Bushwalk Australia

Good evening - So a dude called Thoreau said "Simplify, Simplify, Simpify" - so I am reassessing my life and that entails my hiking gear.
So...After sleeping for the past three years on an Exped I am just wondering if it is still possible to sleep on a cheap foam mat?

Is there anyone out there that does? Please convince me of your ways.

To add some perimeters to the problem I do not intend to be camping on snow (for snow I will still use my exped) but will be hiking in the victorian high country from october onwards.

Take it easy; or take it
j.

To be awake is to be alive." - Henry Thoreau

If I only had a closed cell foam mat I would "alive" most of the night. Only my feet sleep on a closed cell foam mat (2 folds a Zlite - 50g. doubles as a sit mat), the rest (pun intended) sleeps soundly on a short Neoair.

Last 2 days of my Bib hike last year I shared with an old pommie - "tea bags".
Real character and a wonderful person who has hiked everywhere it seemed including the USA Triple Crown (although each leg over 2 or 3 years not thru hikes).
He slept on a bit of tarp. Not even a closed cell mat!
Only a lttle bloke so I think that helped a lot.

used to use one for years, might take a bit of getting used to, its on the hard side to sleep on, but I had plenty of good nights sleep on one... perfectly warm enough on snow, better insulation than just about any of the new mats...

wayno wrote:used to use one for years, might take a bit of getting used to, its on the hard side to sleep on, but I had plenty of good nights sleep on one... perfectly warm enough on snow, better insulation than just about any of the new mats...

+1 what Wayno said.

Best insulation for weight and fail safe (but bulky). I still carry one as an extra layer (and back up) in cold conditions but too old and soft to sleep on just them now.

i used to use the close cell mats all the time too coz i thought blow ups were a little gay...and too heavy to carry around. It wasn't until i got a 3/4 one reaaaaally cheap off a friend that i realised what I was missing out on!! if i have a choice, i dont think i'd ever want to go back, they make you feel as cosy as your own bed. in saying that, i've been sleeping with out anything for the past 6 months out of necesity...on rocks, sand & grassy bogs. i'd have to say a springy grass goes the job fine, I seem to have gotten used to it

What would you think to gain by going back to a closed cell foam mat? They take up a lot of space. They may be a bit lighter than some mats, and their insulation is good, but they are very hard to sleep on.

Like many here, I started with a closed cell foam mat, but moved on to a 3/4 self-inflating thermarest about 20 years ago. I'm still using that same thermarest now and would never go back to a closed cell mat. The insulation is just as good, but its so bulky in the pack, and sooooo uncomfortable to lie on for any more than a short time.

Yes, but it's 4mm thick and half size. It adds heaps of warmth (or protection underneath) to a blow up mat and takes up 'no' space rolled into a tube. An old mate used a hip pad of foam. He sees that as luxury compared to digging the 'hip hole' of his youth

Knowing my inflatable mat is 'gay' I'll be watching it closely at night

Like Wayno said closed cell foam mats are great insulators and I always take one along if I'm on the snow or even on a single overnight walk when I have a bit of extra room in my pack. But... I'm not crazy about it on its own, so I still take my thermarest as well.

Always carry one, mainly as extra insulation and to protect the relatively fragile Thermarest. In winter I use 2 CCF mats, my Ridge rest Solar over the plain CCF and then my 3/4 thermarest. bulky but Oh so warm on snow

weetbix456 wrote:i used to use the close cell mats all the time too coz i thought blow ups were a little gay...and too heavy to carry around. It wasn't until i got a 3/4 one reaaaaally cheap off a friend that i realised what I was missing out on!! if i have a choice, i dont think i'd ever want to go back, they make you feel as cosy as your own bed. in saying that, i've been sleeping with out anything for the past 6 months out of necesity...on rocks, sand & grassy bogs. i'd have to say a springy grass goes the job fine, I seem to have gotten used to it

You thought Blow ups were a little gay!!

Did one go down on you??

Overlandman wrote:

weetbix456 wrote:Did one go down on you??

hahaha, i was asking for that...

Ah...thank you very much for all your thoughts.

Yes - What would I gain SOB? Excellent questions that got me thinking. Here is all that I can think of.
Plus
- I would gain about 300grams
- Peace of mind that the mat wont get a hole in it.
Minus
- As a negative, with a Blue cell foam mat I would have less space in my pack
- May not sleep as well

Its a bit of a conundrum really with no real side drastically outweighing the other side. Honestly, I think the peace of mind factor that they are indestructible is a major draw card. In saying that the number of Thermarests that have been used for years makes them seem like a just equal. I think it comes down to purely personal choice and how 'awake' you want to be; and how much you wish to confront the essential facts of life whilst bush walking. Is comfort a part of bushwalking or as Alastair Humphrey's say "A bit of discomfort is a small price to pay for bringing simplicity, minimalism, and a lightweight ethos to your trip."

After all, dont we just Bushwalk to get away from the comforts of suburbia?

In my experience, a bad nights sleep = a bad days walking. I'll stick to my Exped.

Never sleep as warm or as comfortably as I do in my hammock. Not so great above the treeline but otherwise a dream.

Matt

couscousman wrote:After all, dont we just Bushwalk to get away from the comforts of suburbia?

Not me!

I bushwalk to enjoy being out in the bush. If I can be comfortable while there (without increasing the discomfort of getting there too much), then I'm happy to do so. Of course there are limits to this (a hot water cylinder, for example is well outside those limits), but a good nights sleep on a comfortable mat is well within those limits for me.

wildwalks wrote:Never sleep as warm or as comfortably as I do in my hammock. Not so great above the treeline but otherwise a dream.

Matt

Ditto that!

However, I do have a CCF for a sit pad and that goes in the footbox of my top quilt under my feet in the hammock.

Sent from my obscenely large android phone...

You spend anywhere from 7 up to 12 hours(in winter) or even more if tent bound, on your mat. It needs to be comfortable. My progression has been; spare clothes, blue mat, thermarest, exped downmat. Each progression has been a giant leap forward in comfort. I still carry a square of blue mat as a seat, or when kneeling( have to look after those old knees).

Roger

Yeah, I use a high-density closed cell (HDCC) mat – 8mm thickness, 260g. Started with it 38 years ago but moved to a Thermarest (760g) about 5 years later – I still have both.

Six years ago, I decided to try the HDCC mat again (cutting down weight in preparation for a 10 day trip) and found it to be more comfortable ! – and a saving of 480g. Since then, I’ve been using the HDCC mat except on snow where I use both mat and Thermarest.

Yes, HDCC mats are bulky and some carry them on the outside of the pack - if you do this, PLEASE PUT IT IN A BAG – I’ve collected at least half a mat in pieces ripped off mats from the Southern Range in Tassie to the AAWT through the Viking Wilderness area (see this thread viewtopic.php?f=5&t=9108 )


All that said, I’ve recently bought a Thermarest compack chair and a Prolite 90cm mat - for shorter trips where weight is not so critical. Together with a 510mm square piece of HDCC foam, the total weight is 550g and at least as comfortable (imo) as my 38yo mat - but not as robust.

guilty, have only used a ridge rest for about the last 5 years incl snow time and alpine

don't remember the last time I used a SIM

CCF mat = portable concrete.

Ii occasionally take 2 mm portable concrete, but always take something more comfy, depending on season- eg thinsulmat, or thermarest, or more recent vvvv comfy / cosy down exped mat.

A

I find a short Ridge Rest and then the bivy pad packframe from my climbing packs under the middle of my back to give me a little platform is the best for my back. I slide around on SIMs and don't like having to take care of them. Plus they are expensive.

Then my empty backpack gets used for my feet. Works a treat.

I met a hardy chap from Europe on the OT last winter who was using a piece of bubble wrap to sleep on.

does anyone know where to find these maps for cheap?? i would like to cut one up and make a few "seats"... but the cheapest i have found is $20, which is a bit much of a "seat". i was hoping to find one for a fiver.

Dan, try at a '$2' shop, or hardware store (ask for the camping section), or a 'Disposal Store'. I have found the 4 or so I have while on bushwalks.

These have been roughly cut for seat padding in a kayak, a tiny donut for blister management, and corners snipped off for earplugs with corn (?) snow beating hard against the tent all night.

dannnnn wrote:does anyone know where to find these maps for cheap?? i would like to cut one up and make a few "seats"... but the cheapest i have found is $20, which is a bit much of a "seat". i was hoping to find one for a fiver.

Kmart have them. 1800x600mm I think. $5 for 5mm, $8 for 10mm.

I still use them but then again I still listen to records and watch videos, so.....?

I also still use a 9mm 'pressure blown' yellow 'Karrimat' (i.e. the original version of these mats, manufactured by Karrimor), which I bought from either 'Molony's' or 'Auski' in Melbourne in the late '70's. I wouldn't care to guess how many nights in total that thing has served me, but it's still going strong, and I've used it in all conditions.

It's true that Thermarests are more comfortable, but I value the fact that there is nothing to go wrong with a Karrimat, it's lighter than the alternatives, and I know I will be okay on it in any terrain.

My first mat was a Karrimore as well but it's hidden away in the cubbard now and an exped downmat 7 has taken its place. What a difference in warmth and comfort. It's about 3 years old and doesn't loose any air, great piece of gear when the years have slipped by.
FF

I have just sent in my second Down Mat 7 on warranty. The glue failed and the ribs became unstuck across about 50% of the mat. It was on the first night of sixteen on a winter trip. I would have happily traded for a piece of closed cell foam.