Still scratching my head over choice of sleeping mats...a trawl on here and other places seems to suggest Synmat 7 as the current mat of choice for comfort/weight/VFM and pack size...so in my usual way I've been trying to find the best deals around and during this quest I came across the Synmat 5 on a few European online retailers...can't seem to find it anywhere in the UK.

Obviously this is 2 cm thinner, with less insulation and less of the R Value than the 7....but, and here is the crux, it's much less expensive! It's also lighter and packs down smaller...

As a novice I can't see me wanting to venture out into the Scottish hills in the winter any time soon, so for the relative drop in thermal protection(and 2cm cushion "loft") would the cheaper 5 suit me for fair weather Spring/Summer/Autumn use?

I've not seen the UL5 but if it's the same (excluding insulation) as the 7, I can't see any issues. I've got a downmat lite which is only 5cm thick and it's plenty comfy enough.

Can't comment on the mats themselves, but they have both in stock at http://www.ghyllside.co.uk/.

Can only see bike stuff on that Ghyllside page?

I'm curious, how much have you seen the UL 5 for on EU retailers?

€89 or £63ish? Maybe slightly overplayed the 'much' less expensive part...

In fact it's €79/£56 on another site - saw it last night but couldn't remember which one...that's got to be worth a punt...

Including delivery? Also, its worth noting that if you use paypal then you'll end up paying their exchange rate fee which will bump the price up a bit. I ended up paying an extra £17 in delivery and paypal fees when I bought a cumulus quilt recently from an EU web shop.

The reason I'm asking is that I'm looking to get the Mrs a mat and was going to push the button on a synmat UL 7 for her too which I've seen for around £70 - if the 5 is available for £56 inc postage/fees then I might go for that instead. Would you mind posting the link?

cheers

Had been looking at these for my two boys - was still at the umming and ahhing http://www.bergfreunde.co.uk/exped-airm ... tAoddy8Afg

You're right - Postage isn't included sadly...add on €10 or £7ish

Arklight Designs http://www.arklight-design.com/Mobile/M ... d=15321285

Only thing stopping me now is my indecision over size - particularly width I'm worried I'm too big for the non wide versions and this UL 5 only seems to come in medium. Going to sell out of these before I make a decision at this rate!

I thought the link I posted said free postage over €50

Bergfreunde are free Mate - but that's a slightly different mat, and they're bit more expensive for the Synmat UL 5 I think...

If you can wait a few weeks, then the Alpkit Numo might be ideal. I certanly wouldn't want to use it in winter but for late spring through to early Autumn it should be fine ... £35 and a 3 year warranty

Might be good for your 2 Wenchie?

Okay, here's the best deal I can find anywhere - Synmat UL 7, medium, £67.80 from a UK company with free delivery. Small available for a few quid less and LW for about £15 more.

http://www.outdoorgb.com/p/exped_synmat ... AlSl8P8HAQ

Medium is £74 on that site, unless I'm doing something wrong? Interestingly, they do the LW for only 80p more which appears to be a very good price.

Cheapest I could find was £69.50 on downsleepingbags.co.uk for the medium.

adjustablewench wrote:Had been looking at these for my two boys - was still at the umming and ahhing http://www.bergfreunde.co.uk/exped-airm ... tAoddy8Afg

Our two have the alpkit short elf inflating pads. Pretty comfy and pack down small ish too. Also s good price!

adjustablewench wrote:Had been looking at these for my two boys - was still at the umming and ahhing http://www.bergfreunde.co.uk/exped-airm ... tAoddy8Afg

Our two have the alpkit short elf inflating pads. Pretty comfy and pack down small ish too. Also s good price!

Hi all,

A newbie here! I have the Exped DM 5, which has a slightly better R-value, due to the down. Other than that it appears to be a similar product.

They are very comfortable, the side bars are pretty cool as I am side sleeper. They aren't the quietest thing to sleep on and rustle a lot when you move, but I find it comfortable, which is the main thing.

Stuart

Hi StuartG - Was a bit worried about width as I'm a side sleeper too so that's reassuring...may I ask a prying question and enquire how tall/what build you'd describe yourself as?

I'm 184cm tall so length should be fine but a bit on the 'large' side in terms of shoulder width/belly girth!

Medium is £74 on that site, unless I'm doing something wrong? Interestingly, they do the LW for only 80p more which appears to be a very good price.

Just had a look and yes, since I posted the link, the price of the M has risen and the LW fallen ... yesterday the LW was over 80 quid

I am 6 foot 1 and 14 stone, so not a wippet!!

I did go for the large, but not the extra width, as it wouldn't work with my existing gear. Don't get me wrong it's not a double bed, but I think it's fine.

The length was more important for me as I have used 3/4 mats and hated them.

Both I and my friend have this Synmat UL 5 that we use with the pillow pump (I know how sad is matching gear!)
The reason we both have them is Blacks had them on sale around Christmas time and we got them for around £30 or £35 each.

Anyways they are fine - have camped between Xmas and new year when it was around -7 and was comfortably warm.

I don't notice a comfort difference between the UL 5 and my multimat 7. The UL 5 is noticeably wider then the multimat and has a nice soft feel to it that the multimat does not have.
The UL 5 is a bit heavier than the multimat and is probably around three times the pack size!

In warmer weather I would switch back to the multimat when bikepacking because of the pack size difference, but when backpacking would likely just use the UL 5.

If you want to know anything about it that I can answer for you by having it then send me a PM.

Well. After much swithering, dithering and general indecision I've finally pushed the button. Like all things kit, when I spend sooo much time looking for the right deal, researching the right stuff that gradually the base price I'm willing to pay creeps up and up and suddenly VFM becomes secondary to getting what I think is the right item....


The OutdoorsGB deals looked ace and I was about to buy a LW Synmat 7 UL but then realised there was not a hope in hell of it fitting into my tent! So I back to the drawing board I decided on a Medium Wide model. Which proved much easier to type than to find...Anyway got one of these off Facewest, even though the Wide carries a premium I can use the reward points earned to offset the Schnozzel pump bag....

So after stating I was after the cheapest possible mat - and initially setting myself an arbitrary ceiling of £50 - I have now nearly doubled that! Payday never helps my bargain hunting instincts..

Thanks for all the pointers and advice! - please do not post a link to mega deals on Medium Wide Synmat 7 now I have taken the plunge!

MussEd wrote: I can use the reward points earned to offset the Schnozzel pump bag....

I recommend the pillow pump. 1 bit of kit - 2 uses!