Sleeping systems - bags, pads, matts, liners

We have a Trespass double ‘car battery pump/foot-pump-inflatable’ mattress that occupies a reasonably sized box when not in use. It is noticeably more comfortable than the decathlon single mattresses we have for the kids.

Exped megamat all day long. . Comes in single and double. You won't regret it. Though they may not actually be that much smaller. But its almost like 75% as comfortable as my bed at home so I don't mind the size while car camping. Comfort while car camping is the whole point of car camping IMO.

That looks right up my Strasse. It's for the Trans Alba didn't fancy my tent.

I had hoped to be able to whip up a shelter with a small tarp but because lack of experience and tiredness a bivvy bag seems the best option.

May have to sell a tent to fund it though!

Consensus is that they sleep colder than their rating. This is old but I don't believe the design has changed.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/8yyz9q/has_anyone_tried_the_s2s_ember_down_quilt/

Cheers- that's helpful (if a little disappointing)

What tents do you have?

I'm starting to become a bit of a camping/bikepacking hoarder even though it doesn't feel like I do that much. :S

Thanks.

That's a hard no from me then.

MSR Elixir and Alpkit Soloist XL, also now wanting one of these Lanzhan types as well.,🤦

Due to the lack of back insulation/fabric with a quilt, I wouldn't fuck around with them.

I've had a Katabatik Palisade (30f/-1.1c) and now a Nunatak Arc UL (3of/-1.1c). The Palisade was not wide enough to fully wrap around me and actually keep me warm, and in my experience - and lots of other people's - quilt width with off the shelf quilts is the biggest barrier to staying warm. Was my fault though - I should've ordered a wide. I'd always err on the side of caution and buy a quilt where I can specify the width - and make sure its actually wide enough - because a narrow quilt is a cold quilt. @hippy for someone of your build, you'd absolutely need a wide quilt (as I do), and there's no way those S2S quilts would cut it.

I also don't like horizontal baffles. Down WILL shift to the sides of the baffles, leaving the top of the quilt with less down and therefore you will be colder. I experienced this with my Katabatik. They mark it as a selling point so that you can shift down around if you get too hot, but its nonsense and you will just get cold.

Since I purchased my Nunatak, I haven't looked back. It's exceedingly warm and absolutely matches its temperature rating. It has vertical baffles and there is absolutely no down shift. The edge tension control (a piece of elastic that runs around the back of the quilt) also means you can really cinch yourself up in the quilt. They're expensive but absolutely worth it. Customer service is exceptional and you're supporting a truly small cottage maker.

General consensus on r/ultralight is to buy a quilt from Nunatak, Gryphon Gear, Katabatic for premium options and Hammock Gear as a budget option. And buy sleeping bags from Nunatak, Feathered Friends or Western Mountaineering. The other options are too close in price to the above guys to bother with them -as their product is sub-par vs these^.

There've been so many horror stories with underfilled bags and quilts from Enlightened Equipment, so I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole anymore.

Unfortunately good quilts are hard to come by in the UK...

Without making any effort to go and hunt for the query about double sleeping pads, this popped up on my Instagram earlier.

https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/rapide-sl-insulated-double-wide-sleeping-mat/

Buy any mid quality air mattress, and get a car-powered pump. Make sure the air intake to the mattress is a precise fit to the air outlet of the pump - so don't buy on the internet /mail order. We did 50 nights on a 7.99 pump from Tesco when we first started.

We've done every type of self inflating mattress under £100, but they all puncture as easily as a 19.99 one, so we have gone back to basic mattresses, and a separate pump. Also, get one of those super-fluffy fleece blankets, and use a vacuum bag to transport it. Use it as a mattress topper.

These are good for car camping, can hook two together to make a double bed and use an Alpkit Double Dozer as the mattress

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/inflatable-camping-bed-base-camp-bed-air-70-cm-1-person/_/R-p-309887?mc=8595949

Edit - they’ve gone up a lot in the past few years!!

ah this looks perfect actually - just ordered two. Thank you! (and everyone else who chipped in)

Will be interesting to see how comfortable it is. I've got a Nemo tensor insulated regular wide and the single version of this is tempting.

Consensus is it’s comfortable but sleeps colder than its R4.2 rating. Aka totally fine for three season camping.

£189
Weight: 1136g (excludes pad inflation sack)
Pad inflation sack weighs: 116g
Dimensions: 40" x 72" / 102 x 183cm
Thickness: Outer 4.25" / 11cm, Inner 3.5" / 9cm
Packed size: 6" x 11.5" / 15 x 29cm
ASTM R-Value: 4.2

vs. Exped 3R Duo, £240

R-Value: 2.9
Thickness: 7 cm
Length: 183 cm
Width: 105 cm
Weight Mat: 830 g
Packed height: 25 cm
Packed diameter: 14 cm

Ah, was that for the car camping question? Could still be a nice bikepacking option where weight isn't a big deal.

I'd only be interested in a single version for hiking/touring

Does anyone know where you can get Tyvek anchor tabs in the UK or somewhere that will ship to the UK for a reasonable amount?

I could punch eyelets into it but the tabs are a more pleasing solution.

Or can I make them and glue them on myself? 🤔

I was looking for a double after getting annoyed with the '2 pad gap' during our Maestrazgo trip.

The Duo 3R weighs about as much as our Neoair (330-370g) + Sea to Summit Ultralight Insulated, 430g combo.

And buy sleeping bags from... Feathered Friends..

Got a Swallow YF 20 over the holidays..twice the price of the Alpkit Pipedream 400 I used to own (taken by an ex, did me a favour), it is easily 5x the bag!

Don't want to start another dunk on Alpkit string of posts but it is in a different league.

As in tyvek tape?

A double mattress is great if it's compatible with both people's sleeping position. The ones which run tubes from head to toe are no good for my other half, as she just can't get comfortable on them. So it's probably not something I'd recommend making a unilateral decision on.

Yeah, Etsy has thrown up Tyvek book repair tape which might fit the bill. Only need a few bits rather than the whole roll.

Nice. FF bags do look great. That's the difference between a company that specialize in down and a company who makes loads of different stuff and just sub contracts all of their manufacturing to overseas factories.

May be useful for some people: If you message The Hermit's Hut and ask nicely, they might mark a low value on packages to the UK. They also offer free "overfill" with their WM bags. Works out much cheaper than buying here or from Europe. Also the UK seller, Ultralight Outdoor Gear, doesn't carry many of their products. I think the Sycamore MF looks like the best all-around WM bag. -4C / -7C (with overfill) rating, slightly tougher fabric, nice and wide + semi-rec shape, and zips open completely for when it's warmer / using as a blanket / with two people.

https://hermitshut.com/collections/camping

Mont from Australia also have some nice looking own-brand bags and other stuff (shirts, trousers, hats etc):

https://www.mont.com.au/collections/all-mont-sleeping-bags/

"Brindabella" models look great. I like the amount of detail they include too, with all the specs.