That bubble that formed in your green pad was in mine the very first time I opened and tried using my REI AirRail 1.5. It was my first ever sleeping pad purchase and first time I used it, so I stupidly assumed it was meant to have a giant bubble in the middle 🤦🏻‍♂️ The bubble was in the center, so when my center of mass laid on it, it flattened out and propped up your legs and torso. Seemed weird but intentional, so I didn’t do anything about it. Now seeing how others’ pads are… I realize how wrong mine was 😑

If you're inflating with your lungs, it's a good idea to inflate and deflate the pad a few times with a pump when you get home, to get most of the moisture out

Good old foam mats...after years of air-mats I went back to foam about 7 years ago and I have never looked back. I use the German Army (Bundeswehr) Folding mat in the same way that yu showed and just bite-the-bullet and use a thick, petrol station purchased, foam mat under it in Winter (lowest temp this year was -29, just to give an idea of range). Love your work mate. P.S. exped mats suck (I have owned 7 that all failed inside warranty) but otherwise they make very good gear...I rock a bunch of their sleeping bags and love them.

The delaminated mattress is actually perfect.. i sleep on my back with my legs elevated normally. Flip it around and its ideal.

Deflating: zig-zagfold it (not rolling) then sit on top, let the air escape, close the valve, roll it up until the remaining air is expanding towards the valve, open it, roll up the rest. Works with therm-a-rest and all the rest. The delaminating mats (t-a-r) I saw were mostly due to packing with a closed valve during elevation/temp changes ( flights !)

I love my thermarest z-lite! Can't wait to see your other gear videos

Super helpful videos, Chase. Thank you!!

I also had an exped down mat de laminate on me. I had left it in the sun a bit too long. I was drying it out and left it out a bit too long.

I'm so glad that the grey sleeping mat is recommended by you! I'm in the process of slowly acquiring gear and that is the mat I was planning on buying since my dog's nails won't poke through. What a relief! ✌

Great vid, thx Chase can't wait to see how your next adventure goes! Loved how you got the scissors out! I combine an old-school CCF roll with a ultralight 3/4 self inflating mat on top. Very warm, comfy, cheap, lightweight and I use the CCF mat for stretching in the morning, laying out gear, lying next to the fire etc you can't beat it for a multi-use item

Any matress should have a float-score :-D

Expeds had that delamination issue during that time period that that have apparently fixed since then.

Thermarest: the non-reflective side has to face the backpack. If the reflective side faces your back it will reflect the heat and make your back warm and sweat

My packframe is the Nemo Switchback Short. 10.5 oz. A bit heavy. And since I'm bringing an air pad anyway, a little redundant as well. Additive R-value though.

The best way to deflate a mattress with a small valve is to open it - when you are still on it - before you get up. 😉 Also Exped should move into the ultra light body pillow market. Looks like they are halfway there.

When I researched sleeping mats, I quickly stepped away from Exped as there were just too many people with delamination issues. Decided for sea to summit, where I didn’t find a single such report. Would suck if that happens in the wild, like it did for you :/ it will replace my Decathlon mat which is perfectly fine, especially considering the price. Just not that great of an R value and while not uncomfortable, there’s always room for improvement and I wanted to try something new this year :)

I think you are mistaken. That hump is a built in pillow! But seriously that would've sucked hard halfway up a mountain. Smh!

Ah, I have been looking at that Sea to Summit Comfort Plus Insulated mat for a while with lustful eyes! It is just sooooo expensive 😑 It actually helps to see that you are going back to a foam mat; it makes me less inclined to shell out such a huge amount of money for the Sea to Summit...

I'm sorry but the zlite was a nightmare for me in the Canadian rockies. Glad that it works for you. For me, I'll take the extra weight with the tensor insulated to have a better sleep and less hip pain.

I had the same problem with my exped 9lw downmat. I wasn't blowing it up by mouth, either. Very unsatisfied.

I had a NZ Macpac mattress delaminate one night, and it sounded like a rat scuttling around. I use the inflater bag with my Exped now and have no moisture problems.

You can deflate the pad pretty fast by sucking the remaining air out of it by the out valve. You’ll get it vacuum empty in a matter of seconds. I guess you had figured this one out, though

Had this weird problem with a lowlands sleeping bag in combination with my thermarest, it had some sort of coating that made it slippery like teflon. If my camping spot in the mountains was not perfectly level i would constantly slide downhill while trying to sleep...

great video chase, as usual :) looking forward to following along your summer thru hike!

Big Agnes Rapide SL Insulated is all I love and take everywhere

Exped FlexMat Plus No Hassles with Air Leaks perfectly comfortable

As far as the thinner pads go, I was always told to pack about 2-3 foot high pile of leaves under the tent or surface for the sake of comfort and added padding. It’s also wise to spray basically everything with bug spray if it’s that kind of weather.

Chase, you can buy that kind of matress by Decathlon, R value = 2.1, 370g and... 12€. And don't worry is you cut it Bad! 😄 Thanks for your vidéos.

Guessing you're on a budget but a few manufacturers make half inflatable pads like Nemo but I dont think they have much of a market abroad. All inflatable mats will eventually delaminate at the baffle seams so I wouldnt necessarily blame inflation by mouth. As much as I like Exped mats its also why I wont buy them anymore because, at least State side, Thermarest, Sea To Summit, and Nemo offer Lifetime warranties (and honor them) where Exped is 5 years. If I'm spending $175-$250US for a mat its nice to know I dont have to throw it in the garbage and eat the cost of another when a weld seam or valve fails. I have read that Exped does have excellent customer service though despite not competing in warranty on paper. Foam pads have their place in addition to a inflatable mat but not sure I'd trade it away these days. Its pretty close to basically sleeping on the ground comfort wise. Especially above the timberline where its mostly rock. There are a lot of good inflatable options in the 400-500g range. Personally I feel the toll of a poor nights rest long before a little extra weight.

Great video! - Or you could go with a Neo Air Uber Lite at 8 ounces for max comfort and it packs down to the size of a beer can. Quite pricey though. Thanks for sharing and Happy Trails

I personally love the SeaToSummit range. I've used the Ultralight, Ultralight Insulated, Comfort Light, and Comfort Plus. The only one i didn't like was the Ultralight, as it was too cold camping on rocks and at elevation, and there are better options for lightweight mats. SeaToSummit is the best at warm and comfort mats. I use the Ultralight Insulated and Comfort Plus alternatively in the warm and cold seasons now, but the Comfort Light was great as a solo all-year-rounder if on a budget.

Exped have a history of delamination, the same happened to me with another Exped which actually had the foam hand pump. Hopefully they have improved things by now but I am staying clear still.

I find that a pre-roll works pretty good with some sleep pads

I've found thermarest to be top notch with quality and not to mention the warranty is extremely solid. Their ridgerest closed cell foam has more longevity over the accordion style one. Also Im able roll up my tarp or tent inside if wet to offer protection as well as keeping it on the outside of the bag. you could also do the same with other gear you have or water which can keep it insulated as well. If you keep some food this way be sure to remove before sitting on it. Iolz

That thruhike sounds like the GR20 to me ;) Might run into you there, I'll try to do it in august. Good video, by the way. I have switched to a closed-cell mat as well (nemo switchback) but haven't tried it out yet.

brilliant video thanks chase

what made you choose the thermarest option rather than the equivalent cheaper decathlon model ? Did you know it existed ?

I recently spent a couple of exceedingly uncomfortable nights on a self deflating down filled mat whilst on a track clearing and maintenance exercise. Not very pleased and I'm about to seek and destroy the leak/s with thinned down silicone sealant.

CCF pads are NOT worth it (imho). Uberlite is lighter, warmer, larger, more comfortable and MUCH more packable than your setup. Xlite (small) is MUCH warmer, more comfortable, just as light and MUCH more packable. All inflatable pads can also double as back support on the inside of the pad when folded correctly and with a little air still inside. Only when you get to ~3mm thick CCF pads do you really start saving weight, but then it takes a special person to deal with the cold and uncomfortableness.

This guy is legit. Very good channel.

I would worry about getting a sweaty back carrying the zfold like that Chase!

Great tips ! I have the exact same pack and I thought of using a Z-lite as well, but one thing bothers me : what if it rains ? The mat would pretty much be soaked/wet in minutes and I don't know how I'd deal with that. Any thought on that matter ? :)

To be fair Exped will replace your defective mat under warranty. They had an issue with manufacturing that caused the beams to seperate.

Having an insulation pad against your back for summer hikes might get pretty hot and sweaty I’d think. I’ve got this pad as an extra foam pad for cold winter camping in combination with an inflatable 3 season mattress.

I use a Thermarest NeoAir X-Lite and recently a NeoAir Uberlite. Hundreds of nights on the X-Lite and no issues. Now the Uberlite is my goto pad and so far so good. I have used a Z-Rest and though it insulated me from the cold ground, it was never comfortable which produced fitful sleep. The inflated pads are much more comfortable and I get better sleep.

I have the comfort plus XT in large rectangular - super comfy but it’s a heavy one though.

Hello. Have been enjoying your posts greatly and you have some sound knowledge. I’ll be looking at your ways of fuelling the body which is of interest to me and how to lighten the load. Have been a chef for 29 years working in some fantastic places and started dehydrating my on foods. I have two kitchens as cook for my locals after lock down, a dehydrator so have been messing around with ideas of preparing healthy foods for the back packer. Let me know if you’ll be interested for some samples. Keep up the good and honest work 👍🏻

Perhaps you should try the torso size mat from decathlon, for 30€ it's a way better solution ! Good video tho 👍

great review, thank you!

the Exped mat is self inflating. That means it inflates itself. It took me like 30 seconds to top of my exped Megamat 10 so it can't possible have taken you 30 minutes unless you didn't let it inflate itself for a few minutes.

how comfortable can you feel sleeping in the sea to summit on summer?

Deflation: the reason I returned the thermarest uberlite. And maneuvering in a tent makes it doubly difficult. Settled on a Sea to Summit.

I had the same thing happen to my Sea to Summit pillow. I only used it a few times and I went to inflate it once and it kept getting bigger till it looked like a football. Funny enough I thought it was still pretty comfortable. I have pretty broad shoulders and like thick pillows anyway, but it was annoying that my head would roll off of it too easy😂

Big Agnes Rapide SL, so good I sleep on it @home :-)

Trim the ccf pad down, oh just heard you had that planned anyway! Perfect pad for long distance summer hikes

Hey Thanks Love it big guy

What do you think about the Big Agnes air core ultra insulated? Have you ever seen anybody using it?

Hi Chase Great video.... I'm preparing for some new mountain hikes myself.... I was wondering if you stay warm, sleeping at 2000+ m using only a cell foam mat.... Why not go for a xlite at 360 grams size regular (or 230 gr at size small) Do you stay warm ? Rgrds from the lowlands (NL) Sjoerd

Upps big mistake .... Thermarest: non-reflective side has to face your back (the reflective side has to face the backpack)....

If anybody living in Europe is looking for the exact same Sea To Summit mat... I have 2 Large ones I am looking to sell. They are as good as new, with complete repair kit and the sleeve.

🙋🏻‍♂️ when you’ve gotten most of the air out of the pad and you don’t want to slide your arm down it to remove the rest…. Suck the air out 😂 I know it’s a little weird but… it’s a habit I have when removing air from ziplock bags when storing things like nuts or other snacks for my son so they take up less room.. cheers

Cheers from Aosta Valley dude!

I'm buying a pop up camper this week and am planning a 14 day trip in mid to late November on the Canadian border. The camper comes with a heated mattress but I don't know how warm that will get and I am always cold. Should I buy one of those sleeping pads that are rated 4 or above and put it on top of the heated mattress or would that not be effective? Are these pads meant only for tent camping? Would the warmth from the heated mattress heat the camping pad all the way through so that I feel it in my sleeping bag? Temps are supposed to be in the 20's but I want to be prepared for worst case. Note that I am always cold.

More great stuff 👍

Dude, why not a NeoAir? The Women's Xlite is only about an ounce more (~30g) than your "Camp Essential Light Mat," and has an R-value of 5.4. Good enough for everything but winter backpacking. And the Xtherm isn't even a ton more, especially in context of that 1050g (!!) pad.

Can’t wait! 👍

So funny, did the same with my Z-Lite like 2 months ago. And got inspired by your gr11 gear breakdown with the back support, so I made the 8 segments of the mat my back support. I also swapped the paracord from the front of the pack to the back, to make that possible. Funny seeing you do the same thing with the mat afterwards :D Already did my first little thruhike with it and it worked out really well as backsupport as well as for comfortable sleeping. What trip have you planned for summer? PS: I actually cut it about 8cm narrower as well, so that it's not to long on the back when carrying the backpack. works out fine for me :)

haha i love the pregnant exped mat xD

I like the Savotta Finnish mat. Built to survive the apocalypse, and still light. It's not air inflated though.

Me: buys first mat Chase, the next day: here are the best and worst! Me: o-oh no...

Ooh thats why the exped pad is so cheap

Exped sucks. I had 4 expensive matts, extremes, all of them lost shape. Can't hold air. Same quality wth their tents. Just stay away. Overpriced and shit quality

👍👍

Read my Name Psychotronic Harrassement OPERATEURS

Howdy! What’s the back pack name? @chasemountains