rocks
Registered user
The following review was done by Mattcdf600 over on the Horzions site.
I must proffess an interest here, as I sell these, and heartily recommend them. But Matt made the following video for his trip and I believe has done a great job of it.
This review is for the 7 DLX which is the wider of the 7cm thick mats, Exped also do a 9cm thick goose down filled series as well as a foam filled series in 7and 9cm depths too.
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If you want more info the mats please see;
www.gearpac.co.uk or http://www.exped.com
Matt does mention that they take a few minutes to inflate and exped do a couple of accessories to help speed these up, but personally I never really found it too much of a problem using the pump sack on its own. There is a technique to it you garner with use. About 8 to 10 or so depedning on the mat and its done.
As for packing it away, I open both valve, kneel gentley on it to expel the majority of the air.. then roll it up whole, then unroll and hold in half along its width and re-roll, this folding and final roll expels the last of the air and it fits snuggly back into its stuff sack/pump sack. A dodle.
I have had my own Down Mat 9 for two years or so and its been fantastic. Before I used a therma rest and that too is a agreat mat but no where near as warm. The down mats do offer a really compact shape and size and are still light weight, but the comfort foam series are also great mats too. Rated to -17c they are slightly bulkier and can be a couple of hundred grams heavier in comparrison but they are cheaper and I think often over looked too.
Having tried to ride a bike on a long trip following a really poor night sleep and nearly coming off, I certainly recommend what ever you do, get a good mat and sleeping bag. Tiredness can kill as the saying goes.
Exped also do a chair converter kit which can be put onto the matt and left on, when your sleeping. Even left on when you pack it up, but you have to roll it up slightly differently from the way they originally come packed. The kit makes a great stable and very comfortable camp chair. For those on longer trips or are tired of sitting on cold aluminium panniers, I can heartily recommend these.
Note: Dont blow down mats up with your breath. The goose down the fills the mats is impregnated with an anti mildew treatment but they will still clump and degrade if you do as the moisture in your breath gets trapped inside. So don't blow into them, and it will last you many many years. I have used mine pretty regularly and its been great, and I know of fellow ukgser's who have used theres an awfol lot more and still rave about them.
Exped also offer a 5 year warrenty against any manufacturering issues.
I am looking at doing some other reviews for a few of the ortlieb items I also sell as well as other bits, as I think its hard to get a good idea of the real quality of the products from a few static photos.
In the spirit of fairness, I do sell these and so do many other retailers, so do hunt around for best prices and service.
I must proffess an interest here, as I sell these, and heartily recommend them. But Matt made the following video for his trip and I believe has done a great job of it.
This review is for the 7 DLX which is the wider of the 7cm thick mats, Exped also do a 9cm thick goose down filled series as well as a foam filled series in 7and 9cm depths too.
<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oOnJfECen5A&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oOnJfECen5A&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>
If you want more info the mats please see;
www.gearpac.co.uk or http://www.exped.com
Matt does mention that they take a few minutes to inflate and exped do a couple of accessories to help speed these up, but personally I never really found it too much of a problem using the pump sack on its own. There is a technique to it you garner with use. About 8 to 10 or so depedning on the mat and its done.
As for packing it away, I open both valve, kneel gentley on it to expel the majority of the air.. then roll it up whole, then unroll and hold in half along its width and re-roll, this folding and final roll expels the last of the air and it fits snuggly back into its stuff sack/pump sack. A dodle.
I have had my own Down Mat 9 for two years or so and its been fantastic. Before I used a therma rest and that too is a agreat mat but no where near as warm. The down mats do offer a really compact shape and size and are still light weight, but the comfort foam series are also great mats too. Rated to -17c they are slightly bulkier and can be a couple of hundred grams heavier in comparrison but they are cheaper and I think often over looked too.
Having tried to ride a bike on a long trip following a really poor night sleep and nearly coming off, I certainly recommend what ever you do, get a good mat and sleeping bag. Tiredness can kill as the saying goes.
Exped also do a chair converter kit which can be put onto the matt and left on, when your sleeping. Even left on when you pack it up, but you have to roll it up slightly differently from the way they originally come packed. The kit makes a great stable and very comfortable camp chair. For those on longer trips or are tired of sitting on cold aluminium panniers, I can heartily recommend these.
Note: Dont blow down mats up with your breath. The goose down the fills the mats is impregnated with an anti mildew treatment but they will still clump and degrade if you do as the moisture in your breath gets trapped inside. So don't blow into them, and it will last you many many years. I have used mine pretty regularly and its been great, and I know of fellow ukgser's who have used theres an awfol lot more and still rave about them.
Exped also offer a 5 year warrenty against any manufacturering issues.
I am looking at doing some other reviews for a few of the ortlieb items I also sell as well as other bits, as I think its hard to get a good idea of the real quality of the products from a few static photos.
In the spirit of fairness, I do sell these and so do many other retailers, so do hunt around for best prices and service.
