ootini wrote:Just hit the button on the Karrimor jobbie for £20. At that price it's worth a punt. Could be an absolute bargain for my own kit, or I've just bought the Mrs a pressie

I have had a few mats including the Karrimor. It's very light, great pack size and comfortable but not warm at all. It's really not suitable IMO for the winter.
It lasted maybe 15 nights before the seam went at one end which really just highlights its poor construction and why it's cheap.

I'm thinking of giving one of the Expeds a go next.

I'll experiment by try packing an empty water bottle and the sleeping bag in to the AirLok just to gauge how well it will fit.

If you pack those mats (and many others) down too tight you tend to get a lot of leaks around the valve area. I now roll mine around the inside of the dry bag and stuff the sleeping bag & bivi bag in the centre, carefully folding the valved section over into the middle to make sure there's no pressure from compression straps, or what ever on it.

P6050569 by Richard Lowerson, on Flickr.

When it comes to Sleeping mats, is it possible to "stack" them to improve thermal efficiency? In the sense I could use the Karrimor for spring summer autumn and then simply add the Vango in to the mix for winter use

I've tried this a couple of times in winter. It might work if the lilo mat is inside your bivibag, but if you just put it on top of a thicker mat cold air can still move along the 'channels' between the compartments, and I had water collecting in the gaps from melting snow when I tried it in Norway.


Redlake - Monday Morning by Richard Lowerson, on Flickr

P2171242 by Richard Lowerson, on Flickr

Must admit, I'd never considered sliding the mat inside the bag with me, that may well be something to consider! Cheers.

Also, I was thinking the other way round. So have the Karrimor lilo on the ground, providing the "comfort" aspect, then the Vango self inflator on top, with it's foam core providing some insulation. It may never happen, the idea of camping in conditions like those in your pictures really doesn't appeal at the moment :) I'm a "fair weather" bikepacker at the minute!

Zrest cut in half fits nicely on top tube , really warm even just as a half mat , use it winter climbing as well as bike packing been warm in -20 on it

I'd never considered sliding the mat inside the bag with me, that may well be something to consider!

You'll be needing a big bivi bag, those lilo type sleeping mats are quite bulky once inflated. I took one cycle touring with my Gelert Solo tent and, not having tried the two in combination before, I was slightly annoyed to find that half my body, and my nose where pushed into the tent inner! Of course, I slept outside and put my gear in the tent except for the several days it rained.

Well, the Karrimor jobbie turned up. Here's my highly scientific and articulate review:

Things I like:
It's compact, very compact. As Whitestone said, it would fit in to an 800ml bottle I reckon.
It's light! 300gm according to the blurb, I've no reason to disagree.
It's comfy. It is surprisingly comfy with a depth of 70mm, not measured it, but this is blurb.
The price, £19.99, dirt cheap!

Things I don't like:
It's thin, hence the weight saving. I just have to be careful where I put it and clear the ground etc. No biggie
It's a bit noisy and the fabrics a bit slippy. Again, I can live with it, just side effects of the material once again.
It takes a fair bit of blowing up. Good minute of blowing at least I reckon. I may have to invent a bodgy, hacky dry bag / pump invention.
The utter w*&kers at Sports Direct tried to charge me £3.99 to deliver it from their warehouse to their shop. The people at the front line in the store copped my wrath yesterday, the £3.99 has been refunded, so this should go in the things I like section now.

Pyro wrote:

ootini wrote:The Venture series mats look good but trying to find the full length one is proving a little tricky, and it pushes the price up. Even the short version in the Blacks link you posted appears to have now disappeared.

I may have grabbed one of the few remaining...

Turns out I didn't. Just been refunded, they ran out of stock...