Reviews > Sleep Gear > Pads and Air Mattresses > EXPED Down Air Mattress > David Anderson > Initial Report

Name: David Anderson
E-mail: danderson@backpackgeartest.org
Age: 38
Gender: Male
Height: 6'2" (1.87 m)
Weight: 285 lb (130 kg)
City: Lynnwood, WA

I grew up car camping with my family in California, and started backpacking sometime around 5th grade. As an adult I've lived, worked and backpacked in New England, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. I've also gotten involved in sea kayaking in the last few years. My backpacking style could be described as light-heavyweight. I carry the lightest version of the gear that I believe is up to the task. I will sleep under a tarp, but I am willing to carry a thick enough mattress so that I will be able to sleep.

When I was young, and my body was much more durable than it is now, I tended to sleep with just a tarp under me, or a thin closed cell foam pad. Once I entered high school that thin pad didn't quite cut it anymore. I started out with the original Therm-a-Rest, and as I got older and larger, I worked my way up through the thicker pads to be able to get a good night's sleep. Lately I have been backpacking with a Camp Rest LE, which is 2.5 inches (6.5 cm) thick.

Product Info

Manufacturer: Exped
Year: 2003
MSRP: $169.00

The Exped Down Air Mattress DLX (DAM), at first glance, looks a lot like the standard cheap air mattress that you can get at any department store. There are eight air tubes running the length of the mattress. But of course, as the product name implies, this is very misleading.

Inside those tubes there is 700 fill goose down to provide insulation from the ground. At each end of the mattress, there is a piece of open cell foam that keeps the down from shifting between chambers, and it also serves to keep the down from coming out the air valves.

The outside of the mattress is made out of laminated polyester fabric that is high-frequency welded at the seams. At the head end of the mattress, there are two air valves. Only one is used during inflation, but both are opened up while deflating and rolling up the mattress.

The DAM comes with a drybag stuff sack with a roll-top closure. The stuff sack also has a small valve at the bottom of it so that it can do double duty as an air pump. This helps to prevent moisture from entering the down and reducing its effectiveness. There is also a thin layer of open cell foam around the inside of the lower half of the sack to help it hold its shape while filling it with air while using it as a pump.

Pumping is accomplished by opening one valve on the mattress part way, and attaching the valve opening on the stuff sack to it. The top of the stuff sack is rolled over to seal it, then all the air is pushed out of the sack into the mattress. The roll top is then released and the stuff sack is refilled with air, and the process is repeated until the mattress reaches its desired thickness.

Initial Inspection

The Exped Down Air Mattress DLX appears to be well made, as far as I can tell. I was unable to find any flaws in the workmanship.

With the exception of the packed size, I found that the information on the website very closely matched what I received. I suspect that they are listing the rolled up size of the mattress when it is not in the stuff sack, which doesn't seem quite right to me, considering that the stuff sack is a required part of the system.

The obvious first thing to do with any air mattress is to fill it up with air, but in the case of the DAM, you aren't supposed to inflate it by mouth as this would add moisture to the down and make it less effective. Following the provided directions, I made sure that the valve in the bottom of the pump sack was open, I pushed it over one of the valves on the mattress, and partially opened the mattress valve. The next step is to fill the pump sack with air, roll down the open end to seal it, and then lean on the bag to force the air into the mattress.

Or at least, that was how it was supposed to work. As soon as I tried pushing the air out of the sack, the mattress valve popped right off the pump sack. It seems that even though I had the mattress valve opened, I had the mattress bent right by the valve, which was blocking the air. I also learned after a few more times inflating the mattress that it is important to really push the pump sack onto the valve so that it is a tight fit.

It took me 23 sacks of air to completely fill the mattress, but on later attempts, I was able to fill it completely full in as few as 15. I then went out and laid on the lawn to look up at the stars with just a light blanket over me. It was around 50 F (10 C), so it wasn't a great test of the insulation ability of the mattress, but it was able to keep my back quite a bit warmer than my front.

It was also at this time that I realized that this mattress can be quite uncomfortable when it is filled all the way up. I started letting air out till the top flattened out, and the separate air chambers were not obvious. This reduction in the amount of air allowed the DAM to conform to my body, while still keeping me off the ground. Further experimentation has shown that this works out to around 9 to 10 pump sacks full of air.

The pump sack can also be used as an air pillow. The valve at the bottom is closed, some clothing is stuffed into it for insulation, and the dry bag style top is rolled down to trap the air inside. I am not yet proficient at judging the right amount of air to have in the bag as I roll it up, so it usually takes several attempts to get it right. But once I get it right, it is one of the best camp pillows I have ever used! I can adjust it to the proper thickness, and the air helps to provide the cushioning, while the clothing only needs to provide insulation.

The only issues that I have so far are the amount of time necessary to inflate the mattress, and that it is a lot noisier when I flop around than when I am sleeping on a Therm-a-Rest. But the comfort and warmth seem to be worth it. I don't personally have a problem with the weight, because it is in the same range as the Camp Rest that I normally bring with me when I sleep on the ground.

Test Plan

I will be bringing the DAM with me on all my backpacking trips that will require sleeping on the ground. All the backpacks will be in western Washington State. Our weather conditions in the winter will give me lots of opportunity to test the DAM in rain and snow with night temperatures between 10 F (-12 C) and 40 F (4 C).

I also plan to test the DAM in my Hennessy Hammock Explorer Deluxe to see how well it works as a winter hammock insulator. At least to start with, the hammock testing will be done in my backyard, and then if successful, it will go into the field with me.

I am really looking forward to this test series.

David Anderson
squtch.quiet-like-a-panther.org

Reviews > Sleep Gear > Pads and Air Mattresses > EXPED Down Air Mattress > David Anderson > Initial Report