What size sleeping mat for a tall person?

[portlester]

Hi everyone

Looking for some advice on what size sleeping mat I should buy my tall (last measured at 198 cm and possibly still a bit more growing to do) son.

Up to now he has been using one of my Exped synmat ul 7, but am thinking of moving across to a S2S Comfort Light Insulated mat. He will be using the mat with a quilt.

For myself, a regular size with feet resting on my gear is fine, however I'm tossing up the benefits v issues of getting a large for someone that is almost 200mm taller than me! The large is obviously longer and wider (he is also build like the proverbial sh1thouse) which would be more comfortable, however I'm wondering how the bigger size mats fit in tents. Will a large mat take up alot more floor space than the regular mat and make it even more cramped? There is not alot of floor space in our 2 person tent when we take that one.

Any tall people out there with some experience/thoughts on this one?

[Moondog55]

Nowhere near that tall but as someone 184 high I always sleep better on the longer mats/ also on wider mats.
If you do get the bigger mat I think you would need to provide him with his own tent because 2 wide mats in most so-called 2P tents can be crowded, note I said may, because obviously there are differences between brands and models. But on short trips you may not need as much comfort as on long ones
Any snow camping in the near future? If so the wide and long for sure.

[portlester]

Any snow camping in the near future? If so the wide and long for sure.

Thanks Moondog for your thoughts. I must admit I hadn't considered the prospects of him heading out in the snow season, but it is something I have always wanted to do but just haven't had the opportunity.

The trick may be to have two mats, one for when he can take a larger mat and another for when he can't - we have a few regular sizes lying around, so he can always borrow one of them. I just hope he stops growing - he is getting expensive! Size 16 shoes, xlong pants, etc.

Thanks again ... you have me dreaming about heading out to the snow next season now

[Moondog55]

Thanks again ... you have me dreaming about heading out to the snow next season now

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[LachlanB]

As someone who is 195cm tall, this was an issue I had to deal with a bit. I ended up trying short, regular and long mats. I will add the caveat that I’m pretty skinny, and don’t do any snow camping, so might not apply to your son’s situation.

I found as a tall person the oft suggested save weight by using a short mat and shoving a pack under your legs option was awful. Too much of me hung off the short mat onto the poorer insulating pack, so I ended up getting very cold.

Plus my tent is only just long enough for me, and I found that I got water issues if I used a long mat. I’d push it against the fly and the pressure would cause the fly and inner to come into contact. Causing a wet mat and sleeping bag.

So I ended up setting for a regular length sea to summit comfort light insulated mat. On its own, it’s way too short for me. But I ball my raincoat and and spare clothes up as a pillow and shove that above my mat. The extra length of that makes my mat plenty long enough to keep my legs on it, and I don’t seem to shove it into weird places in my sleep as often. So it’s been working pretty well for the last couple of years I think.

[Neo]

For me a short STS is bliss. With a small pillow I'm padded from shoulder to calves. I'm about 6'2"