Author Topic: Sleeping mat matters  (Read 11224 times)

marmottungsten

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Re: Sleeping mat matters
« Reply #15 on: 16:15:58, 23/06/18 »
With the Klymit mat, how do you stop being cold at night? With all those gaps does it keep you warm like for example my Thermarest does?


It's appearance is deceiving...Those gaps actually keep you warmer!  Unlike other sleeping mats, the X-Frame is designed to go inside your sleeping bag, not under it and this has two major benefits over a traditional sleeping mat: 1)  The "loft pockets", as the gaps in the X-Frame are correctly called, are areas where the down in your sleeping bag is not compressed by your weight...When down in your sleeping bag is compressed it's insulation properties are greatly reduced, allowing body heat to escape from your sleeping bag far more easily. 
On a traditional sleeping mat, nearly all of the down in the bottom of your sleeping bag is compressed by your own body weight pressing down on it, allowing your body heat to easily escape downwards to the cold sleeping mat below, leaving you feeling much colder than you would expect, even with a thicker sleeping bag. 
However, the loft pockets in X-Frame allow the down in those areas to "loft up" or stay uncompressed, therefore giving much better insulation below you, and consequently you stay much warmer than you would expect.
2)  When a sleeping mat is under your sleeping bag any body heat that reaches it will be sucked away by the cold ground below it, and a cold mat underneath you can more easily suck away the body heat you are radiating away below you due to the compressed down, making you feel even colder.
But because the X-Frame is inside your sleeping bag, it will gradually reach an optimum temperature and stay there due to the insulation all around it, keeping you much warmer throughout the night. 

Quote from: gunwharfman
and with so many more seams, do you have a greater chance of leaks and punctures than with a traditional mat?

Perhaps, but I have only heard one issue like that in the reviews I have read for the X-Frame and the owner said he returned it to Klymit and Klymit send him a new one free of charge, after which he had no further issues. 
Even if you do get a leak, it comes with a repair kit so it can be repaired out in the field, like any other inflatable sleeping mat.
The material used to make the X-Frame is much thicker than traditional ultralight inflatable mats (45D on top and 75D below).  The Recon version is even stronger (75D top and bottom).  Compare that to the material used to make a Neoair Xlite Sleeping mat for instance (only 30D material on the top and bottom), and you can see that the X-Frame is much tougher than it looks.
« Last Edit: 16:49:07, 23/06/18 by marmottungsten »

richardh1905

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Re: Sleeping mat matters
« Reply #16 on: 16:23:08, 23/06/18 »


Why bother when you can have a much more comfortable, full-length, inflatable sleeping mat, that packs down to the size of a coke can, and only weighs 241g, including a micro pump!...The Klymit Intertia X-Frame.


I'll counter that with a question of my own - why bother spending £60 when I am perfectly happy with my ancient sawn off karrimat that weighs only 208g?  :)
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NeilC

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Re: Sleeping mat matters
« Reply #17 on: 16:27:41, 23/06/18 »
I tried one and found it horribly uncomfortable. But then I'm very picky about beds and I move a lot in my sleep


It must be nice to be able to use these things and be comfy. I'm envious of those who can sleep half length bits of CCF and use their boots as a pillow and all that.

marmottungsten

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Re: Sleeping mat matters
« Reply #18 on: 16:42:44, 23/06/18 »
I tried one and found it horribly uncomfortable. But then I'm very picky about beds and I move a lot in my sleep


It must be nice to be able to use these things and be comfy. I'm envious of those who can sleep half length bits of CCF and use their boots as a pillow and all that.


If you think the comfortable X-Frame is uncomfortable then you certainly wouldn't want to try using a half length mat, and boots for a pillow!...You shouldn't be envious of people using sawn off mats, you should pity them, for they know not what they are missing!  :D

Owen

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Re: Sleeping mat matters
« Reply #19 on: 16:43:55, 23/06/18 »
All very well having your mat inside your bag until you roll over. According to my ex, I'm the worlds most annoying fidgety sleeper, so that system wouldn't work for me.
I use a short neo air lite for three season use. It's OK but if your groundsheet is silicon/nylon both your mat and your groundsheet have a very slidey finish. Means your mat is constantly shooting out from under you, dobs of silicon glue on both surfaces is the answer.
For camping on snow/ice I use an old style full length 3/4ins  thermarest on top of an old 5 season karrimat. Very warm but also quite heavy.

jimbob

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Re: Sleeping mat matters
« Reply #20 on: 16:48:12, 23/06/18 »
Hi Marmottungsten, based on your earlier praise of, and answers to queries about your favourite sleeping mat I tried one out on a recent visit to Settle. I am a side sleeper, and tried all ways to get comfy on an XFrame,. No chance for me personally. I even popped it inside my poncho to  see if having a continuous cover helped. So, without sounding disrespectful of your praise of the mats , I would advise others to try before they buy if they are side sleepers., especially if you are a fidgety side  sleeper.

The shop assistant did state that they were the Marmite of the sleep mat world.
Too little, too late, too bad......

marmottungsten

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Re: Sleeping mat matters
« Reply #21 on: 16:52:20, 23/06/18 »
All very well having your mat inside your bag until you roll over. According to my ex, I'm the worlds most annoying fidgety sleeper, so that system wouldn't work for me.
I use a short neo air lite for three season use. It's OK but if your groundsheet is silicon/nylon both your mat and your groundsheet have a very slidey finish. Means your mat is constantly shooting out from under you, dobs of silicon glue on both surfaces is the answer.
For camping on snow/ice I use an old style full length 3/4ins  thermarest on top of an old 5 season karrimat. Very warm but also quite heavy.


But with the X-Frame inside your sleeping bag it can never roll away!  No need glue of any kind.

marmottungsten

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Re: Sleeping mat matters
« Reply #22 on: 17:02:00, 23/06/18 »
Hi Marmottungsten, based on your earlier praise of, and answers to queries about your favourite sleeping mat I tried one out on a recent visit to Settle. I am a side sleeper, and tried all ways to get comfy on an XFrame,. No chance for me personally. I even popped it inside my poncho to  see if having a continuous cover helped. So, without sounding disrespectful of your praise of the mats , I would advise others to try before they buy if they are side sleepers., especially if you are a fidgety side  sleeper.

The shop assistant did state that they were the Marmite of the sleep mat world.


So what you are saying is that you tried lying on it when it was not inside your sleeping bag? (I assume that is what you meant by Poncho?...or do you not use Sleeping bags??)...As I have stated before, it is not designed to go under a sleeping bag, it must go inside it.  And I am a side sleeper yet I find the X-Frame very comfortable...However, I am 6 foot 1" and weigh a healthy 78kg...If you heavier than me, as most Americans are, then I can see why you might have had an issue.

NeilC

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Re: Sleeping mat matters
« Reply #23 on: 17:03:56, 23/06/18 »

The shop assistant did state that they were the Marmite of the sleep mat world.


Tru dat.


If you're a side sleeper or a night mover then it ain't gonna work. Others seems to love them.

jimbob

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Re: Sleeping mat matters
« Reply #24 on: 20:22:41, 23/06/18 »
HI Marmot tungsten,  I am 6'3" and could give you 13kg and still be slightly heavier than you. I didn't have my sleeping bag with me that day so just winged it with my poncho.  Truly I wanted it to work,
Will stick to my adapted foam pad till I find what I'm looking for.

Too little, too late, too bad......

richardh1905

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Re: Sleeping mat matters
« Reply #25 on: 21:21:00, 23/06/18 »


If you think the comfortable X-Frame is uncomfortable then you certainly wouldn't want to try using a half length mat, and boots for a pillow!...You shouldn't be envious of people using sawn off mats, you should pity them, for they know not what they are missing!  :D


Getting out into the wilds isn't all about comfort and having the latest gear, marmot; if I was interested in the easy life then I wouldn't have gone hiking up into the trackless Eidart valley last weekend, I'd have booked into a B&B or camped from the boot of the car with a cheapo SIM. In fact, in some respects, enduring some discomfort on a long walk/wild camp can add to the experience - but only up to a point!


I'll finish with the final paragraph of  'A short walk in the Hindu Kush' by Eric Newby (published 1958)


The ground was like iron with sharp rocks sticking up out of it. We started to blow up our air beds. 'God, you must be a couple of pansies,' said Thesinger. ;)
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marmottungsten

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Re: Sleeping mat matters
« Reply #26 on: 22:44:35, 23/06/18 »
But the pansies both slept soundly, the whole night, on their comfortable inflatable sleeping mats, whilst Thesinger, meanwhile, tossed and turned the entire night as the sharp rocks below him made him extremely uncomfortable...So much so that it stopped him getting any sleep at all...The next morning it was the pansies that had the last laugh on Thesinger, he now being too tired to retaliate to their merciless ribbing at being such a stubborn fool!  ;D

richardh1905

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Re: Sleeping mat matters
« Reply #27 on: 23:42:29, 23/06/18 »
 ;D
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richardh1905

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Re: Sleeping mat matters
« Reply #28 on: 10:07:24, 24/06/18 »

HI Marmot tungsten,  I am 6'3" and could give you 13kg and still be slightly heavier than you. I didn't have my sleeping bag with me that day so just winged it with my poncho.  Truly I wanted it to work,
Will stick to my adapted foam pad till I find what I'm looking for.


Have you seen the Klymit Inertio O Zone pads, jimbob?


Smaller gaps, so might be a bit better for people who sleep on their side or move around a bit. A bit heavier than the X frame though, but not unbearably so.
WildAboutWalking - Join me on my walks through the wilder parts of Britain

jimbob

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Re: Sleeping mat matters
« Reply #29 on: 10:32:58, 24/06/18 »
Will look into them, Richard.

Currently I use a cut down foam mat sheathed in foil /foam car "beach  mat" cut and taped down the sides with aluminium jointing tape.  Very light. No probs with cold. I get to sleep on it. BUT it rolls up too big for any rucksack known to average man. So is strapped on in a bin bag.


Too little, too late, too bad......

 

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