet to CCF . Happy days.

[oldpiscator]

A groundsheet ? Please explain

Way back when men were real men no groundsheet, no mat, no sleeping bag just cut some bracken fronds, put them in a sugar bag and pull the old wool army blanket over yourself . Oh the good old days

[nq111]

Having tried both closed cell foam(CCF) and NBR mats, I think that NBR mats are better. NBR mats are sold at places like Big W as yoga mats: https://www.bigw.com.au/product/fila-fi ... 000207560/ .

NBR is softer than CCF (which can be hard to unroll and keep flat), just as light and as warm as CCF.

Cheers,
Michael.

Huh? I have a couple of these at home for exercising in the carport. I just weighed one at 600g - a standard blue CCF is around 200g. The NBR mat may roll down smaller, but it is also much thinner - so I suspect doesn't have close to the R-value of the CCF.

[walkerchris77]

Ground sheet is just like a small tarp u put on the ground to protect your foam mat and sleeping bag. Used to use them out bush when in the army. .

[Gadgetgeek]

On the trips I've been on where someone used, or rather attempted to use the yoga style mats, They didn't last the night, and got a spare CCF (we don't let kids carry them into the wood for this reason) They might work, but its been my experience (second hand) that the CCF are warmer and thicker.

[Eljimberino]

give the best insulation per gram of anything,

This statement is untrue.

[nq111]

give the best insulation per gram of anything,

This statement is untrue.

No worries. Please tell me more. I'd like to know what comes out better.

[andrewa]

I forgot. I do use a 5'x3' bit of 2mm CCF under our mats for snow camping. At worst it makes it a lot happier and warmer to sit on the tent floor.

A