Getting a good night’s sleep under the stars on Mountain Warehouse’s self-inflating camping mat, £24.99.
Mountain Warehouse self inflating mat review
Product description: “An essential accessory for your camping trip, the Mountain Warehouse Ultimate Mat will ensure you get a good night’s sleep wherever you decide to lay your head. The perfect accompaniment to your sleeping bag, its lightweight design means it will not weigh you down, plus it even comes with its own adjustable strap and bag which makes this product as compact as it is comfortable. The self inflating mechanism means that with just a turn of the nozzle, within minutes it’s ready to go. The open cell foam ensures extra comfort and cushioning as you sleep, ensuring a peaceful night’s rest wherever you choose to lay your head.”
Camping: Just because you’re being all hardy and bedding down out in the wilderness doesn’t mean you can’t get a good night’s sleep. It’s easy if you’re staying in a campsite, of course – dump a few extra duvets in the back of the car and you’re grand. But if you’re wild camping, never fear! It’s just a question of packing properly. A lightweight, easily portable roll mat is essential to keep you insulated from the ground – sleeping straight on a ground sheet is no fun at all.
Mountain Warehouse‘s ultimate self inflating mat is an ideal size and weight – it’s not bulky at all and easily rolls up to the size of a loaf of bread, ready to strap onto your rucksack. I’m not sure it really classifies as self inflating, though – unroll it, open the nozzle and it’ll still need a few puffs of air to fill up properly, but getting it ready does only take a minute or two. Once inflated, the clever cell foam will stay cushiony all night. The tactile ripstop fabric isn’t slippery and stops you rolling off if you have bad dreams after too many torch-lit ghost stories.
Verdict: A durable, comfortable sleeping mat that’s also super light at only 750g. At £24.99, it’s a great all-purpose camping mat for trekking and wild camping that’s also friendly on the pocket.
P.S thanks to Sam of Beds for Cyclists for modelling for me.
multimat superlite air at 300g and £40 is nearer the ‘super lite’ mark.
750g is a bit too heavy.
Author
Hi David. Thanks! I think I meant ‘very light’ as opposed to actually classified as superlight.
The trouble with this review is the lack of context and comparison. On the face of it £30 (as it is now, claiming a 50% reduction from its supposed RRP of £60) for a self-inflating might seem OK, until you start looking at what else is out there within a similar price-range from reputable manufacturers/ brands known for making good mats (as apposed to to a pseudo-outdoors shop who just slap their logo on something), and then suddenly this mat plummets to the bottom of the list.
I appreciate its not easy to review a product in context if you haven’t got access to other similar products, but certainly a mention of other products to consider based on research alone would add lot of credibility to the review.
Author
Hi Rob
Thanks for your feedback!