Carrying a foam mat on the bike...?

[InspiredRamblings]

Hi,

I'm planning a long bike trip (think months). The setup will be a Surly Ogre with frame bag, front harness and big seatpack, with a very light rear rack and two small rear panniers. Also Salsa Anything cages on the forks. I may also take a tiny front rack (Salsa Minimalist) to help carry some small items / support the front drybag if needed. I'm aiming to NOT carry a backpack apart from for overflow food/water when needed.

My mat is currently a Exped Downmat UL7. As comfortable as this is, I'm nervous about relying on it for a long trip. In the event of a puncture I'll be sleeping on the floor. Also, because of the pump, its a bit of a faff getting it inflated and packing away. Not a problem for a weekend but every day for months might become a little tiresome. So, I've ordered a Klymit Inertia X-Wave, which is a longish torso pad. I was thinking about supplementing this with lightwave foam. Something like a Gossamer Gear Thinlight 1/8in thick mat might be best but what I've got at the moment is a Vaude 1/4in mat, made of similar material (evazote). The total for both mats is less than 500 grams, I get some redundancy in case the air mat pops, and the foam could actually be useful for general camp stuff where I don't want to be throwing the air mat around on spiky ground.

However, the 1/4 in mat doesn't roll up all that small, and I'm not sure which approach to take to best carry it. I've probably got the following options:

- Get a 1/8 inch Gossamer Gear mat shipped over (or find an alternative in the UK?) which would roll up much smaller...
- Cut my Vaude mat in half and just use it for my legs - the smaller size will be smaller to roll / carry.
- Try to find the best way to carry the full size Vaude mat.

So - anyone here use a full length or cut down foam mat whilst bikepacking? If so, how do you carry it? The most obvious solution seem to be to wrap it around the outside of the drybag sitting in my front harness suspended from the bars. This might work with a 1/8 in pad, or a cut down 1/4 inch, but the full size 1/4in pad is a little bulky when rolled... I guess it would also be exposed to the weather like this. Its a closed cell mat so doesn't absorb water, but even so... Another option is to sit it on top of the rear rack, if there is space between the rack and the seatpack. This is a bit doubtful for the full 1/8in Vaude mat but might work for a cut down 1/8in mat or a full 1/4in mat.

Anybody got any clever alternative solutions for supplementing a torso mat with a foam mat whilst still being able to carry it on the bike but not looking like I'm on a DofE trip...!?

[johnnystorm]

If it's primarily protection, rather than comfort wouldn't a tyvek footprint to go under the mat be an easier to stow option? Should keep the spiky things at bay for much less bulk & weight?

[Chew]

Partially i'd be wondering why are you not going for a full length mat?
If you're going to be away for a long time i'd be looking at comfort first and a good full length mat (neoair*) will pack smaller than the double mat setup you're looking at. If you are set on a foam mat the best solution will be to roll it up within your front harness.

*4 weeks out in the States on my Neoair without any issues, plus another ~20 nights in the UK. Take the repair kit and you'll be fine

[jameso]

I think you're describing a similar set up to what I use most now. A 3/4 neoair and a section of thin foam mat, maybe 2 1/2ft long, for my feet, standing on, etc. Rolled into a tube double-thick (ie full length rolled 2x) it makes a nice tube that fits inside the diameter of a 13l Alpkit drybag. I then roll my mat and sleeping bag down and stuff it into that tube, then strap it to the bar harness. The foam mat supports the roll / drybag so I can secure it w/o having to compress the bag too much or it getting lop-sided. Works pretty consistently. Won't work so well with a winter-weight bag, but fine for an average 3-seasons 700-ish gram bag.

Months huh.. lucky you.

As above, my Neoair's done 30+ nights on any old ground. Seems tougher than I expected. Woke up by a campfire surrounded by old nails etc once, that was suprising.

[InspiredRamblings]

Good comments, thanks.

I guess my thinking was to minimise weight whilst providing some redundancy if the mat popped... So the foam would be both for a bit of protection but also additional comfort.

I like the idea of a short section of foam in the front drybag... When the Klymit turns up I might experiment with that. I guess it would still give me a short torso foam pad if needed. Though perhaps the simpler option is a full length mat and a tough groundsheet...

[jameso]

Much depends on where you're going too. My mate took off to Asia for 6 months on his Ogre, full bike-packing kit and marathon tyres. Spent every night enjoying the hospitality of people he met on the way and via warmshowers. Posted the tent home after a couple of months )

[InspiredRamblings]

Yeah, thats true also. I'm thinking France, Spain, possibly including a little skip over to Morocco, and then east maybe ending in Istanbul first...

then perhaps Asia second...

All a bit fluid.

[mtbmarkymark]

I'm similar to Jameso. In summer i use a 3/4 length thermarest prolite ( 310g ) + a 60cm bit of a foam mat. The mat keeps the chill off my feet and is useful as a sit mat around camp. i form the the mat into a tube and line my front bar bag with it. It gives the front bar bag good shape and protect the contents.
In winter i use a full length Xtherm but still take the bit of foam. I'm using a 10mm thick bit at the moment but you have inspired me to seek out some thinner stuff !

[InspiredRamblings]

Cool... As I've got the Klymit on the way maybe I'll start off like that...

I can always sell you half my Vaude mat ;-). I found it on Amazon if you're looking. I couldn't find any sellers stocking anything like the thinner Gossamer Gear mats, and the postage from the US made it a bit prohibitive.

Although now I'm thinking about a quilt for the summer so perhaps the Klymit isn't a great plan anyway as it has a few holes in it. And perhaps I should keep my downmat for the winter rather than selling it to fund the Klymit... Bugger, and I thought I had my strategy all sorted!

[InspiredRamblings]

@Jameso - Did your mate keep a blog of his trip? If so, I'd love to take a look.

I don't spend enough time living vicariously through other people's blogs at the moment.

Ahem.

[Bearbonesnorm]

An OMM Duo-mat might be a good option to use with a Klymit. I've slept on them in the past and it's not something I'd like to do on a regular basis but as an addition to something else, it should work pretty well.

[jameso]

@Jameso - Did your mate keep a blog of his trip? If so, I'd love to take a look.

I don't spend enough time living vicariously through other people's blogs at the moment.

Ahem.

I know the feeling..

He did. He posted a paper copy to me, I struggle to read longer stuff on-screen, it's a good read. http://bangkoktobeijing.weebly.com/1/ar ... 012/1.html just go through the archive months on the right.
Edit to add, amusing to read an earlier trip idea on P1.. the year out from work that never happened in the end, and would have half-killed me. I rode across the States in about half the sensible time as an easier option..

[restlessshawn]

I noticed a very thin (maybe 6-8mm) folding fitness mat in decathlon today for about a fiver*

It folds up then folds in half so you end up with a square, if you trimmed it down a bit I reckon it would be small enough to sit at the back of a pannier

*I can't find it on their website

[ianfitz]

I've had a couple of very cheap but very light foam mats from Go outdoors. I use a cut down one for summer use. It's about 80g. Full length and full width one would be just over 200 I think.

Still no idea of how you'll carry it though...

[InspiredRamblings]

The OMM might be a good plan. I'm not sure even a cut down mat will fit in my panniers though - they're very small...!

I'm nervous about taking an Exped drymat or a Neoair because as soon as you google you seen photos of delaminated mats...! But the more I think about it the more I wonder whether a tough full length mat is a better idea, and leave the foam mat behind. The Klymit Static V is around 500g and pretty tiny, and it seems tough as boots. And doesn't have any holes in it which might work better with a quilt.

So I might have a lovely Klymit X Wave to sell soon

@Jameso - I will have to dig into that blog... Glad he took an Ogre though. Mine is on its way, once it makes its way out of the depths of Charlie the Bikemonger's shop...