Walking Forum
Main Boards => General Walking Discussion => Topic started by: BuzyG on 01:34:19, 17/03/20
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I have read many a kit list for the mountains. A number of MRT deride the use of a sit mat as a frivolous toy for tourists. That will blow away at the first opportunity. Prefering apparently to sit on their ruck sacks.
I don't follow this argument at all. I always carry and often use my little yellow sit mat. I have had the same one since I started back waking it works a treat on wet grass rock or snow keeping my bum warm and dry whilst giving me access to my rucksack, which I can then lean back on for further insulation on a cold day.
I have had two bobble hats blow off and never be seen again though. ;D
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I always use a sit mat. Great for wet or uneven (rocky) ground. Occasionally it sticks to icy rocks :) I don't understand sitting on your bag - won't you crush your crisps?
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I don't carry one but I certainly don't deride those that do - each to their own. If I can't find a decent rock or log, I'll just sit on my cagoule or rucksack.
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I have a small collapsible chair, think it has a mass of 800 gm. May change the legs to CF ones if I can.
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Never heard of a sit mat before, no I don't carry one. I use a big plastic bag to keep my bum dry. Find a big rock, or a log, or a grassy bank, preferably with a wall behind it to support my back. Would never sit on my rucksack.
ilona
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I too have a yellow one that I’ve had for years. Weighs nothing. Several times I have nearly left it behind, once I did walk off about 20 yards before realising. Have to be careful it doesn't blow away when you get up!
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Me, never had one. Sit on me rucksack or jacket.
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I rarely if ever sit, too hard to get going again. I prefer to keep moving, if I need a break, I take it standing up and make it as short as possible.
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I rarely if ever sit, too hard to get going again. I prefer to keep moving, if I need a break, I take it standing up and make it as short as possible.
That explains it...... ;)
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;D ;D ;D
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I use the Compact Kumfie.
(https://i.postimg.cc/4dcWqTjD/folding-sit-mat.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
I picked it up in Blacks for a couple of quid. It opens up to 15" x 11.5" and folds up to 4" x 11.5" so slides nicely in to my pack or the back pocket of my gillet. Hardly any weight and it's easy to clean. Keeps my backside dry and warm in winter. I use to use my pack, but snacks tend to get squished and had to keep getting up if I needed owt from my pack.
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That is a very pretty blue colour but I am not sure I like the logo.
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I use a mat and sometimes a small tarp too, and have been known to use my lunch box as a pillow and fall asleep in the sunshine. Only to wake myself up because of snoring. I apologise to any wild life I have disturbed in the past.
I have no objection to sitting on grass or logs. It is just that I cannot remember the last time I came across any dry ground. ???
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That is a very pretty blue colour but I am not sure I like the logo.
It is easy to clean though.!
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I have a sitmat, but only use it as an extension to my 3/4 length sleeping mat when winter camping (rare). I've added a foil surface for warmth and use as a stove windshield.
The rest of the year I generally use a pound shop picnic rug (you can layout on it) also stops muddy knees as a footprint for the tent vestibule.
If day walking, will either use my map case or the skirt of my poncho if really wet - generally I don't bother with anything.
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Yes - just an Ebay (Chinese) 99p version
High density foam.
Folds up to not much more than a 'fag-packet'
Weight 25 grams
Waterproof & keeps the sharp stones from digging 'in ya bum'
(https://i.postimg.cc/xNV2Lckg/A1.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/xNV2Lckg)
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I always carry two sit mats, one to sit on and one to put my bare feet on.
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Great comments and pretty much what I was expecting. Take a look across the net at kit lists for a trip to the mountains though and the handy little [censored] either don't get mentioned along side the midge net and sun glasses or even worse a few sites pooh pooh them as a bit of a pointless gimmick.
Perhaps we are all just a bunch of low land softies on here. ;D
Seriously though, as well as being handy day to day, for quick stops, I consider mine part of my emergency kit should I become immobilised. Decent insulation from cold ground can be a life saver.
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Not to mention one of the better ways to ease aching piles :-\ :D
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I don't carry one but I certainly don't deride those that do - each to their own. If I can't find a decent rock or log, I'll just sit on my cagoule or rucksack.
Richard, just to let you know you are not alone, I follow your school of thought O0
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I don't bother on a day walk.
But I do take one on a longer Hike where I am camping. I find it useful to place in front of the tent door so I can crawl out without wetting knees. I then stand on it to keep my feet dry as I get my boots on.
Funny enough I can't ever remember using it to sit on.
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Nice comfy chair for me, with a backrest,
Worth its weight in gold after a good walk and even more so if camping,
April and I use them in the tent without the chair legs, to lean against, no more ""dead arms"
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I don't sit down on a walk. Snack breaks are taken standing up so my legs stay fresh.
If camping, and thus sitting down in the evening, I'll have my sleeping mat anyway.
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A sit mat is the best value bit of kit I ever bought. Makes lumpy rocks comfy, stops you getting a wet bum and insulates from cold ground/rocks in winter. Yes you have to remember it when you get up. It might blow away and it is very annoying to find you have closed up the rucksack and forgotten it, usually whilst still sat on it!
Regarding just sitting in the rucksack, well, mine ain't very comfy.
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Got given a tiny one years ago and it lives in the rucksack hydration bladder space . This has the happy side effect of my back heating it up for a heated foam seat for my stops - luxury! It's also used to insulate my feet in the tent since I usually cut my mats short to save space/weight.
For MRT use it's not going to work as well though because you're usually out in all conditions, and need something heavier which won't be flying around + robust. Many rescue teams are issued with larger insulating pads which do a similar job but about 4x the size, can sleep on them and protect casualty from hypothermia.
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it is very annoying to find you have closed up the rucksack and forgotten it, usually whilst still sat on it!
Yes I do that more often than not!
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I don't have a sit mat. I find that a plastic bag is sufficient to sit on. Alternatively, I might lean against a gate or tree while I have my packed lunch. I never sit on my rucksack.
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So do I. I was expressing this problem to a friend, (new to walking) as she was suffering from sit-mat envy, saying she would buy one at the next outdoor shop she came to. Ten minutes later we rounded a corner, and there sitting on a rock was a sit-mat, no doubt left behind by the previous walker. A posh one, with some fancy brand name stamped on it. She now has a much classier sit mat than I have!
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By so do I, I mean close up the rucksack while still sitting on the mat. Should have used the quote thing.
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Ten minutes later we rounded a corner, and there sitting on a rock was a sit-mat, no doubt left behind by the previous walker. A posh one, with some fancy brand name stamped on it.
Obviously not mine then! ;D
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On a day walk I take a sit mat or a light collapsible chair, longer than that I don't bother. If the ground is wet I use a carrier bag I usually have with me.
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Love my sit mat - cold hard bumpy rock transformed!
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I have no objection to sitting on grass or logs. It is just that I cannot remember the last time I came across any dry ground. ???
I always have a sit mat in my pack. As well as keeping dry it also acts as an insulator tostop heat loss.
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it is very annoying to find you have closed up the rucksack and forgotten it, usually whilst still sat on it!
Totally agree. Frequently done that.
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Clearly there is much love for the humble sit mat. Be sure to include it on the kit list, should you ever provide one for others to use. O0
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Clearly there is much love for the humble sit mat. Be sure to include it on the kit list, should you ever provide one for others to use. O0
I am the man who walks alone and I carry a mat for no man! (And neither will my wife, who also walks alone with me!) ;)
Once started, we walk until the end and stop for nobody and nothing (except views, stiles, gates and in her case cows).
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On a day walk I take a sit mat or a light collapsible chair, longer than that I don't bother. If the ground is wet I use a carrier bag I usually have with me.
A light collapsible chair? I have never seen a hiker carrying a chair however light and collapsible. Intrigued. Picture or link to what this is.
I cannot believe many would want to add such weight to rucksacks already heavy enough - mine certainly is!
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A light collapsible chair? I have never seen a hiker carrying a chair however light and collapsible. Intrigued. Picture or link to what this is.
I cannot believe many would want to add such weight to rucksacks already heavy enough - mine certainly is!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lightweight-Folding-Camping-Chair-Portable-Outdoor-Fishing-Seat-Ultra-Light-UK-/324011357859?hash=item4b7094f6a3 (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lightweight-Folding-Camping-Chair-Portable-Outdoor-Fishing-Seat-Ultra-Light-UK-/324011357859?hash=item4b7094f6a3)
Similar to what I paid more for.
I intend to swap the legs to carbon fibre ones sometime soon
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https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07C4WP7SZ?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Lightest/smallest I've found, atleast without breaking the bank
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More than 25 years ago, my local branch of the Ramblers insisted that a mat for sitting on was compulsory kit. Sadly, I'm not longer a member. And I have long since stopped using a mat. I was probably one of the youngest members (mid-twenties) back then, so just did as I was told. I was gifted a blue mat on permanent loan from an unnamed walk leader. Other rules; don't wear your boots on the coach, and don't wear your coat on the coach or you won't feel the benefit when getting off.
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More than 25 years ago, my local branch of the Ramblers insisted that a mat for sitting on was compulsory kit. Sadly, I'm not longer a member. And I have long since stopped using a mat. I was probably one of the youngest members (mid-twenties) back then, so just did as I was told. I was gifted a blue mat on permanent loan from an unnamed walk leader. Other rules; don't wear your boots on the coach, and don't wear your coat on the coach or you won't feel the benefit when getting off.
Not sure if you are serious about being told that a mat was compulsory or if you are joking.
I can see the sense in not wearing boots on the coach, ditto wearing your coat, but if I had been instructed that about a mat I would have told them to kindly get stuffed.
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Not sure if you are serious about being told that a mat was compulsory or if you are joking.
I can see the sense in not wearing boots on the coach, ditto wearing your coat, but if I had been instructed that about a mat I would have told them to kindly get stuffed.
Hi Fernman, I'm serious. If doing a walk graded A+ or A, you rarely sat down and the rule wasn't enforced. But on walks graded B+, B & C, not having a sit mat was heavily frowned upon.
There was usually 5-7 regulars on the A+ and the walk usually turned into a race, the walk leader always wanting to get back to the coach before the A and B+ walkers. I think the urgency to be back first ruined the A+ lead walks. The only difference between A+ and A was the amount of scrambling involved. And an 'A' walk had more ascent than a B+. I think the B+ walks could be anywhere between 12-18 miles. Some of the strongest and experienced walkers were B+ walkers, and rarely did an A+ walk because of this mentality. I think some of the most affable walkers had sit mats. But because I was younger, I was expected to walk A and A+
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Hi Fernman, I'm serious. If doing a walk graded A+ or A, you rarely sat down and the rule wasn't enforced. But on walks graded B+, B & C, not having a sit mat was heavily frowned upon.
There was usually 5-7 regulars on the A+ and the walk usually turned into a race, the walk leader always wanting to get back to the coach before the A and B+ walkers. I think the urgency to be back first ruined the A+ lead walks. The only difference between A+ and A was the amount of scrambling involved. And an 'A' walk had more ascent than a B+. I think the B+ walks could be anywhere between 12-18 miles. Some of the strongest and experienced walkers were B+ walkers, and rarely did an A+ walk because of this mentality. I think some of the most affable walkers had sit mats. But because I was younger, I was expected to walk A and A+
You will be telling us you had to wear a school tie next. ;) What a complicated grading system for a simple day walk. :o Our group walks nearly always include a race to the highest point of the walk. O0
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Rigel - did you get to wear red socks outside your trousers or weren't you senior enough and were restricted to grey?
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Rigel - did you get to wear red socks outside your trousers or weren't you senior enough and were restricted to grey?
;D The only red I wore was a then ultramodern Gore-tex jacket. I feel that if I had a navy blue or green jacket, I wouldn't have been seen as such a Johnny-come-lately. I should imagine it was the colourway of my jacket and my not having a sit mat that got me off on the wrong foot. If I remember correctly, it took a full 12 month's worth of Sundays before I was a allowed to second a walk. I genuinely don't think they trusted me to lead a walk because I was only in my mid-twenties and had a dislike of Kendal Mint Cake. No self-respecting red-socked Rambler is ever going to follow a twentysomething upstart who didn't even have his own sit mat. If I had the audacity to wear red socks, I would have probably been named and shamed in the monthly newsletter, and made to sit at the front of the coach!
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Rigel, reading your reply #41 I'm not surprised there were only "5-7 regulars".