Info on super light weight foam mat

[Mickl]

Hi All

Just trying to track down a super light weight foam mat similar to the Thinlight foam pad Gossamar Gear sell to use underneath an inflatable mat. Just after something like that which is light and thin to protect my air mat sleeping under a tarp and possibly boost the R value a small amount.... Anyone know of a local supplier of that same thin lightweight foam...Alternatively anyone offloading one of the GG foam mats...

[Avatar]

3mm light blue CCF from Clark Rubber. About $25 for 50cm X 2m. Just roll it up and secure with velcro tape which they also sell. Brilliant stuff - essential for snow camping.
I also use a 6mm piece 50cm X 75cm - just enough to cover hip and shoulders pressure points (which transmit heat out) for the top. Also protects inflatable pad against elbows digging in to cells and can be used as a sit pad. Takes up same volume rolled as the 3mm piece. Repair with duct tape patches. Round off the corners. Rolling up is a bit of a skilled art but having these is worth it for piece of mind.

[ofuros]

Big W has cheap colourful foam rolls in their
sports/camping/fishing section...for around $5.

[Moondog55]

Experience tells me that the thinner it is the less effective it is, both from a protection POV and as insulation Also it is CHEAPER to get one from K-Mart and I don't think the extra 30 grams really means much

[Neo]

Good morning I had a few of questions on this topic, please correct me if I'm wrong:

EVA is the same or a type of CCF/closed cell foam?
Kmart have a roll with a silver coating on one side, I suspect its a bit of a gimmick and wouldn't add much more insulation, flaking off and leaving bits of silver everywhere?
CCF doesn't absorb moisture, maybe a little on the edges. I was thinking to use it under the floor of my tent to double as floor protection..?
Cheers

[Moondog55]

EVA is one of the many types of Closed Cell Foam

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene-vinyl_acetate

Confusing because Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol is also called EVA

The Acetate form is the common type

[Ubiq]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/com ... _thinlite/

Worth a read before committing to the GG pad

[andrewa]

I use 2mm CCF from Clark Rubber as a "tent floor" under Exped down mats in winter. Makes everything very cosy, and allows condensation to dribble underneath the mat, which is great.

Have also used smaller bit under an air filled thigh length mat in summer in NZ, and found it provided enough useful insulation to be worthwhile. Wouldn't bother with anything thicker.

A

[CasualNerd]

Kmart have a roll with a silver coating on one side, I suspect its a bit of a gimmick and wouldn't add much more insulation, flaking off and leaving bits of silver everywhere?
CCF doesn't absorb moisture, maybe a little on the edges. I was thinking to use it under the floor of my tent to double as floor protection..?
Cheers

I have one of these and it's awesome in the cold, adds a huge amount of warmth probably because it's so flat the air pockets underneath your inflatable mat are more pronounced above the foam mat. It won't last forever but i think they're $6, I just cut one in half, folded as a sit pad.

3mm light blue CCF from Clark Rubber. About $25 for 50cm X 2m. Just roll it up and secure with velcro tape which they also sell. Brilliant stuff - essential for snow camping.
I also use a 6mm piece 50cm X 75cm - just enough to cover hip and shoulders pressure points (which transmit heat out) for the top. Also protects inflatable pad against elbows digging in to cells and can be used as a sit pad. Takes up same volume rolled as the 3mm piece. Repair with duct tape patches. Round off the corners. Rolling up is a bit of a skilled art but having these is worth it for piece of mind.

Also from Kmart there's a blue 2-3mm ccf yoga mat that weighs about 120gm from memory, and is also ridiculously cheap, like $3

[biggbird]

EVA is one of the many types of Closed Cell Foam

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylene-vinyl_acetate

Confusing because Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol is also called EVA

The Acetate form is the common type

Yes, I'm sure that must be confusing for so many people

[AWTtrekker]

I have one of the really light kmart 'yoga' mats that are only a few ml thick(mine is lime green). It was a bit long so I cut it down and use the offcut as a 'toosh pad' for when I stop for lunch. It weighs next to nothing, I use it under a sea to summit non-insulated mat. The combo comes in at less than 450g as my winter option and I ditch the foam mat in summer.

[Mickl]

Went to Kmart today and had a look and the 3mm green mats are $4 and really light. They are shorter than the other mats at 140cm x 50cm though. The think blue yoga mats at $6 were surprisingly heavy for the thickness, a lot heavier that a normal bed roll. They also have a green mat with silver insulation on one side and a normal pink bed roll both which weigh about the same weight. I must not have picked up a normal foam bed roll for a while though as I was surprised how light the normal size ones were when I picked them up. Looked for a kitchen scale in store working so I could compare the weights but couldn't find any...

[Neo]

Ha! I looked for scales too the other week. Also asked at a chain outdoor store once, they didn't have any.

[Mickl]

I've had the discussion with lots of staff at outdoor shops about weights and why they don't have scales in the store...I think the masses aren't as weight focused as some of us

[andrewa]

Take your own scales. Even staff in proper bushwalking shops often have no idea .

A

[Stew63]

Good morning I had a few of questions on this topic, please correct me if I'm wrong:

EVA is the same or a type of CCF/closed cell foam?
Kmart have a roll with a silver coating on one side, I suspect its a bit of a gimmick and wouldn't add much more insulation, flaking off and leaving bits of silver everywhere?
CCF doesn't absorb moisture, maybe a little on the edges. I was thinking to use it under the floor of my tent to double as floor protection..?
Cheers

I bought some thin 3mm EVA30 foam matting from Clark Rubber last year for protection under my Neo Xlite inflatable - not for insulation. After querying the significant difference in price per/m between EVA vs. PE the shop assistant explained one of the differences in the materials is the 'memory' of each of the types of foam. The elcheapo PE CCF 'foam' is less durable (easily tears) and after compression does not readily reform it's shape and stays 'dented' after pressure has been applied - ie. from rocks, sticks, elbows, straps, cords etc. Whereas the EVA matting is more durable and reforms it's shape after compression. 3mm PE vs EVA both weigh about the same per sq/m. EVA foam comes in different densities and thicknesses - the number after the EVA is the density rating not the thickness. For the same thickness EVA30 is extremely light (less dense) whereas the EVA350 is of much higher density and therefore significantly heavier.

Anyway - that's the way I understand it.

[Moondog55]

Also there are chemically blown and pressure blown mats. Pressure blown are much {MUCH} more expensive but wear better and compress less
Old Karrimor Karrimats are still sought after because they were pressure blown and at 8mm thick were warmer than the cheaper 10mm chemically blown Karrimor mats [ thinner Green mat Vs thicker Yellow mat] if you can find a New Zealand army green mat these are pressure blown or were until a couple of years ago

[Orion]

https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/comments/66twzu/how_ridiculous_is_the_gossamer_gear_thinlite/

Worth a read before committing to the GG pad

The 1/8 inch Gossamer Gear Thinlight pad isn't intended for use as a stand alone cushion/insulator. It's for putting under your inflatable pad, to minimize slippage and the risk of puncture. For that they work pretty well. I wish I'd had one with me last summer when I popped my pad twice in one night while cowboy camping.

Just for reference, by my measurement the Thinlight foam Gossamer Gear is currently selling has a density of approximately 31 kg/m3 (same density as EVA30). The 1/8" thick Thinlight pad is about 100 g/m2.

[Neo]

I was curious about the nike fundamental yoga mat so lashed out on one at big w for $29. Its 173x61x3mm so 11cm wider than the cheapest offerings and half the diameter when rolled. Turns out it weighs in at 390g so I can confirm that its not the cheapest or lightest!
The material is a ccf SBS styrene-butadiene-styrene with a fibre sandwiched in the middle. No info online about its insulating qualities or use for sleeping. Is used in different ratios for shoe and sports materials and mixed in building products.

I put it on the ground and pitched the tent on top. There was a very noticeable difference between it or just the tent floor (cold without). With a short air mat on top that rates itself as -1 to 4 degrees and pillow I slept quite well. Heels were a bit cold. As all the ccf mats are too short for me I'll either have to add a piece of this one to the regular 8mm roll in the garage or vice versa, or take another punt and cut a custom sized piece from clark rubber which may cost as much and come out heavier.

[Moondog55]

new house building sites can be a source of UL foam for under tent use.
The foil backed PE is used under engineered fooring and I often see stuff in the skips, if you ask before it goes in the skip it wn't be full of holes and will be stll clean

[Avatar]

My Clark Rubber 3mm blue PE CCF mat 183 X 50 X 0.3 cm weighs 88g and cost $25. Not sure of its R rating. About 0.9? Lasted for ages now. I wouldn't leave home without it.

[kitty]

"Highlander Reflective Camping Mat" 76g without the straps.
I use it under my mat or to sit on (not suitable as a stand alone mat by itself as its too thin). The silver side is surprisingly warm.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Thermal-Refl ... SwYIxYBoJ4

[Mickl]

Kitty do you know roughly how thick that mat is?

[kitty]

I think it is 1.5mm because if I fold it in 2 it is similar height as my 3mm mousepad.
The pictures show the type of foam, which definitely is not very dense, and the folded picture shows how thin it is.
I imagine that the denser 2mm EVA foam would provide a lot more puncture protection, but this thing is so packable (into different dimensions) and light and I prefer to take it than to take nothing for under my mat. It can be squeeky with an Exped mat on the silver in which case turn it over (silver side down).

[Moondog55]

That is the same stuff I'm talking about It is for use under floating floors Cheap as dirt when buying by the roll

https://www.bunnings.com.au/qep-silver- ... y_p6650148

[Moondog55]

And I just bought a third of a roll for $5- at the local recycle so if anybodgy wants some come and get it. I'm happy to share as i don not need all of it and it is too thin to use under our flooring

[Neo]

Here is a price list from Clark rubber for their eva. The charcoal eva30 3mm was a bit stretchy and the black eva75 felt the strongest. Comes in a 2x1m sheet as the largest, they will cut 500mm square or multiples, calculated in 'units'

[Neo]

The Nike mat from Big W has been really good this winter.
Not the cheapest or lightest.
Rolls up to a fairly slim tube, can fit inside or vertical outside my 45L pack.
Works well to complement my short air mat, to stand on, to sit on, under the tent floor, to stretch on and to lay gear out on.
Have seen plenty of the plain mats get quickly chipped which means bits are getting left in the bush.
The material of the Nike mat and fibres in the centre must be stronger than the cheaper ccf.

[Moondog55]

I thought that the yoga mats were butyl but I can confirm that while heavier they do seem to be a tad warmer when used as sit-upons but perhaps that is also to do with the fact that the scrap I was using was very thick in comparison

[gbedford]

The density is the key.
A quick check is to squeeze the mat between thumb and forefinger. If the dent stays any length of time then the mat is low density, cheap, nasty, little insulation and padding and will fall apart easily.