Seven centimetres of air-filled foam sleeping mat luxury - we test the fat end of the new range of self-inflating mats from web specialists Alpkit. Bargain :-)
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Alpkit Fatairac
Tested
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Price:
£35.00
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Weight: 1700 grammes (including
strap)
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Features:Self-inflating
sleeping pad, with die-cut open cell foam, Honey Comb Nylon
66 (Superfine fiber) outer fabric, two inflation valves.
Size: 202 x 62 x 7.3. Packed size: 65 x 18.
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Super fat and comfy at a great price.
Heavy and a bit slippy.
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The
Concept Alpkit are a new UK web-only outdoors retailer aiming to
offer decent kit at great value prices. Their new range of
self-inflating sleeping mats hits the bullseye. It comes in three
thicknesses - the Wee Airic, Airic and Fat Airic priced from £15
to £35 including prompt delivery and UK taxes.
Wee Airac weighs around 100 grammes more than a Therm-a-Rest
Prolite 3 in short size, then again, it only costs 15 quid, while the
Therm-a-Rest will set you back around four times that...
The Airacs are all self-inflating sleep mats. That means a valve
allows air into an inner stuffed with foam, blow it up, close the
valve and you have a surprisingly comfortable and insulation
efficient mattress. After use, expel the air and roll it up for a
small pack size and convenient carriage. Nice.
Fat Airic is the 7cm thick big daddy of the family and aimed at car or base
camping when comfort matters more than pack size and weight.
Features The Airacs use die-cut open-cell foam to minimise
weight - minus 30 per-cent - and bulk all enclosed in a Nylon outer
fabric wtih, in the Fat Airac's case, twin air valves for inflation
and deflation. The upper surface features a raised diamond pattern
which is claimed to offer resistance against slipping.
In
Action If you're one of those saddos who habitually car camps in
a tiny mountain tent sleeping on bubble wrap then wake up and smell
the coffee. When weight and bulk are an irrelevance, Fat Airac is
sheer luxury, in fact it turned out to be more comfortable than my
futon...
It's dead easy to use, simply remove the storage strap, open the
twin valves and leave for five minutes before topping up the air with
a few quick breaths. Put in tent. Sleep in luxury on top of seven cm
plus of air-cushioned foam. Nice.
It's very, very, very comfortable. The only real issue we had was
with slippage during the night. If your pitch isn't flat, there's a
tendency for some sleeping bag fabrics to slide slightly, despite the
raised diamond pattern on the fabric. It's a gradual creeping process
rather than a Torvil and Dean style slide however and may vary with
sleeping bag fabrics. Ironically the bag we were using was an Alpkit
one.
After a luxurious night's rest, stowing your fat friend takes a
while thanks to the sheer volume of air involved, but again it's not
a major issue. Build quality feels good and we've had no leak or
puncture issues with the Airic. Updates after more Zzzzzzz miles if
we encounter any problems.
Bargain... As far as Fat Airic is concerned, the only issue we have
is minor slippage if you pitch on a bit of a slope. Comfort is
fantastic, build quality feels fine and while weight and bulk are
irrelevant with Far Airac, the die-cut foam and associated weight
savings should pay off with the thinner backpacking versions.
With Wee Airac weighing in at £15 and the middling Airic just
£25 you're looking at great value. Yes, you can get lighter
mats, but you'll pay an awful lot more.
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Performance
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Value
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Pushed for time:
Great value, super comfortable, very fat self-inflating mat
for use when weight and bulk are irrelevant.
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