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From the past two months
of field experience, my overall impressions of the Insul-Mat Max-Mtn
sleeping pad are quite positive. I have been able to sleep on this
pad on the snow and on dirt as well as in different shelters and with
different sleeping bags. In my Initial Report I listed several
questions and concerns that I wished to address during the test period,
and I have now had enough experience with the pad to begin formulating
answers.
The first time I used
the Insul-Mat Max-Mtn was on an overnight snow camping trip in
Yosemite. Temperatures were well below freezing and I slept in
a Golite
Hex 2 pyramid tarp with the optional floor. Since I did not
have experience with the Max-Mtn yet, and knowing myself as a very cold
sleeper, I was paranoid about my ability to keep warm. I used my 0
degree Marmot Never Summer sleeping bag, the Max-Mtn, and for
insurance I included a 3/4 length Ridge Rest. In addition I
zipped my bag into a Mountain Hardwear Conduit SL bivy but left the
sleeping pads outside the bivy. In order to use my body heat to
warm up my sleeping bag, I sleep in a single base layer of
clothing. It took me a while to get warm that night, as it always
does, even with the aid of a Nalgene bottle full of boiling water packed
in an Outdoor Research cozy and shoved in the bag. It
always takes my body a while to warm up the extra space
in my sleeping bags. However, the sleeping pad
combination underneath me did a terrific job insulating me from the
snow. There were no cold spots on my pressure points to hinder
the warmup of the bag.
The Insul-Mat
Max-Mtn has also been used on a car camping trip at Henry Coe
State Park near Morgan Hill, California. On this particular night I
slept inside a tent (a Marmot Swallow), used a 15 degree
Mountainsmith Vision sleeping bag, and used the Max-Mtn without any
other sleeping pads. The night dipped into the mid-30s - cold
enough for me to really notice the cold, but not cold enough to freeze
the water bottles left on the picnic table overnight.
Once again it took me a while to warm my sleeping bag, but also
once again there were no cold spots to hinder my warmth.
On both of these
trips I found the Max-Mtn to exceed my comfort expectations
significantly. In the past, I have slept on similar
self-inflating mattresses and always have tossed and turned because
the pad caused sore hips and shoulders. They have never offered
enough padding for me. It is even worse with a closed-cell
foam pad! My salvation was found in the Big Agnes REM
Air-Core, but it does not offer any insulation and is out of the question
when temperatures are near or below freezing. I expected the same
level of comfort from the Max-Mtn as I have had with the other
self-inflating mattresses - mid range, but at least with
insulation. So far, on the different surfaces on which I have used
the Max-Mtn, I have not had sore hips, sore shoulders, or nights of
uncomfortable tossing and turning. The Max-Mtn seems to
be padded enough where I need it! This has been a very
pleasant discovery!
I have found that the
Max-Mtn does not inflate very well on its own. I end up adding some
puffs of air on my own before settling in for the
night. The pad inflates the best when I give it a few starter
puffs and let it sit for a while. Before crawling into the bag
I add any air that is needed.
The mummy shape to the
pad is something new to me. The only noticable difference to me is
at the foot of the pad where it tapers. I wiggle around a lot
at night and can end up easily moving my legs off the pad from the
knee down. Of course, this even happens to me on rectangular
pads, but not as much. With all of my wiggling I haven't had any
trouble sliding around like I expected to (as mentioned in my Initial
Report). I have been fortunate to camp on very flat surfaces, so if
I am on any sort of incline I will be interested to see if the mat
slides around during the Long Term test phase.
A sleeping pad has to do
two things for me in order for me to consider it a successful
product. It has to keep me warm and it has to be comfortable.
In the past I have had a comfortable pad and pads that keep me warm, but
I've never had one that does both well. The Insul-Mat Max-Mtn has
impressed me in both respects so far, and I look forward to many more
nights on it in the coming
months. | 