Exped Down Mat preliminary review

[Tor]

We ordered two Exped 9 DLX down mats a couple of days ago, and they came in yesterday. We are swapping out the two Go-Cots for these mats for camping. Dont get me wrong, the Go-Cots are very nice and comfortable to lay on, but in a small tent with 2 cots inside, it gets tight, and it gets hard to get in and out of the tent.

These Exped down mats are what look like space age air matresses with space age pricetags. They pack extremely small (smaller than my North Face Cats Meow in a compression sack.) The compression sack serves as a pump, and a pillow, and works extremely well (tried it on the livingroom floor yesterday.) The mat contains down fill for insulation. I laid on it briefly after I pumped it up, and even though its just 3.5 inches thick inflated, at no point did I feel the floor, laying flat, or turned on the side. It feels very comfortable to lay on, and can't wait to try it out in the field.

I'll come back at that time with a more complete review.

http://www.facewest.co.uk/pp/exped/expedimages/downmat9300.jpg

[Trekker]

Tor, where can I find these?? And how long does it take to set up / repack?

[Mellow]

Campmor.com has them.

The 9 is 3.5 " thick and around $170, the 7 is 2.8" thick and around $130.

They are pretty cool mattresses. I'm still okay with my sevylor air mattress but it is nice to have the bag/pump/pillow all in one. I may get the 7 at some point. My issues with most of these mattresses are the width, most seem to be in the 20inch range and the 7/9 are 26 inches which is very nice.

[Mellow]

Minor correction... the 'Delux' Expeds are the ones with 26 inch width.

[Tor]

Tor, where can I find these?? And how long does it take to set up / repack?

Campmor.com (http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___12403)

Not long at all. 2-3 minutes maybe to pump up, and same to pack up. We bought the DLX version (6 inches wider) The mats you buy are black, not yellow like in the video.

Video (http://www.exped.com/exped/web/exped_homepage.nsf/b43popup3/E9747A9C9CD626BCC1256F2B00296698?Opendocument)

[Trekker]

Huh! I hadn't seen these before.... and I live in the Campmor catalog. :wink:

I guess it has much better attributes than the High Tech Cot (http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/High-Tech-Cot-p-18894.html) from Aerostich. It's cheaper, and insulates, pack size is a wash. Hmmmmmmm.......

[E the B]

I have the Exped and I find it offers great cold weather performance. I use it for backpacking and general camping when temps are below 40.

Above 40, I prefer Therm-a-Rest pads for their weight and space saving qualitites. However, this is more of a backpacking concern than for moto camping.

That stated, I think backpacking and moto camping have a lot in common. If you want to be successful in moto camping, read about techniques and gear for lightweight backpacking. It's entirely possible to solo camp in just the ST saddle bags, and two-up with one small duffle added.

Eric

[BlaSTr]

I'm curious as to how this compares to the Big Agnes Insulated Air Core Rectangular pad. I'm seriously considering getting this pad (25" wide version) and the Big Agnes Summit Park 15 as my sleeping gear. I'm 6'/220 and found the 20" wide pads a bit narrow when lying on my back.

[sandman]

Huh! I hadn't seen these before.... and I live in the Campmor catalog. :wink:

I guess it has much better attributes than the High Tech Cot (http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/High-Tech-Cot-p-18894.html) from Aerostich. It's cheaper, and insulates, pack size is a wash. Hmmmmmmm.......

I just looked at these 2 days ago, http://www.rei.com/product/763831 and I'm thinking of moving off the cot and back on the ground. One of these would give good cushion and still have a good insulation factor.

I'm looking at this tent also,

http://www.rei.com/product/767241

[Tor]

And the verdict is in. After last weekends camping trip I can definately say that this is the most comforable mat/cot/matress I have ever used. I highly recommend it.
Pumping it up using the compression sack took about 2 minutes using the picnic table.

Kinda hard to get good pics inside a 2-man....