Exped Downmat 7 and 9M

Exped 9

I have spent a lifetime in the outdoors in all weathers. Nothing comes close to an Exped 9 IMO. The insulation it provides from the ground is sub zero temperatures is brilliant. Low pack size and weight are a factor too. I have thermarest in various sizes, ok but not an Exped. You pay your money and take your choice............ If only I could afford a kermit chair:D
 
I slept on an Exped 7 last weekend borrowed from my mate.
Packs up reasonably small and was quite wide....but... I had the worst nights sleep ever on it !
Horses for courses I know.... but nothing more than a way over priced beach lilo in my opinion.
So glad I had the chance to try before you buy.
 
Urbster said:
I slept on an Exped 7 last weekend borrowed from my mate.
Packs up reasonably small and was quite wide....but... I had the worst nights sleep ever on it !
Horses for courses I know.... but nothing more than a way over priced beach lilo in my opinion.
So glad I had the chance to try before you buy.
Click to expand...

I bought a 7M recently and it is very comfortable, but the trick (as others have said) is to not blow it up fully and to leave it a little soft. Did you do that, or did you pump it up fully into 'lying on solar panels' condition, which you only need to do if the ground is really cold and insulation is more important than comfort?
 
MATKAT said:
I have spent a lifetime in the outdoors in all weathers. Nothing comes close to an Exped 9 IMO. The insulation it provides from the ground is sub zero temperatures is brilliant. Low pack size and weight are a factor too. I have thermarest in various sizes, ok but not an Exped. You pay your money and take your choice............ If only I could afford [the weight and space penalty of] a kermit chair:D
Click to expand...

Corrected for you! :D

The Exped 9DLX is the best thing I've found for cold weather. You really can sleep on snow on these.

In warmer weather/climes I prefer the Thermarest Neoair Trek for its light weight and tiny pack size.

My other (normal, self-inflating) Thermarest only ever gets loaned to friends now I have these two.
 
Exped 9 DLX

Brilliant peice of kit.
I use it together with a Vango 750 down sleeping bag.
On the edge of Loch Linnie in October,the wind and rain were realy trying and it was bloody cold too. The Exped and my down bag were my fantastic.
I inflate mine so that it supports me about an inch off the ground on the heaviest bit of my body and its ace.
 
I will be testing my 7m Exped downmat up on Helvellyn this month when the snow arrives in a big way.
 
Just augmented my DLX 9 with a Exped Large Chairkit. It's not possible to pack in the original stuff sack, no matter how carefully you roll it (poles out, obviously) with the mat inside the seat cover. It is, however, possible to fit both the mat rolled up and the chairkit (seperately, folded up) in the original stuff sack. Handy, as the Chairkit's stuff sack is way bigger/bulkier than necessary. I just stuff the poles loose in the panniers.
 
Sooty09 said:
I bought a Exped SynMat 7 when I thought I had to pack up for a two up camping holiday. It sounds so compact and light, all the reviews were positive.
In reality its only a bit smaller than my £15.00 camping gas 9" thick massive comfy air bed. Its only a couple of ounces heavier and easy to pack in panniers. The Exped rolls into a round stuff sack is not as easy to pack.
Now sold on e-bay for a small loss, They may be better in - deg conditions but for summer camping not worth the money, and not as comfy as a cheap airbed.

I did see a Exped superlight bed made out of material like a crisp packet. It was super compact and very light for back backing, bet its not as comfy as mine though.
Click to expand...

as you say the airbed is only for warm summer times, anything else and you loose loads of heat. comparing an airbed and the exped the airbed is 3 x heavier
 
Inspired by this thread I took the plunge & upgraded to a Downmat 7 LW last week. I considered the ultralight and the Downmat 9 in the standard size, but decided the 26" wide 7 with the intergrated pump was the one for me. Also the 5 year warranty as opposed to 2 on the ultralight did sway me.
So, the 7LW, what do I think after a night in Jan in Snowdonia?
Well, the pack size is immpressive at about the size of a rugby ball & the weight is pretty good at 1100g considering the size of the mat.
I found the intergated pump a little slow, but it was new & compressed. And when I deflated it a little & then pumped it up again (playing basically) I did feel the foam blocks had expanded & she had loosened up a little.
Comfort wise, as had been suggested, half inflated to the point that when you sit up you actually feel the ground, is the best option. I also found when lightly inflated it does away with the need for a pillow ... just a jumper maybe? But on the whole, yes very comfy indeed.
On the insulation front I would say the 7 is excellent! I know it hasn't been that cold of late, but that ground is still cold until the daff's tell you otherwise. ;)
I am pleased so far, I think I made the right choice for me.
Sure, I was tempted by the 1/2 kilo UL, but wasn't convinced by the Schnozzel bag pump or the thickness of the material. Also, is this the version Tim complained of becoming porous?
A 9 would have been nice BUT in the LW was starting to get heavy and wallet emptying.
So, the Downmat 7 Long/Wide at £98 delivered from All Outdoor gets my nod of approval so far. :thumb
 
JoeC said:
Before I buy, does anybody know of anywhere cheaper?
Click to expand...

All Outdoor put the odd one out to bids on ebay, you may get lucky but generally only save a few quid. The 20" wide 7 comes out at £88 delivered if you are built like a strip of lath, and the synthetically insulated "Syn" mat is cheaper still.

I didn't trawl net for hours looking for the cheapest price, but £98 all in was the best I could find at that time.:thumb2
 
Good after sales by exped too, had to return mine after it started spitting feathers out of the deflating valve posted to them monday and new mat with me by thursday
 
Exped Mega Mat 10...?

Anyone tried one of these bad-boys...??

T
 
Has anyone tried the Megamat 10? It looks awsome but is quite large when packed. Riding solo it may be OK though
 
Stonker said:
Has anyone tried the Megamat 10? It looks awsome but is quite large when packed. Riding solo it may be OK though
Click to expand...

Bought the Megamat 10 used it for the first time a few weeks ago in the lakes.
It is very large but no real problem,I haven't been able to find a watertight bag to put it in yet.
Overnight temp on one night was -3.

I kid you not this mat is better than been in bed,I bought a matress cover from Dunelm £6.99.

Yes it's big,yes it's bulky,yes it,s a bit of a pain to inflate to just the right level,but after using it for just 3 nights I would never go back to anything else.

Steve
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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