 ok, so alpkit are not very reliable. So thermarest are the best for the job?!
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after a quick look at eBay, vango and highlander have some mats on there. Any experience using them?
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 since i repaired my alpkits they have not leaked again.but thats just me ian.i am a big bloke so like the extra thickness of my prolite 4.i have slept on frozen ground on it and was warm.if you are car camping then the fat airic is luxury whatever the weather.i dont know about the downmats only that they are heavy. i had the prolite for 3+ years before it blew away without a puncture.i now have another.standard length for me.
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 I think you're jumping the gun by saying Alpkits are 'not very reliable' based on one persons comment. Look at the Reviews section on here to get a balanced view. I've got 2 wee Airics and they're both fine. I'm quite sure Thermarests are better quality and might last longer, but I've only camped about 5 weekends this year so a £17 mat thats nearly as good and nearly as light as a £70 mat suits me fine. 
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 Any mat can fail. I had an older Thermarest fail and puff up like a beach-ball. It didn't stop me from buying a Prolite 3.
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 Residents spot strange UFO lights Amateur footage was taken Residents in County Down have raised the possibility of a UFO sighting above the skies of Bangor. Several callers to BBC Northern Ireland have reported a series of strange orange lights in the night sky. Air traffic control at Belfast International Airport said it had also received reports about the sightings, including one from the Coastguard. However, the airport said it had no record of any aircraft in the sky at the time. <!-- E SF --> The callers said the sightings had been made on Saturday evening. Clifford Rossbottom from Bangor told the BBC: "There were three orange globes - nearly in a straight line - they were an absolutely fascinating sight. "I watched them for five minutes, and then very slowly, they just disappeared. "The only thing I thought it could have been was three high-flying aircraft. "If that is not the case, then I have no idea, and the only other thing I can think of is in fact that they were Thermarests and sleeping bags exiting the Earth's atmosphere and bound for Venus" <!-- E BO -->
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| Edited: 16/07/08 15:38 |
Any mat can fail. I had an older Thermarest fail and puff up like a beach-ball. It didn't stop me from buying a Prolite 3. yes mike but my 3 mats had not left the house.they arrived in that state. Residents spot strange UFO lights
Amateur footage was taken Residents in County Down have raised the possibility of a UFO sighting above the skies of Bangor. Several callers to BBC Northern Ireland have reported a series of strange orange lights in the night sky. Air traffic control at Belfast International Airport said it had also received reports about the sightings, including one from the Coastguard. However, the airport said it had no record of any aircraft in the sky at the time. <!-- E SF --> The callers said the sightings had been made on Saturday evening. Clifford Rossbottom from Bangor told the BBC: "There were three orange globes - nearly in a straight line - they were an absolutely fascinating sight. "I watched them for five minutes, and then very slowly, they just disappeared. "The only thing I thought it could have been was three high-flying aircraft. "If that is not the case, then I have no idea, and the only other thing I can think of is in fact that they were Thermarests and sleeping bags exiting the Earth's atmosphere and bound for Venus" <!-- E BO -->
roflmao yer bastid!!
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I had  the Wee Airic, it did go down slightly overnight. I think they have been having a problem with the valve seals. I suppose it is no hardship to give them a bit of extra glue mind. I used it with a foam pad for my feet in winter and it was pretty comfortable. Depends on your comfort levels though I suppose. A Thermarest is light and pretty comfortable, just a bit bulky. You have to trim bits off it though, otherwise you'll draw scourn from the ultra-lightists.
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I have looked at the reviews decided it's either alpkit or thermarest, and as alpkit is cheaper it may be them. I did go to 'the outdoor shop' the other day and they said the vango ones are good for the price. It gets a bit confusing!!
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Just to confuse you even more. If you only camp in summer, you could get an air mattress. You wouldn't need the insulation of a self-inflater. Here.
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| Edited: 16/07/08 15:53 |
not realy confused me as I am going camping this summer, and after the night lows I think I may need the insulation!!
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the whole walking/camping gear thing is confusing as peeps have their own opinions of what is best and its not always best for you.if i was you i'd stop in a caravan as you cant go wrong!
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 We've had 2 Fat Airics for a year or so and have never had any problems with them. Bit large for backpacking, unless you like a challenge, but great for car camping. Comfy as owt.
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Mike - have you got one of those air mattress's? I have been looking at them, but wasn't sure if they would be comfortable and easy to pack down.
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Mike - have you got one of those air mattress's? I have been looking at them, but wasn't sure if they would be comfortable and easy to pack down. No i haven't Rocky, yet. Someone on here bought one recently though. I think the pack size is really good. TBH, i can usually sleep on the edge of a knife, so a foam or light self-inflater does me.
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| Edited: 16/07/08 17:58 |
 iv got an alpkit wee airic but mines never managed to self inflate. am i doing owt wrong or is it just broken?
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iv got an alpkit wee airic but mines never managed to self inflate. am i doing owt wrong or is it just broken? Our Fat'ns don't self-inflate all the way - they need a good few puffs of air to finish the job, but I don't think that's too big a deal personally. Then again I've no experience of Thermarest or any of the other brands. Do theirs fully self-inflate, no need to use any additional lung power?
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 I sent Alpkit an email asking them if how their mats compared to other manufacturers...they did say that they do not have the experience or backing of such a large company as thermarest, but their bags do fill a gap in the market. I took it to mean that their mats werent as good, but did do a job, and for less money. Personally, ive got me a couple of multimats, well light, insulate well enough (not tried winter yet) and pack down incredibly small.
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 All so-called self-inflating mats need additional air blowing into them to fully inflate, none of them do it by themselves (I've got Thermarest and Insulmat models fwiw, but have seen many others 'in action' too) - so if yours doesn't, it's not broken, they're just like that. The foam doesn't come to any harm, just store it uncompressed with the valve open and any moisture you breathe into it will escape again. It's only the Exped Downmats thay you shouldn't breathe into, hence the pumpsac supplied (and lovely they are too ). Btw, it's ptc* who's been using an Exped Airmat this summer, and I know he rates it.
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| Edited: 16/07/08 18:34 |
