Exped Mats - why do they fail?

JohnnyBoxer

JohnnyBoxer

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Got an early Exped Downmat 9 and it’s not had much use (maybe never actually been camped on/with)
Been stored in spare room in a wardrobe

Tried it yesterday and it’s failed
Pump it up and once aboard it goes down after 10-15 mins
Is it the valve or the mat is punctured ?

My Thermarest is over 25 years and used a lot and stored the same way - still giving sterling service - never leaked or failed 😉

Exped ….are they just fragile ?
 
I had to bin my Exped a few weeks ago as it gave up the ghost completely, all the internal stitching gave way.
I was told some time ago by a wise old man on this forum that Expeds should be stored unrolled, flat as it were, to give them longevity though I have no idea if this is accurate.

Edit: I'll not be buying another.
 
Got the same mat, been using it for many trips over ten years. Always seems to deflate first night, re pressure and it’s fine after. Suspect the small flap valve behind the inflate/deflate apertures get dusty. Reseal and all is well for the remainder
 
i believe there was a bad batch of Downmats dating from early 2010’s. Glue on the seams or something I believe resulting in the tubes merging into a giant hernia. Whatever, I’ve had two fail one of which Lyon equipment (uk importer & distributor) replaced foc, although I asked for a Synmat as its replacement. The other failure they quibbled over as it was about 7 years old when it failed. Which was fair enough.

There’s a date code label stitched in somewhere on the mat. I’m pretty sure the one they replaced was dated 2012 - which was about all they wanted to know - and there was a strong hint from them that they knew a mat from 2012 would fail sooner than later.

As far as punctures go, I’ve never had one. But usual drills for locating a puncture should soon find out where it’s leaking from. I’m sure they come with a puncture repair kit.
 
Ex-Call Centre Chimp said:
I had to bin my Exped a few weeks ago as it gave up the ghost completely, all the internal stitching gave way.
I was told some time ago by a wise old man on this forum that Expeds should be stored unrolled, flat as it were, to give them longevity though I have no idea if this is accurate.

Edit: I'll not be buying another.
Click to expand...
Ah, I see
My Thermarest has been stored rolled in the stuff sack or unrolled and it doesn’t seem to matter, either way
Very durable…..Unlike the Exped

The pump valve on the snozzle bag disintegrated and split too and then the mat wouldn’t stay inflated, last night
Meanwhile the Thermarest was pressed into action instead
Likewise I won’t be buying another Exped, there’s better options for less money
 
AustinW said:
i believe there was a bad batch of Downmats dating from early 2010’s. Glue on the seams or something I believe resulting in the tubes merging into a giant hernia. Whatever, I’ve had two fail one of which Lyon equipment (uk importer & distributor) replaced foc, although I asked for a Synmat as its replacement. The other failure they quibbled over as it was about 7 years old when it failed. Which was fair enough.

There’s a date code label stitched in somewhere on the mat. I’m pretty sure the one they replaced was dated 2012 - which was about all they wanted to know - and there was a strong hint from them that they knew a mat from 2012 would fail sooner than later.

As far as punctures go, I’ve never had one. But usual drills for locating a puncture should soon find out where it’s leaking from. I’m sure they come with a puncture repair kit.
Click to expand...
Aha
I will search out the date code and contact Lyon to see their take on it
Worth the effort of an emsil
Thanks Austin for the tip, mine must date from that 2010 era and bought from Les at Traveldri
 
Weird isn’t it. :duno
I’ve got several Exped sleeping mats ( 3 ) and had them for quite a few years now. Never had an issue with any of them. All very comfy.
I also have 3 Thermarest mats and they’ve been ok too.
My first “ decent “ mat was a Thermarest Neo Air. It must be at least 10 years old now. The only reason I stopped using it was because it’s noisy when you move about. It still works fine.
 
 
theoneandonly said:
had 2 exped mats both failed the same , tubes joining together , enough to spit you off in your sleep.
have a thermarest , but too bulky .
now have this .

pack size same as exped , as thick , much warmer.
Click to expand...
Yep
Looks decent
Exped at £250-£400 for one is madness
You can get better for less
 
I always keep thermarest as well as the one Exped I have unrolled stored
If I remember right they both state that for storage, so valve open and lying flat.
 
JohnnyBoxer said:
Take up a lot of room unrolled though
Click to expand...
We put our deflated mats inside inside some old single duvet covers for storage. We did then keep them flat under the bed but now got one of the divan bases that lift up longways to reveal storage. Sleeping bags and mats flat are a perfect fit inside one half of that storage. Loosely rolled tents live in the other half.
 
Both of ours failed the other year...a 7 and a 9DLX. They were from around 2007 or 2008 so predate the bad batch...but, I'm not moaning about something 15+ yrs old failing. They were good when they worked. (We used to leave them unrolled under a bed, one on top of the other. Took up no additional space)
 
3 season version here....

www.outdoorworlddirect.co.uk

Highlander Nap-Pak Primaloft Sleeping Mat

Stay warm by minimising heat loss between your body and the ground with the lightweight and durable air mat featuring a Primaloft inner fill. Weight: 550g Pack Size: 26 x 11.5 x 11.5cm
www.outdoorworlddirect.co.uk www.outdoorworlddirect.co.uk

Although it's Mummy shaped rather than entire straight.
 
AustinW said:
i believe there was a bad batch of Downmats dating from early 2010’s. Glue on the seams or something I believe resulting in the tubes merging into a giant hernia. Whatever, I’ve had two fail one of which Lyon equipment (uk importer & distributor) replaced foc, although I asked for a Synmat as its replacement. The other failure they quibbled over as it was about 7 years old when it failed. Which was fair enough.

There’s a date code label stitched in somewhere on the mat. I’m pretty sure the one they replaced was dated 2012 - which was about all they wanted to know - and there was a strong hint from them that they knew a mat from 2012 would fail sooner than later.

As far as punctures go, I’ve never had one. But usual drills for locating a puncture should soon find out where it’s leaking from. I’m sure they come with a puncture repair kit.
Click to expand...
So do the SynMat versions not suffer the glued seams problem as the DownMat versions ?
 
zerax9 said:
So do the SynMat versions not suffer the glued seams problem as the DownMat versions ?
Click to expand...
That’s what I’m led to believe. Compared to the equivalent down mat the Synmats are slightly lighter, pack slightly smaller, and are less fussy about inflation with your breath or just very humid air, and are a whole lot cheaper, albeit you trade a bit of insulation, but as I won’t be camping in anything extreme it’s irrelevant.
 
political correctness gone bonkers
Here is Ais' response to the 'psssssssssss' :augieoh my.JPG
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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