Hi guys

I have the opportunity to buy an Eddie Bauer air bender set up for about hundred squids. I haven't seen them before but it's a bag with an integrated mattress.

E.g. https://www.backpacker.com/gear/eddie-b ... -airbender

I can see the downsides and wouldn't buy one for a main set up but it would allow me to do a few alpine or winter Bivis when I'm in Switzerland for a lot less than buying a whole new set up. Which I'd like to do, but the reality is were talking about once or twice a year (and usually walking or skiing, not biking )

Would you? Or were they found out to be totally useless. Google is light on details...

I'm assuming there's no insulation in the bottom of the bag and it simply 'holds' the mat in place (I appreciate the mat is integral).

Can the mat be removed / replaced? What if it punctures?

In reality, it's not much different to using a quilt and absolutely no different to the way a Big Agnes bag works. However, at £100 it's much cheaper than either.

Why will it allow you do do some winter stuff? Why couldn't you do that with what you already have, or is your present stuff heavy / bulky? Also, this os only rated to -6 which doesn't make it a winter Alpine bag by a long way.

As I say, for £100 I'm sure it'd be a good buy but there's lots of ways to skin the same cat

The other consideration might be laundering, I’ve bunged a down bag in a tumble dryer mid tour when prolonged rain had made it damp, I’d imagine this would be a problem. Good concept but I’d prefer if the quilt was perhaps fastened in with plastic snaps, also if the mat suffered delamination is the whole system scrap? At £100 it’s worth a punt but I wouldn’t bite at full price.

I've got a Big Agnes Blackburn which works on the same principal coupled with a ME Aerostat mat it is super toasty.

Well... i don't know much about it either, other that what google can tell. I was supposed to see it tonight but I think they've forgotten

What I have so far works ok in the UK, but experience tells me that it is nothing like warm enough for sleeping out in the Alps even in summer.

As far as I can tell, no the mat is not removable, hence why I guess they never caught on. It is insulated though - very well apparently so could be used directly on snow. The temperature rating is improved by the system slightly. However, by alpine winter what I really meant is Alpine Spring skiing to a hut/bothy for a night rather than anything properly epic in Jan/Feb.

From what I've seen the problems were that you were locked into that bag/mat combo so there were obvious problems with seasonal variations and also it was bloomin' expensive even compared to buying stuff separately

By the sound of it you've all grasped the spirit of the endeavour though and haven't heard any scary stories so if I fit in it, I think it's a goer

(assuming they haven't sold it already)