Insul Mat - first impressions

“So I picked up this mat (and a snow peak pot set :o) ) with my REI dividend and initial testing on the cold hard surface of my living room floor is positive.

Inflates easily, seems lighter than the specified weight, but I can't be sure until I get a scale.
Comforct factor seemed high and there was ni sign of my hit bottoming out.
Packs up very small and for $55 (free with dividend :o) ) it includes a stuff sack and repair kit.
Seems a little crinkly, but fairly tough. I'm quite pleased with it and chose it over the thermarest pro-lite 4 - I'm fairly happy with that decision at the moment, as for a full-lenght matress it weighs less.”

“Did you sleep all night on it? Your living room floor is probably a pretty good approximation of a shelter floor.

How thick is it? How much is the listed weight? Will chili and cottonsocks go to the beach or to Little Rock this weekend?”

“ermmm, no, I watch some TV on it, I already think it's kinda mad to try my gear out on the living room floor, but we won't talk about where the tarp tent is pitched.

Listed weight is 1llb 7ozs, bout 2-2.5" thick. nice and comfy.

Little Rock!”

“"the cold, hard surface of my living room floor"

Sooo... when you guys split... the wife got the place and you got the grocery cart on the street?

HEHEHHEhehehehehehehe”

“yes, where's your pink thingy when I need it Lizs ;op

Actually I have a very nice apartment. Quite happy with it .... so there! ;o)”

“Little Rock!!!!!!! or 11 point if Stikmon will email me.”

“Dang, I could arrange for you to get a pink thingy, too?????

LOL

well when I read "the cold hard surface of my living room floor" my mind could only envision concrete.

And then I thought of this one friend whose son kind of ended up with a shopping cart existence on the streets of Seattle (only temporarily). All of us friends were so nice. We told her he probably had a Christmas tree in that cart -- it was the holiday season -- and that she could send him lights.... although he'd have to find outlets, of course, but boy oh boy, wouldn't it be joyous???!

LMAO!!”

“lol lizs, ok well you've found me out - but it's a luxurious shopping cart and I'm the envy of all the bums in the district.
I'm having a high speed internet link installed at the weekend, and for illumination there are plenty of street lights.
I mean really, it's just downscale RVing.”

“What a bunch of softies in the newer gererations. Pads on top of platforms in the shelters! Do like me and just sleep on the platforms. It helps to build a strong character.”

“Sorry, thought the title was a typo for

"Insult Matt"”

“been using the insul mat for over a year and it has been great, have the full length mummy bag shaped pad......”

“I just ordered this mat, includes the stuff sack and repair kit. More importantly free shipping and no sales tax. I could have gotten it cheaper but by the time I added shipping it was more expensive.

”

“I'm looking at getting one too. Where did you get it?”

“I got it at http://www.backcountry.com/”

“Thanks. I'm going to pick one up before my kids trip in May.”

“Also, I got mine at REI. very easy”

“That is a nice pad. Suprisingly we dont see many of them leave the store at campmor”

“I got mine last summer. I love it. The older you get the more pad you need. During the winter I put a foam pad under it.
When packing in my pack I just fold it flat and put it in against the back of my pack before loading anything else. It takes up no room that way. A couple of times I thought I left it at home because it fits so flush in the back of the pack.”

“You will love it. Inflate it all the way then lay on it and let out air a little bit at a time until you are comfortable.”

“My insul mat developed a small hole. :( I didn't get a repair kit along with the mat. Anyone have any idea how to repair this? The vendor rep at Trail Days told me to plug the hole with silicone, but I would think that would easily rub off with use. I sent an e-mail to the company, but I haven't heard back yet.”

“...I like my little z rest. It's warm , cushy enough for me and super light weight. Plus you can't put holes in it and it doubles as a seat for sitting round the campfire. You can however rip it at the seams....but no worriies, I've not ripped it yet despite not being that nice to it...and duck tape works wonders. :)”

“Creek....my Big Agnes Insulated is leaking (second one)

So I am with you on the repair thing. Try the usual patch stuff. For silicone maybe the rep was talking about using that as filler under the patch. I am wondering how SHOE Goo would work?”

“surely the vendors of these pads sell repair kits... i would think they would do a brisk business.

also, i would think the thermarest repair kits would work well. these are bombproof and use that "hot-bond glue" and a cloth cover. the repair will NOT leak and i doubt if you could push a nail through the repaired spot. haha!”

“You know XL, I wondered about Shoe Goo too. That stuff is amazing. I am planning on trying the patch stuff (thanks Sarge)if I can find a kit at the local outfitter, but I was wondering if anyone had any experience repairing their pads.”

“pitts - that link above is the repair kit”

“that's a different kit. it uses a different adhesive from what thermarest uses.”

“oh, foiled again”

“so much for your master plan”

“Ok, I trekked over to the outfitter at lunch. They didn't carry the Insul Mat repair kits. So I called the company and the repair guy said to use "Seam Grip" on the hole. He said to seal it when the pad is deflated. Use a very small amount - just enough to cover the hole. Let it cure overnight. I asked him about the Shoe Goo and he said he had never used that and wasn't sure if it would work well.

I found the hole by dunking the pad in the bathtub and looking for bubbles. I kept losing the tiny hole after taking it out of the water, so I marked the hole with my finger, dried the spot and then circled it with a permanent marker.
last edited: 8/27/07 10:58:20 AM”

“I hate waking up in the morning directly on the ground. Grrrrrrr...”

“Tell me about it! On our GA AT hike, I had to wake up every hour and blow up the dang thing. And this lasted for a week! But it is one of my favorite pieces of gear and I hope I can fix it.”

“I'm sorry I don't do impressions my training is investigations....(LOL)

”

“You lost me there XL...”

“So I sealed the hole with Seam Grip. This worked really well, except that I think I have another hole! The pad lost air within a few hours. Grrrrrrr. I dunked the pad in the tub several times. Looked carefully on both sides of the pad and the edges. I thinkI found a very small pin hole, but not sure. I sealed the spot. Wish me luck.”

“Im tellin you you need a Z REst....you can't get nasty little pin holes and it weighs nothin! I swear... I think you'll find it surprisingly comfy and warm...I'll let you try it out this weekend if you want :)
last edited: 8/31/07 6:31:37 AM”

“Check the air valve, CD. Mine leaks there if I don't get it just so.”

“LOL, my bones are way too old for a Z rest! But I will give it a try this weekend. Thanks.

Ok, I think I found another really small pin hole. I sealed it with Seam Grip and I think I fixed the problem.

I wondered about the valve Stovey. Maybe I am tightening it down too much. I did put extra seam grip around the base of the valve.

If I have problems this weekend, I am definately sending it back to the manufacturer for repair.”

“They are very nice looking bones. ;-)”

“You are too kind. :)”

“I'm trying out an insul mat, that Green Monkey lent to me, this weekend. I guess I'll have to send it back to him sometime, huh....

:p

Hostage situations can be rather fun.”

“You know what they say, MS Doo.
Once you go Insul Mat,
you'll never go back.”

“I don't get why these insul mats are so great...they get holes for cryin out loud. I like stuff you can abuse :) lol.”

“Cuz it's like sleeping on a cloud...until you get a hole. lol”

“Hostage situations can be rather fun.”
MsDoolittle
8:08:01 AM
8/31/07

what's the going ransom for an insulmat these days?”

“what's the going ransom for an insulmat these days?”
Roam Around
1:02:55 PM
8/31/07

Depends on how much I like it. The more I like it, the higher the price goes. ;)”

“I'm with SPS on this one. I need to sleep with something that can take some abuse.”

“i bet they are great on snow - no sticks or rocks to poke holes. and the extra thickness and air spce will probably add insulating value.”