Sleeping systems - bags, pads, matts, liners

if it's down just concentrate on the fill power. anything under 650 is crap, good stuff is 800, super good is 900-1000.

As I said, i'll post an ad later

I fidget and roll about but I tend to be a side sleeper and this mat is perfectly comfortable. Ive used a thermarest one in past and whilst it was lighter and a bit warmer it was no comfier and cost about 3x what the decathlon bad boy did.

I saw this recommended on this thread an was considering:
https://www.alpkit.com/products/cloud-base

That looks pretty ace, cheers

Am side sleeper, have Alpkit Numo. It's alright and I've happily bivvied on it down to -5° or so (at a guess). However, I have had three leaky valves. 2 sent back immediately, the third one didn't leak at first but started to not long after. Sealed it up with superglue though.

Probably wouldn't recommend the Numo but Alpkit do have other mats that are fairly cheap and probably decent

Anyone bought a bag from Aliexpress or similar. Avoid or give a go?

I have a numo too (I've posted about it somewhere before), I like it but it deflates slowly through the night. I'm guessing it has a leaky valve too. Where have you spread the glue?

On all 3 that I had it was the pointy end of the plastic piece surrounding the valve. You could try blowing it up and jamming it in the sink and see if there's any bubbles, should be fairly obvious. I used some sort of rubberised super glue to fix it.

So I foolishly missed out on some super cheap and nice discounted sleeping bags on Sportpursuit because I couldn't make up my mind which one to get and I'd like to be better prepared to take advantage of future offers I might encounter. It will be my first proper sleeping bag purchase.

I'm 180cm... will a normal length sleeping bag suit me comfortably or will I want a long bag?

What temperature range do I want to look out for? I'd camp on bike trips anytime between March and October probably so night time temperatures as low as -5°c would be a possibility. I presume it's better to be too warm than too cold.
I also travel by ferry a lot for work so something hard wearing that I could use for kip on the boat would be a bonus.

Any other top tips/ potential downfalls?

Budget is c. £100-120.

Bear in mind that a normal length bag will be either warmer for the same weight or lighter for the same warmth than a tall one. You're about as tall as me, I'd go for a regular size.

Good advice. Regular bag it is. I should have bought the Zajo Venture -5 at 50% discount.

Ive been using a numo for a while and not had any problems with leakage overnights.

Used it at festivals too and only need to top it up every 2/3 nights

Never forget #whatpressureyourunning #lowpressure also counts for sleeping mats. Roll in supremely supple comfort

Looking for a lightweight bag for bikepacking, ideally 1-5c comfort rating and under 1kg if anyone's selling anything?

Alternatively does anyone have any good reccomendations for other forums that might be a good place to pick one up second hand? I'm thinking hiking/camping type forums with classifieds?

To buy from:
Bearbonesbikepacking
Singletrackworld
eBay

For something like that you could get something cheap second hand from Alpkit which would be ok if not amazing

Cheers, picked up a VGC Mountain Equipment Xero 300 for 120 smackers, for that kind of money new I’d have been looking at synthetic or a pipe dream 200 which is nowhere near as warm. Only about 7-800g, hopefully it does the job.

Got to find a hammock now!

well played, that looks like a fab bag

So Alpkit are sold out of their lightest/smallest sleeping mats.
Really fancied the cloud base. Anyone have one to sell?

Is the answer to what sleeping mat always Thermarest Neo Air Ultralight?

Has anyone tried the more wallet friendly Decathlon forcaz?
£30, packs small (but not as small as the Thermarest) and is not insulated. It's only for 1 night trips during late Spring/Summer.

Is the answer to what sleeping mat always Thermarest Neo Air Ultralight?

NeoAir Xlite in normal conditions
NeoAir Xtherm if doing sustained camping below 0º
Prolite if you want to spend a little less £££ and like self-inflating rather than blowing it up
Z lite even cheaper, very bulky but some people find it incredibly comfy

You get what you pay for...
But the forclaz is £100 cheaper than neoair.

I'd get one, and try it, if it's crap then get the neo air. Perhaps try at home first, then you can return.

There's a (new?) OEX mat at Go outdoors that looks v.similar to t.n.a. xlite, 40 notes

http://m.gooutdoors.co.uk/oex-fulcrum-ev-self-inflating-sleeping-mat-p360871

Buy cheap buy twice may apply.

twice the weight of the xlite tho

Super handy!!

Thanks all, will digest later, agree on buy cheap buy twice approach.

Weight builds strength ;)