Reviews > Sleep Gear > Pads and Air Mattresses > Exped Downmat 9 DLX > Owner Review by Lawrence A Dalrymple

EXPED DOWNMAT 9 DLX

OWNER REVIEW
January 22, 2007

TESTER INFORMATION

I started camping at around 10 years old in Nova Scotia, after moving to Ontario I took up car camping but I soon tired of this. Taking up canoe camping across a lot of Ontario. I have my choice places to go but still like to explore the back country. I am planning a 21 day trip in July to Lady Evelyn Smoothwater Park to do the North and South Channel of the Lady Evelyn River. The portages are very strenuous with fantastic scenery.

PRODUCT INFORMATION

Manufacturer: Exped Expedition Equipment
Year of Manufacture: 2006
Manufacturer's Website http://www.exped.com
MSRP: US $169.00
Listed Weight [Mat.] 44 oz [1260 g]
Listed weight [Packsack] 7 oz [190 g]
Measured Weight [Mat] 44.6 oz [1265 g] Postal Scale
Measured Weight [Packsack] 6.1 oz [174 g] Postal Scale
Packed Size Listed 11x7 in [27.9x17.8 cm]
Measured packed size 12x7 in [30.5x17.8 cm]
Listed Size 76x26 in [193x65 cm]
Measured Size 76.25x26.5 in [194x.67 cm]
Thickness Listed 3.5 in [8.9 cm]
Measured Thickness 4 in [10.2 cm]
Downmat Measured after 9 1/2 Packsacks of air were inflated into the Downmat
Temperature comfort to :-40 F [-40C]
Warranty: All Exped products carry a limited 5 year warranty against defects in materials or workmanship.

OTHER DETAILS

Exped Downmat 9 DLX

The Exped Downmat has 11 oz [329 g] of 700 fill power goose down treated with an environmentally friendly Nocar finish to repel water. The Downmat 9 DLX comes with a Pump Packsack that is used to inflate the mattress to avoid the moisture in breath from coming in contact with the down, which otherwise could cause the goose down to clump or freeze inside the mattress. The Downmat 9 DLX looks very much like any other air mattress except for the black honeycomb textured finish on the top and the Exped logo of the flying Goose and the two valves, one on either side at the top of the mattress.

The Downmat 9 DLX has eight tubes running the length of the mattress that are around 3.25 in [8.3 cm] wide. The valves open and close very easily with less then one third of a turn. To inflate the Downmat 9 DLX you must close one valve, open the other and push the Pump Packsack [ which has a one way valve on the bottom of the sack ] onto the valve on the mattress firmly. The Pump Packsack has a foam liner to help open up the Pump Packsack. I like to put my hand inside in a circular motion to insure the Pump Packsack is fully open then I roll up the open end and press the air into the mattress, then I fold the Pump Packsack over and push the remaining air into the Downmat 9 DLX. After a few times this all becomes very easy and I found that nine and a half Pump Packsacks of air will insure a great night's sleep.

Exped uses a laminated polyester textured fabric in a honeycomb pattern on top providing a slip resistance and comfort next to the skin. The bottom is plain grey, similar to a sleeping bag. Baffles between the chambers are welded to the top to eliminate cold spots, and light foam blocks at the mat's ends prevent the free floating down from escaping or migrating between chambers. The seams and valves are all high frequency welded to ensure mat integrity. It comes with a unique pump packsack and is used to inflate the mat, to carry the mat, it also can be used as a pillow, and can also be used as a watertight sack.

My Exped Downmat 9 DLX came with a repair kit consisting of two pieces of patch material 5 x 3.5 in [12.7 x 8.9 cm], one black and one grey, it also came with a tub of Exped Textile Glue. The repair instructions are on the back of the owner's manual, I carry this repair kit in a pill bottle 3x1 in [7.6x2.5 cm] I hope I never have to use it, but just in case I do carry it.

Inflating Mat

FIELD USE

I camped with my Exped Downmat 9 DLX for a total of 47 days in July and September, in a wide range of conditions from snow, cold wet rain to hot and humid. I even left the tent doors open one night when it started raining. I got some water in the tent but it had no effect on the mattress at all, the mattress was dry when I awoke the next day.

Exped Downmat is very strong as it stood up to my little dog bouncing over it with no ill affects at all. Our Pomeranian is only a small dog of 20 lbs [9.1 kg] but with her small paws seem to make her much heavier.

Elevation on these two trips ranged from around 600 ft [183 m] to an average elevation of around 1200ft [366 m] to a maximum of 1700 ft [518 m].
The terrain ranged from used portaged trails to overgrown trails to almost flat to very steep and very slippery when wet.

I used my Mountain Hardware Tioga Stormlight, 600-full power goose down 0 F [-18C] bags on these trips, a bit of an over kill in July but they sure were nice in September. Sleep wear consisted of a tee shirt and jockey shorts on the colder nights to just the jockey shorts on those warm nights with the sleeping bag fully unzipped most of the night.

The temperatures on our trips ranged from around 25 F [ -14 C ] to 90 F [ 50 C], I had no trouble to stay on the Downmat 9 DLX at night, and at no time did I feel any cold through the mattress, even on the coldest nights.

Comparing Size

SUMMARY

I camped in a lot of camp sites this year and found the Exped Downmat very easy to inflate and deflate. I found it very warm and quiet to sleep on. I still find it hard to believe just how warm and comfortable these Downmats can be.

For years I have used a regular air mattress but I found them hard to pump up. They were very heavy and when it turned cold I could never seem to be able to warm up. I also tried a couple of self inflating mattresses of another brand. I found them very bulky and hard to stay on at night, and unless I under inflated them. Then I would bottom out every now and then, however I found them quite warm to sleep on. The last 5 years I have used a Military Vietnam era coffin shaped insulated air mattresses, but found them very noisy and hard to stay on at night. They were heavy, but fairly warm and quite comfortable to sleep on.

This year after using the Exped Downmat 9 DLX I have found that I have to invest in some lighter sleeping bags, I have found that these Downmats really do make quite a difference, and that I no longer need such a heavy sleeping bag for summer camping, and this will lead to a lighter pack.
.

THINGS I LIKE

I liked the warmth and comfort this Exped Downmat 9 DLX can and has given
me. I like the extra room that my Downmat 9 DLX has give me compared to the Downmat 9 at
night, I tend to move around a lot. I also like the small package the Downmat can be rolled into,and how well the Pump Packsack works. It sure is a lot easier then blowing up the mattress with one's breath.

THINGS I DON'T LIKE

I found that when my tent was on a incline my Exped Downmat would
slide to the bottom of my tent. I think if Exped were to use the same
honeycomb textured fabric on the bottom of the mat it would not slide
around as much. This is the only improvement I can suggest on the Exped Downmat.

SIGNATURE

Lawrence Dalrymple [canoe21[at]rogers[dot]com]

Reviews > Sleep Gear > Pads and Air Mattresses > Exped Downmat 9 DLX > Owner Review by Lawrence A Dalrymple