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gear review<br />
To further aid this it has an anti-slip GripSkin<br />
honeycomb pattern coating to help stop you<br />
sliding and it gives nice next to the skin comfort.<br />
The material used on both sides is 20D polyester<br />
with a TPU polyether film laminate that gives an<br />
air of durability.<br />
A good inflate/deflate flap valve system that<br />
sits nice and flat and makes inflating/deflating<br />
simple but you do have to make sure the flap is<br />
properly seated back in the valve so air won’t<br />
escape when inflating. There’s also a small<br />
plastic ‘pin’ attached to push the flap down when<br />
you wish to deflate, or you can just pull on the<br />
green flap but it is a little slow to deflate. If you<br />
are blowing it up by breaths it takes around 20<br />
to inflate it fully. To avoid passing moisture into<br />
it, it comes with a mini-pump that weighs in at<br />
45g and quickly locks onto the valve plus a small<br />
sack to put the mat and pump in. The stuff sack<br />
has a small pocket that holds the included repair<br />
kit. It’s a little slow using the mini-pump but<br />
Exped do the Schnozzel Pumpbag that inflates<br />
the mat much quicker. You can also use this as<br />
a large stuff sack.<br />
A favourite amongst the test team with regards<br />
to comfort, the extraordinarily light weight<br />
and a remarkable pack size given how thick it inflates<br />
to. It also provides a good level of warmth<br />
that’s ideal for two to three season use. In our<br />
eyes, if fast and light is the game then it’s one<br />
you should seriously consider purchasing.<br />
Klymit Static V2 Lite<br />
Weight: 463g RRP £72<br />
With a unique design, the Static V2 delivers<br />
reasonable comfort and packs down pretty small.<br />
The V2 uses body mapping to produce an ergonomic<br />
design with angulated baffles and V chamber<br />
construction to help minimise air movement<br />
and maintain loft. There are also side rails to help<br />
keep the body in place. It’s unusual in this review<br />
that it’s a rectangular shape, where all the others<br />
on test are tapered at the foot end, thus giving<br />
more wriggle space.<br />
In an effort to make the mat lighter Klymit uses<br />
a thinner 30D Polyester top fabric and a more<br />
durable 75D bottom fabric though it did get a<br />
puncture on a sharp rock during on test but it<br />
was easily fixed in the field with the included<br />
patch repair kit.<br />
The inflation valve was found to be fiddly<br />
given that you needed to twist it to unlock and to<br />
pull the top up then blow it up before pushing it<br />
back down and twisting to lock. With gloves on<br />
Exped AirMat HL M<br />
it was awkward and was the least liked of any on<br />
test. Also when you blow air into the mat and it<br />
reaches a point where it’s nearly full air escapes<br />
between breaths. It took around 16 breaths to<br />
inflate it fully.<br />
It was found to give decent comfort and stability<br />
for most users but some, in particular side<br />
sleepers, found the angulated baffles awkward to<br />
sleep on. The mat also makes a bit of a ‘squeaking’<br />
noise. It packed down small and though it’s<br />
not the warmest, its good compromise between<br />
weight, pack size and above all value for what<br />
you get. Worth a look if money if tight.<br />
Sea to Summit UltraLight Mat<br />
Weight: 395g RRP £90<br />
This mat belies its tiny packed size in terms of<br />
the loft it attains and gives a comfortable sleeping<br />
experience given the weight and size. This is<br />
down to the technology used by Sea to Summit<br />
using their Air Sprung Cells. They use a dot weld<br />
pattern to create a high surface area matrix of<br />
inter-connected chambers called Air Sprung<br />
Cells. As each cell (there’s 181 in the regular<br />
size) deforms independently the mat conforms to<br />
your body shape and feels softer with more body<br />
contact area.<br />
In the UltraLight they use a single layer set up<br />
of medium resolution Air Sprung Cells that gives<br />
good support on uneven ground plus the tapered<br />
‘mummy’ shape allows them to create such a<br />
light mat but still maintain an enjoyable degree<br />
of comfort. The outer pockets are also slightly<br />
oversized at the halfway point to help keep you<br />
on the mat but it still didn’t stop some rolling off.<br />
The downside is that it was the least warm of the<br />
Sea to Summit<br />
UltraLight Mat<br />
Klymit Static V2 Lite<br />
mats on test – not a problem in warm weather<br />
but if you want to push the seasons a bit you<br />
should consider the insulated version.<br />
The valve has a pretty flush dual valve built<br />
into one, a high flow rate intake valve plus a<br />
rapid deflate valve by pulling the silicon flap open<br />
to dump air very quickly, along with an ability<br />
to finely adjust the firmness of the mat. In use it<br />
took just six or so breaths to inflate it making it<br />
super quick and best on test. It was a system that<br />
everyone loved allowing the mat to be blown up<br />
and let down very quickly. It comes with a stuff<br />
sack, six self-adhesive repair patches and a spare<br />
silicone one-way valve flap.<br />
In summary, the ultimate mat for anyone who<br />
wants to have the lightest gear and smallest pack<br />
size but still maintain a great deal of comfort.<br />
A firm favourite with the testers, particularly<br />
those where every gram counts. 6<br />
www.climber.co.uk Sep–Oct <strong>2017</strong> 73
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