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Christmas arrived
early on December 12th when the POE Max-Mtn arrived at my
door. It was packed simply in a plain brown box with no additional
padding. It's a pad - why would it need extra padding, after
all? There was a sheet of loose cardboard inserted between the
rolled up pad and box flaps, presumably to protect the pad from damage if
a sharp instrument were used to cut through the tape.
The pad was packed
tightly into its stuff sack, which was wrapped in a tube of clear
plastic. Between the plastic and the stuff sack was a paper
insert with information about the Max-Mtn in several languages.
Included in this information is a diagram of the foam core of the pad,
measurements, and the features of the product. There is even a
humorous (to me) cartoonish drawing of the pad on top of a
cactus next to the section about the repair kit that starts with the
sentence, "For the unforeseen need...a patch and adhesive kit to repair
your mat."
The stuff sack is a nice
steel purplish blue, and when stuffed with the pad it is a little wider
and shorter than a typical roll of paper towels. I removed the pad
and found that it was folded in half and then rolled from foot to
head. I held the end and shook it to unroll and unfold it. It
came undone about halfway, but the bottom part stayed rolled and
folded. It was packed tightly! I noticed a sticker on the top
opposite corner of the valve that stated that the first time it may take
up to 30 minutes to inflate fully. It also says that it should be
inflated and deflated several times before the first use, but it does not
say why (I was curious, as I have never noticed this warning on other
self-inflating pads I have used).
At the bottom of the
stuff sack is a small pocket that contains a repair kit in a plastic
bag. The repair kit consists of extra material and
patching glue, but no instructions. An extra bonus goodie that
I found in the repair kit bag was a strap for attaching the
pad to the outside of a pack. And, hidden deep in the recesses
of the stuff sack, is an instruction and care sheet for
the Max-Mtn. It contains "Before First Use" instructions,
but by the time I found this sheet of paper in the repair kit, I
had already started. Luckily I did pretty much exactly what it
said.
I laid the pad out on my
living room floor with the brass valve fully open and left it undisturbed
to inflate. After 15 minutes it finally finished unrolling all of
the way. After 20 minutes there was no noticeable inflation.
After half an hour there was no change, and the material was still tight
and wrinkly from being packaged. I checked to see if I had the valve
open all the way - I did. After 45 minutes I decided to interfere
with the natural process and rolled what little air there was to the foot
of the pad. It loosely filled less than 1/4 of the pad. I let
it sit some more. At 1 hour and 15 minutes I rolled it again, and
this time it was about half full. After two hours the pad was
poofed up enough that a couple of puffs of air through
the valve was enough to finish inflating
it.
After inflation, the
patterns within the foam are evident. The top half of the pad has an
oval pattern, while the leg portion has a smaller diamond pattern.
The oval pattern appears once again at the feet. Presumably the oval
pattern indicates the foam with the higher R-value, or insulation.
Testing
Plan
Having now inspected the
pad, I have developed a series of questions and concerns that I will
address during the testing period.
- How fast does the pad inflate once it has been used a few times?
Right now, the 2 hours for inflation is unacceptable. Will I end
up having to blow it up by mouth every time?
- How durable is the material? I hope I never have to use the
emergency repair kit.
- Do I notice the insulation differences? If I am sleeping
on the snow or frozen ground, will I have a warm shoulder but cold knee?
- Along those same lines, does the pad keep me well insulated where I
need to be, such as my hips and feet?
- Is it big enough for me? This is the first mummy shaped
mat I have used, and since I frequently toss-and-turn at night, I wonder
if my legs will constantly be off the pad.
- Will I slide around? On the Pacific Outdoor Equipment
website they claim that the patterns in the surface allow for less
slipping than on other mats. To the touch the material seems quite
slippery to me, so only use will tell if it is or it isn't.
- And, most importantly, is it comfortable over-all? When I
combine all of the above elements - insulation, space, slipping - am I
left with a comfortable sleeping experience?
All of this will be
addressed in the coming months, as the pad will be used in a variety of
conditions with a variety of shelters (tent, tarp, and bivy) and sleeping
bags (0 degree, 15 degree, and 40 degree down). I am looking forward
to putting this pad to the
test! |
