Owner Review By Bob Dorenfeld
July 5, 2014
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Tester
Bio |
Name: |
Bob Dorenfeld
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I'm an active hiker, snowshoer,
skier, and backpacker. Home base is
the Southern Colorado Rockies, where I'll
hike from 7000 ft (2100 m) to above treeline,
with desert trips to lower altitudes.
Six to 12 miles (10 to 20 km) daily is my
norm, with elevation gains up to 4000 ft
(1200 m). Many of my backpack trips
are two or three nights, other trips are
longer, and I usually carry about 30 lbs
(14 kg). My style is lightweight but
not obsessively so - extras like binoculars,
camera, and notebook make my trips more
enjoyable.
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Email: |
geartest(at)sageandspruce(dot)net
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Age: |
56
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Location: |
Salida, Colorado, USA
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Gender: |
M
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Height: |
5' 6" (1.68 m) |
Weight: |
140 lb (64 kg) |
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Product Overview
Manufacturer: Exped
LLC
Website: www.exped.com
Year of manufacture:
2013
MSRP: US$155.00
Low Temperature Rating:
25 F (-4 C) Specified Thickness:
2.80 in (7.11 cm) Measured
Thickness: 2.8 in (7.1
cm) Specified Length:
64 in (163 cm) Measured
Length: 64 in (163 cm)
Specified Width:
21 in (53 cm) Measured
Width: 21 in (53 cm)
Specified Weight (Mat Only):
14 oz (397 g) Measured
Weight (Mat Only):
14 oz (397 g) Measured Weight
(Mat + Sack): 15
oz (425 g) Optional
accessory: Schnozzel Pumpbag
UL M
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The Exped SynMat UL 7 S is a very lightweight
air-filled sleeping pad, utilizing an insulating
synthetic fill of 60 g/mē Texpedloft microfiber.
The yellow top is 20 D Polyester, TPU Polyether
Film Laminate, with a honeycomb embossed
pattern, and is water repellant. The
gray bottom is the same material but without
the honeycomb pattern. There are two
valves at one end of the bottom, one for
inflation and one for deflation; both valves
use self-sealing thin flexible flaps to
aid inflation,
and both have sturdy hinged snap-in plastic
caps to seal the air in and keep the
dirt out.
Eight tubes run lengthwise, and the two
outermost tubes are slightly higher
(about 0.5 in (1.3 cm)) and wider to
provide a "fence" to help keep the
sleeper from rolling off. With an R-value of 3.10, Exped rates this
pad to 25 F (-4 C). The SynMat comes with
a repair kit (stored in its own pocket inside
the stuff sack) of instruction sheet, tube
of cement, and ample patch material in both
mat colors. I measured the packed
stuff sack at 3.5 x 10 in (9 x 25 cm), slightly
larger than a 1 L water bottle. Exped
warranties the SynMat for two years against
factory defects.
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Field Performance
This SynMat is a new item for me this 2014 season,
purchased in February, and first used on a three-day
backpack trip to the Utah Canyonlands in April.
Since then I've camped with this sleeping pad for
a total of 10 nights, all inside my tent.
This is my first experience with an air mattress,
as up to now I've always used some kind of foam or inflatable
foam for backpacking. At 64 in (163
cm) long, this mat accommodates my height of 5' 6"
(1.68 m) very comfortably, since I'm never stretched
out completely. So far I've been out in nighttime
temperatures from 25 to 42 F (-4 to 6 C), in conditions
ranging from still to windy, dry to rainy.
With the pad, at different times, I've used two
down sleeping bags: one rated to 20 F (-7 C) and
another rated to 40 F (4 C).
The SynMat
slips out easily from its stuff sack, and unrolling
and unfolding it takes just seconds.
Inflating
the SynMat is easy for me - it completely fills
with 12-15 full breaths, and I found that my lips
fit well around the nozzle to contain almost all
of each breath into the pad. In the left photo
below, the orange inner flap is deflation, and the
green is inflation. The right photo below
shows the two outer rigid covers closed. The thin
inner flaps effectively
keep air from reversing out of the mattress
while I'm taking another breath, and if they get
pushed inside they're easily nudged back out
with a fingernail.
I like a firm pad, so I always inflate to just about
full capacity. (See photo in Product Overview
showing the SynMat fully inflated.)
Exped makes an optional inflation pump, the
Schnozzel Pumpbag UL M, which they recommend for easier inflation
and to prevent accumulation of moisture from one's
breath inside the mat's tubes. (It seems
to me that bacteria, fungi, or other
microorganisms could remain inside and possibly
contaminate the air if it enters one's mouth
again, but I'm not too concerned about it.) I opted not
to get the pump right away since I have no problem
using my breath, and there is a way to expel extra
moisture (see Maintenance below).
Unless
there's a leak (described in Punctures below), there's
normally no significant deflation by morning.
However, there was the one time that I inflated
my SynMat on a very warm 80 F (27 C) afternoon
and got up the next morning to 35 F (2 C) and
found the pad perhaps one-fourth deflated due to air contraction;
however, there was still plenty of support for comfortable
sleeping.
Deflating and packing the SynMat
is also easy. I just pull off the deflate
cover, turn the pad around to the bottom end, and
fold it over onto itself 3-4 times to get most of
the air out. Then I lay it out flat again,
fold it in thirds lengthwise (bottom towards me, so the
deflate valve is uncovered at the other end), then roll it up tightly, expressing the remainder
of the air. At this point the pad is a small
enough package to easily slip into the stuff sack.
Comfort
I like my
SynMat - I find it more responsive than a foam
or air-foam pad for relaxing after a long day's
hike and when sleeping, and it provides more
cushioning against the occasional unavoidable
small rock or tree root under my thin tent
floor. However, an air mattress like this
one does not provide much comfort for sitting -
the air just moves to the sides. I also
like the full length to stretch out on, compared
to my previous three-quarter length foam pad.
Although skeptical at first about the higher
outside tube rails, they really do work for me:
I definitely feel them and don't roll off the
pad as much as I would without them. I'm
pretty sure that the synthetic insulation in the
pad has helped keep me warm when using a 40 F (4
C) down sleeping bag and a tarp tent that can be
somewhat breezy at night. The pad will
retain most of its air until the next night, but
I usually like to top it up with a couple of full breaths for
best comfort before lying down.
Packability
Another
nice advantage for me is the SynMat's small size
when stuffed in its sack - I can slip it in my backpack's
bottom compartment with the sleeping bag, pack rain
cover, and other small items, leaving the outside
of the pack unencumbered by a large rolled foam
pad.
Punctures
I certainly
didn't expect to be using the included repair kit
so soon on just my second outing with the SynMat,
but much to my surprise at the campsite I couldn't
keep any air in. Luckily I had an easy section
of creek nearby in which to dip the partially-inflated
mattress, and I quickly found four punctures right
in the center of the top of the pad (see photo).
The repair instructions (with kit, right
photo) recommended
a quick fix of smearing a small amount of cement on the puncture,
letting it dry to the touch, then cutting from the included
material a small rounded patch about 0.5 in (1.3
cm) across and sticking it firmly onto the
cemented area (the patch prevents the curing cement from sticking
to other objects). I did this for each
puncture and fortunately it did the
trick, letting me have a good rest for the next two
nights! This is a field repair; for longer
repairs, Exped says to remove the patch and apply
three layers of cement on each small puncture,
which I have since done.
So far, after about six more nights out, this repair
method has held up perfectly. According to
the instructions, larger tears and rips can also
be repaired this way but I haven't had the bad luck
to have to do this (knock on air!).
After
getting home, I realized that the four punctures
were courtesy of my cat, who'd been wandering around
the garage and jumped up onto the shelf where I
kept the folded pad. The instruction manual
even has a sentence warning about keeping the pad
away from cats - advice now heeded!
Suitability for Backpacking
Of course, there will be trade-offs with an
air mattress compared to other kinds of pads, especially
foam. Despite its light weight, small stuffed
size, and comfort, I wouldn't bring this along on
a long-distance through-hike because of its
susceptibility
to punctures and the inconvenience of having to
stop and fix them, or of running out of (or
losing) the repair materials. However, for
most of my 3-4 day trips I am happy to trade of
bit of extra vigilance
for a good night's sleep and a half-pound (220 g)
savings in weight over my foam pad. I'm
careful about any sharp objects in my clothes or
in the tent. And, unlike foam-only pads, I
never use the SynMat outside my tent on the
ground. The Exped model I'm reviewing
here is the ultralight version in their product
line - there are other models made with more durable
materials that may be more puncture-resistant, but
heavier.
Maintenance
As I
would for all of my gear, I never store the SynMat
rolled and stuffed for longer than necessary - I
keep it loosely folded on a shelf (high up away
from the cat!). Because using one's own
breath introduces moisture, Exped recommends
their Schnozzel Pumpbag accessory instead
(this would be necessary for a down-insulated
air pad). I've seen it demonstrated at a
retail store, and it's a nifty way to rapidly
inflate the SynMat using hands only. However, with a synthetic-insulated
pad like the SynMat reviewed here, following Exped's
suggestion I have blown warm air through the mattress
using a hair dryer (on its lowest setting) into the
inflate valve with the deflate valve held open (watching
the heat output so it doesn't melt the plastic).
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Concluding Thoughts
I'm quite satisfied with my Exped SynMat UL 7.
Although it's priced near the top end of camping
sleeping pads, it gets me a very comfortable
night's rest, at light weight and in a small
stuffed package that easily packs inside my backpack.
Despite the obvious fragility of it's being
thin-skinned, for shorter
trips I don't mind taking extra care to prevent
my SynMat from the embarrassment of punctures and leaks.
I've found that field repair can be pretty easy
to do when necessary.
Pros
- light weight
- small stuff size
- very comfortable
- full length
- easy to inflate, easy to deflate
and roll up into stuff sack
- field repair of punctures not hard and
is effective
Cons
- thin, delicate skin can puncture or tear if not vigilant
- not very comfortable for just sitting on
- best used only inside tent or on other
smooth clean surfaces
- high retail cost compared to other types
of sleeping pads
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Reviewed
By Bob Dorenfeld
Southern Colorado Mountains
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