Author Topic: Opinions on the Vango Thermocore or a possible alternative.  (Read 3223 times)

Johnny Thunder

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Morning everyone. I am after a bit more of your wisdom if possible.
I am looking to add a sleep mat to the bag of kit and the above has caught my eye.
I would love to go out a throw £150 at one but that is just not in the budget at the moment.
The Thermocore is around £54 at the moment. I could probably up this to around £75 if need be.
I would just like to know if anyone has any experience of this mat good or bad.
I am 6'1 with a fairly large build. I do carry a little timber around the middle. I pull the scales to around 15st 10. (ish)
I would also very much appreciate any other possible mats you may recommend within this budget
I am mostly a side sleeper.


Thank you.

richardh1905

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Are you intending to camp in winter? In which case insulation becomes important. If not, there are a host of budget non insulated inflatable mats out there.
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karl h

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My go to mat at the moment is the Alpkit cloud base which is a steal at under 42 pounds. I own a few Thermarest neo air mats but think the cloud base is better. The Vango mat seems very heavy and not that cheap and the reviews on Amazon ( for what thats worth ) are poor.
HTH ;)


Edit to add link - https://alpkit.com/collections/sleeping-mats/products/cloud-base  

gunwharfman

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I've only ever bought Thermorest ones. I bought a 2" thick self-inflating cheaper one, it worked well but its roll up a size was just too big, about 4-5" diameter, so always had to be strapped across the top of my rucksack. I now use it when we have visitors and I sleep on the floor for the night, ideal!

I then bought a 1" thick Prolight, this one was and still is tricky, I have to be very precise with inflation, too little air and my hip bone becomes sore as it rests on the hard ground beneath, too much air and its like sleeping on a concrete block. Very good at keeping the cold air below though and rolls up small. I have a choice with this one, strap it across my rucksack or it fits vertically in one on my rucksack side pockets. The Prolight is ideal if the air pressure is right when I use my Bivi.

My most used mat is my NeoAir, great because it rolls up super small, or folded in half lengthways rolls up to the size a can of coke. I can then choose to strap it to the top of my rucksack, roll it up and store vertically in a side pocket or just pack it inside my rucksack. Nine times out of ten it goes inside my rucksack. Its main drawback is that I have to blow it up manually, not difficult though.

I have never felt the cold, to my knowledge, of getting through from the earth below. If I was to properly winter camp I may experience them as not working so well?

If I was to buy a new mattress I'd like it to be self-inflating, 1.5" thick, 6' long, 28-30" wide, to not have to be so precise with the air pressure to be comfortable and be able to roll it up to the size of a coke can. Does one exist?

Johnny Thunder

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Are you intending to camp in winter? In which case insulation becomes important. If not, there are a host of budget non insulated inflatable mats out there.


I do intend on camping in winter Richard, but I would probably buy a second mat to cover this when the time comes.

Johnny Thunder

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My go to mat at the moment is the Alpkit cloud base which is a steal at under 42 pounds. I own a few Thermarest neo air mats but think the cloud base is better. The Vango mat seems very heavy and not that cheap and the reviews on Amazon ( for what thats worth ) are poor.
HTH ;)


Edit to add link - https://alpkit.com/collections/sleeping-mats/products/cloud-base




Great. Thanks for the tip. I will have a look at it.

Johnny Thunder

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I've only ever bought Thermorest ones. I bought a 2" thick self-inflating cheaper one, it worked well but its roll up a size was just too big, about 4-5" diameter, so always had to be strapped across the top of my rucksack. I now use it when we have visitors and I sleep on the floor for the night, ideal!

I then bought a 1" thick Prolight, this one was and still is tricky, I have to be very precise with inflation, too little air and my hip bone becomes sore as it rests on the hard ground beneath, too much air and its like sleeping on a concrete block. Very good at keeping the cold air below though and rolls up small. I have a choice with this one, strap it across my rucksack or it fits vertically in one on my rucksack side pockets. The Prolight is ideal if the air pressure is right when I use my Bivi.

My most used mat is my NeoAir, great because it rolls up super small, or folded in half lengthways rolls up to the size a can of coke. I can then choose to strap it to the top of my rucksack, roll it up and store vertically in a side pocket or just pack it inside my rucksack. Nine times out of ten it goes inside my rucksack. Its main drawback is that I have to blow it up manually, not difficult though.

I have never felt the cold, to my knowledge, of getting through from the earth below. If I was to properly winter camp I may experience them as not working so well?

If I was to buy a new mattress I'd like it to be self-inflating, 1.5" thick, 6' long, 28-30" wide, to not have to be so precise with the air pressure to be comfortable and be able to roll it up to the size of a coke can. Does one exist?




Thank you for the reply. I will have a look at the NeoAir range.
I must admit also, I have not looked at self inflating mats. Maybe I should.

richardh1905

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My go to mat at the moment is the Alpkit cloud base which is a steal at under 42 pounds. I own a few Thermarest neo air mats but think the cloud base is better. The Vango mat seems very heavy and not that cheap and the reviews on Amazon ( for what thats worth ) are poor.
HTH ;)


Edit to add link - https://alpkit.com/collections/sleeping-mats/products/cloud-base


Interesting. I have something similar to the Alpkit Numo, got it in Lidl for about £17. Not quite as light though, but very comfy. Liked it so much that I bought another two for the family.
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richardh1905

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I do intend on camping in winter Richard, but I would probably buy a second mat to cover this when the time comes.


..then I would definitely go for a cheapo mat without insulation. I like the look of the Alpkit Numo - https://alpkit.com/collections/sleeping-mats/products/numo


As I said to karl, I have a Lidl equivalent with longitudinal tubes, very comfy.
« Last Edit: 17:44:05, 26/05/20 by richardh1905 »
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richardh1905

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Thank you for the reply. I will have a look at the NeoAir range.
I must admit also, I have not looked at self inflating mats. Maybe I should.


Self inflating will weigh more, and probably not be as thick.
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SteamyTea

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I use a Klymit Static v2 uk.
10 to 12 puffs and it is ready for use.
Packs up small, mass of 462g and an R-Value of 1.3, but not sure if that is imperial or metric.
I have used it on frozen ground and not felt cold.
It is noisy though.
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karl h

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..then I would definitely go for a cheapo mat without insulation. I like the look of the Alpkit Numo - https://alpkit.com/collections/sleeping-mats/products/numo


As I said to karl, I have a Lidl equivalent with longitudinal tubes, very comfy.


Been tempted by the Numo a few times. But i have too much gear.... I must resist :D  My Downmat has the longitudinal tubes and that's very comfy but we don't talk about how much I paid for that  :-[

richardh1905

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Been tempted by the Numo a few times. But i have too much gear.... I must resist :D  My Downmat has the longitudinal tubes and that's very comfy but we don't talk about how much I paid for that  :-[


I googled 'downmat' and the prices caused a sharp intake of breath! :o
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richardh1905

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I use a Klymit Static v2 uk.
10 to 12 puffs and it is ready for use.
Packs up small, mass of 462g and an R-Value of 1.3, but not sure if that is imperial or metric.
I have used it on frozen ground and not felt cold.
It is noisy though.


Ah yes, R values. Not sure that is much of a standard method for measuring the insulation that a mat provides - do they take account of the uncompressed sleeping bag filling in the dimples, for example?


I would imagine that there is not a great deal of difference between different uninsulated lightweight mats. I have seen a figure of 1.8 quoted for a Chinese cheapie, but not sure what measuring system used (or if I would believe it even if I did).
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SteamyTea

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Ah yes, R values. Not sure that is much of a standard method for measuring the insulation that a mat provides - do they take account of the uncompressed sleeping bag filling in the dimples, for example?


I would imagine that there is not a great deal of difference between different uninsulated lightweight mats. I have seen a figure of 1.8 quoted for a Chinese cheapie, but not sure what measuring system used (or if I would believe it even if I did).
Assuming that it is a SI unit, and there is a 15°C temp difference, then the power lost though the mat to the ground is about 12W.
I am not sure what a well wrapped up person who is asleep produces, maybe 100 to 120W.
So it accounts for around 10% of thermal losses.


[this is really hard to establish as it depends on sleep orientation, thickness of clothing/sleeping bad, compression of mat, temperatures differences, sleeping metabolic rates, size of person.... I do find it comfortable though]
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