Karrimor X-Lite Self Inflate Mats

I found these on Field & Trek, they seem quite light for self inflates.

3/4 length- 325g @ £29.99

Full length - 475g @ £34.99

I'd take scales into the shop and believe it when I see it...

I was in F+T the other day and some of the stuff they are churning out using the Karrimor brand name really is, dare I say it, generic krap.  And surprise, surprise it's all less than 50% of its rrp (sic).

I wouldn't be surprised if it was heavier tbh although I have one of the rectangular 3/4 Karrimor mats with the heavier nylon (from Sports Direct) and it weighs 445g so the tapered mat is likely to be lighter. That said sleeping mats in general, especially self inflate can vary a bit weight wise regardless of what brand name is printed on them, POE had a bit of a reputation, IME deserved. 

You're right that a lot of generic crap is churned out using the Karrimor name although it has to be said that when it comes to stuff like camp cutlery, some cooksets and the like even prestige brands are guilty of badge engineering.

I bought an Ajungilak one and it was utter sh*te but it cost £15. The £2 ones from Tesco are better, at least they don't have a valve that pops open.

What was wrong with the Karrimor Self Inflate pillow? I have some Lidl ones for car camping, didn't think there would be much to go wrong but some companies can screw up anything.

The problem I have with the Karrimor stuff is not that it's a bit rubbish, per se, but that they insist on giving it ludicrously high rrps, making it appear that it's on a par with the 'top brands', and then selling for a fraction of that price. 

I wouldn't disagree with what you're saying LB, I'd say 90% of the Karrimor beanded stuff I wouldn't touch with a bargepole but if I can see it in the flesh so to speak and it looks servicable then I'll give it a shot. The RRP does look a bit OTT on some of the stuff but in the end it's the selling price that matters.

Kate, I wouldn't have taken it back either (probably) although I suspect that you got unlucky as I'm quite sure Karrimor aren't using a supplier unique to them, the self inflate pillows sold under a variety of brand names all look pretty much the same.

In the end a lot comes down to how a brand is percieved, people had problems with the Thermarest NeoAir leaking, some of the self inflates are prone to delamination, I've had a POE mat that was way heavier than advertised and I'm not the only one, and I read of some cases of them deflating.

Of course when it's a premium brand people are prepared to accept that a few lemons get through and it's a case of "well you can't expect Thermarest or POE to inspect every mat they sell" but if it's a low end brand then it's a major issue if they find a fault and it's like "how dare they not individually check every single item".

Llywelyn Bren wrote (see)

I presume Field + Trek / Sports Direct also now have control of the Head brand name, as I notice they are selling '£50 rrp' trainers for £6!

About a year ago i ordered a pair of Karrimor trainers for £8 free delivery reduced from £50 odd RRP - thought if nothing else they'll be good for walking the dog. They are an amazingly poor quality, probably just about up to walking the dog.

Sad when you see companies like Karrimor and F&T being used for their once good reputation...

El Manana wrote (see)

About a year ago i ordered a pair of Karrimor trainers for £8 free delivery reduced from £50 odd RRP - thought if nothing else they'll be good for walking the dog. They are an amazingly poor quality, probably just about up to walking the dog.

Sad when you see companies like Karrimor and F&T being used for their once good reputation...

It is indeed, F&T used to be about the best mail order supplier, the other 2 that I used at the time were Cotswold and Culverhouse but Cotswold prices were higher than F&T and Culverhouse had a smaller range.

That said there seems to be an attempt by Karrimor to regain some respect with the higher end stuff, ULOG currently stock the X-Lite rucksacks, they (Karrimor) now have a few sponsored climbers which should provide some feedback.

Sports Direct depresses me every time I go there - you think it will have gotten better, but no, its just as rubbish as before.  Karrimor is a very strange brand, with some decent stuff at the top end, but dire everywhere else.  You just end up trusting none of it.

As for the mat, the r rating is about 2.2, which is less than the Alpkit Airo 180 (2.5), although the weight is a bit higher (4.75g v 582g).  On the other hand, is it actually 475g?  Since the Airo has 33D nylon,not 20D, comes from a trusted brand and is about the same price, I'd know where I'd spend my money...

Alpkit are pretty good, I have a Wee Airic myself but it was heavier than suggested at 528g, the rectangular 3/4 Karrimor was lighter at 445g which is why I'm using it. I'd certainly be weighing the X-Lite if I bought one but I'd also be weighing the Airo as I would any gear bought primarily on the suggested weight.  You ask is the X-Lite actually 475g, I've no idea, is the Airo actually 582g, again I couldn't say. Even if I had an example of both weighing exactly the suggested weight there's no guarantee that they all weigh the same.

That said I'm pretty sure Alpkit mention on the website that weights can go up or down depending on the production run, IIRC it was to do with the amount of glue applied and that they continually monitor their stock and update as needed. I doubt if F&T do the same.

In the end we all have to decide for ourselves, I'll usually take a chance and to be honest I've had expensive gear from respected brands fail to deliver just as often as lower end gear.

I think Alpkit weigh 10 mats and take the average.  With a self-inflating mat there will always be slight variation.

The only mats I've ever had which weigh to the gram exactly what the manufacturer's claim are NeoAirs.  The worst discrepancy was POE  -  a Peak Oyl Lite, claimed weight 539g, was nearly 700g.

Llywelyn Bren wrote (see)

The only mats I've ever had which weigh to the gram exactly what the manufacturer's claim are NeoAirs.  The worst discrepancy was POE  -  a Peak Oyl Lite, claimed weight 539g, was nearly 700g.

My NeoAir weighed 400g exactly in its sac, i think the stated weight is 410g.

Its the only thing i've ever bought that was less than its stated weight, i would say 75% are always over, some by a significant amount. I can understand it on some things like down bags but theres no excuse on others. 

On the point of Karrimor, i think they may be better creating a sub brand if there trying to get back to high end gear, the brand is a bit confused now as to what it actually delivers.

Llywelyn Bren wrote (see)

I think Alpkit weigh 10 mats and take the average.  With a self-inflating mat there will always be slight variation.

The only mats I've ever had which weigh to the gram exactly what the manufacturer's claim are NeoAirs.  The worst discrepancy was POE  -  a Peak Oyl Lite, claimed weight 539g, was nearly 700g.

LB, I think thats pretty much what I read but I think they also update if there's a significant increase.

As for POE, it was a Peak Oyl Lite that I had too, significantly over the suggested weight although I did actually like it, I thought the air chambers along the sides worked well.

El M, I'd say you're right, IMO they need to drop the Karrimor name off the generic stuff, I doubt it actually helps sell the low end anyway. The advantage of the current lack of faith in things Karrimor has a positive side, I'd put money on the price of those mats being further reduced.

.  

I ended up buying one of each of the Karrimor X-Lite mats with the intention of returning them if they were much over the suggested weight. As it turned out they're pretty close.

Full Length - Suggested Weight 475g, Actual with/without Stuff Sack - 485g/473g

3/4 length - Suggested weight 325g, Actual with/without Stuff Sack - 346g/334g

At £34.99 and £29.99 respectively they're pretty good value considering the weight, also they're both lighter than my current self inflate mats, a Multimat Adventure Superlight 25 regular at 510g and a Karrimor rectangular  3/4 mat at 445g plus the X-Lite regular will fit my bivvy bag better as it's tapered.

I'm keeping both as not only are they close as makes no difference to the suggested weight, if they'd been like 100g over they'd have gone back. As it is both are significantly lighter than my current self inflate mats.

I'll try to sell my Multimat full length, the 3/4 length Karrimor mat only cost £10-15 in Sports Direct so might not be worth trying to sell unless I try to sell both it and the Multimat together. I sold both my POE mats a while back and the rest of my mats are CCF in a variety of thicknesses, the thinnest being 3mm and the thickest 12mm. A self inflate with a CCF on top is really warm.