Thoughts on Exped 7; 9 down mattresses?

“I think the Exped 9 down air mattress is new, so was wondering about it...

Here's my situation. Almost totally love my Insul-Mat Thermo Max. I went from having a regular to a short (I curl up so felt the regular was overkill/unneeded additional weight). A friend got a wide one (yes, they are available, but I forget where). He loves that.

Here's my beef and, to quote that ole phrase, "It's not you, it's me." lol....

1. I am still getting sore hips. I need to try underinflating a little... but think I have tried that in the past and it didn't help much.

2. I am a horribly cold sleeper!!! I was out a couple weekends ago and even with my Insul-Mat in this flannel cover I made, I could still feel the plastic-y material it's covered with.

3. It slips all over! The flannel cover was to help with A) warmth and B) hopefully making it stay put. Still it slides around. aaargh!!! I realize there is something you can lightly put on it to help with slippage, but am never sure WHAT it is... and the last thing I wanna do is put some chemical junk on it that would ruin the mattress.

Speaking of which, what material is on the exterior of the Exped? Similar to a Thermarest? Or an Insul-Mat?

I just know I sleep really rotten when backpacking or camping. In July I was out 10 days camping while traveling. Am way sleep deprived by Day 2. I'd be willing to try the Exped... but want to know more. Also, what is the difference between the 7 (or is it 7.5?) and the 9?

(Also, would not go with Big Agnes. I recall when a bunch of you had problems with them a year or two ago. Big Agnes did give them great customer service, but why not go with a place where you don't need customer service in the first place? I give kudos to Insult-Mat/Pacific Outdoors for that!)

Thanks!”

“Hey lizs,

I have an Exped, 5 years old or so, use it year round in the Rockies and now in the Cascades. Nice comfort level and warm. I sleep cold. The only issue is the design for inflating it. It'll warm you up before bed!”

“lizs - I have the same issues of sleeping cold with my Big Agnes Air Core. I bought a 5/8" thick closed cell foam pad which I shortened by 18 inches. The foam piece left weighs only 5 ounces. I strap it to the top of my Big Agnes with two very light-weight pieces of cloth tape my wife had.

Note, I also use the foam pad in my Thermarest lightweight chair kit. So, I have a 16 ounce chair and the pad doubles as insulation for my sleeping pad.

I think it was Stovestomper or someone who told me about doing this and their is a pic on a thread somewhere.”

“lizs why not try Phil's suggestion, it was the first thing that came to me and I would be willing to bet it is lighter than a piece of flannel. Plus it can double as a camp seat.”

“Man that's a bummer lizs. It sucks when you have multiple issues with a pieces of gear. It's gotta go! The slipping thing can be be solved with a piece of that rubber mat stuff you line your cupboards with. Just cut a 2' piece and put it between the mat and the tent floor.
last edited: 8/06/07 2:13:26 AM”

“Nigal lines his shelves with rubbers.

Hehehe”

“To keep my thermarest from slipping I used Seam Grip seam sealer (comes in a tube) and ran a big squigly line on each side of the pad (letting it dry a day before flipping over to do the other side).”

“I have been using the Exped 9 for about a year and a half now.
It is wonderful:
You will sleep much warmer
It gets you up off the ground so that your hip don't touch the ground
It levels out the ground surface-little rock and roots go unnoticed
And, I have had no problems with slipping around on it-I guess it is because you slightly underinflate the mattress to cradle you body.

Pumping it up is an acquired talent, but once you get it, it is not that big of a deal.

I'd say it is probably the best purchase I have made in the last five years. (This includes the purchase of a Black Diamond Lighthouse; a Big Agnes Seedhouse2; and a Osprey Aether 80.) I used my old thermarest last weekend, because it was summer and the down mat might be too warm. Boy, what a mistake. I will definitely take the Down Mat next trip-because of the comfort.
It is just comfortable.”

“lizs - I have one with a slow leak that I am too lazy to fix - you want to try it let me know - hog_on_ice on hotmail”

“Hey Liz, I've had an exped downmat 9 since last fall. I was having problems with sore hips, cold butt/feet (even in warmer weather). I purchased my downmat and I won't go back to anything else!!! (I was using a thermarest). In the summer, I have found it is a lil heavy... so this summer, mountainrunner and I bought Exped Airmats - no down. They are just as comfy when you don't need the warmth. They have to be in the top ten of which item I can't do without.

The downmat 7 is not as thick as the 9. I would for sure go with the 9 if you are a cold sleeper - and you will never ever touch the ground with your hips. Mountainrunner bought a downmat 9 deluxe - that thing was HUGE - and not to mention heavy. So I would stay away from the deluxe size. But buy one!!! You won't be sorry :)”

“Interesting ideas! I do have a separate chair kit with foam pad I could take with. Also, I just didn't know what stuff I could safely "squiggle" onto the Insul Mat.

Elsewhere, a Stephenson Warmlite system was mentioned. Sounds like a great system, but holy freakin' expensive. But I really like this??!??! On their website, we have either a naked woman in the bag with boob showing... or a guy with a man boob. I'm thinking it's the former, since later they have a bad drawing of a naked woman to show how to measure for the bag. WTF?!?? Am I seeing things?!?!??

http://www.warmlite.com/bags.htm#anchor146829”

“Lizs is posting porn????


Hi Lizs!!!”

“Lizs, maybe you can only use the warmlite system if you live in a nudist colony? Or that could be the new form of ultralite backpacking... no clothes!”

“lizs - you are not seeing things err well actually you are seeing "things"

wrt Warmlite DAM vs Exped DAM - the Exped is less slippery”

“Hey Lizs, I bought the Downmat 7 using my REI dividend and really love it...in fact, I liked it so much I made Steep and Cheap my homepage hoping to catch the Downmat 7, short as I thought that would work beautifully in the Hennessy, which it did.

The Downmat 9 IS heavier but I would go for it as I'm a big believer in comfort...since I weigh next to nothing the Downmat 7 works for me now but if I were a normal person I would have got the 9...I also bought it because I find it hard to blow (yep, out of context quote, here I come)...check out the "tips and video" link on this webpage...I've found many do not really know the optimum way to inflate their Downmats...
hit the link below, follow the menu on the left and click on "Exped Products", "Downmats", then, under the pictures of the mats, check out "tips and videos"

http://exped.com/exped/web/exped_homepage.nsf/b43HomePageE?openframeset”

“After a while I switched to a Coghlans Air Pump with a home made adaptor for blowing up the DAM - considerably faster for about the same weight - cough cough also builds good muscles in your forearm cough cough - see link : http://www.campingsurvival.com/coairpu.html”

“Someone on the "other side" said the Stephenson's are naturists/nudists. Someone else said, Interesting way to advertise!

LOL... count me surprised!”