**Personal Biographical Information:**
Name:	Renée Corterier	André Corterier
Gender:	f	m
Age:	5	34
Height:	1.16 m (46 in)	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight:	21 kg (46 lb)	80 kg (175 lb)
Email:	andreDOTcorterierATfreenetDOTde	andreDOTcorterierATfreenetDOTde
Home:	Bonn, Germany	Bonn, Germany
Info:	Renée "hikes" by playing outdoors between hammock breaks and stove breaks. Her longest expedition so far was a 30 km (19 mi) overnighter on which she carried her own rain gear and insulation layer. She has spent nights in tent and hammock as well as underneath tarp and open sky.	I have started out with backpacking slowly – single-day 24 km (15 mi) jaunts by myself or even shorter hikes in the company of my little daughter. I am getting started on longer hikes, as a lightweight packer and hammock-camper. I’ve begun upgrading my old gear and am now carrying a dry FSO weight (everything carried From the Skin Out except food, fuel and water) of about 10 kg (22 lb) for three-season camping.

Year of manufacture: 2006
Manufacturer: Pacific Outdoor Equipment
URL: http://www.pacoutdoor.com
MSRP: 39 USD

Measurements:
Weight: 435 g (15.3 oz) [P.O.E. lists 425 g / 15 oz]
Length: 122 cm (48 in)
Width: 41 cm (16 in)
Thickness: 2.5 cm (1 in)
Weight of the Repair Kit (w/pen): 32 g (1.1 oz)
Weight of the Stuff Sack: 16 g (0.6 oz)
Stuffed, the Mat occupies a volume 22 cm (8.5 in) long with a diameter of 12.5 cm (5 in). All dimensions correspond to the dimensions given by the manufacturer.

Introduction:
The Kid's Mat is an orange, narrow, 3/4-length self-inflating pad with animal pictures on it. The pad takes (and lets go of) its air through a valve at one corner, as is customary with such. The valve in question appears to be of a sturdy, hard-anodized aluminum construction, which I like. The pad utilizes the manufacturer's "Matrix foam core", which appears to be open celled foam with diamond-shaped cutouts to reduce weight. For a more detailed description of the pad, see my Initial Report.

Testing Experience:
there's room in the smallest hut (for something this slim) Renée and I have been taking this pad out for a couple of overnighters in the closer vicinity. Elevations ranged between 100 and 450 m (330 and 1500 ft), the nights were dry with temperatures - so far - down to 8 C (46 F). We have camped mostly on grass, once on rocky ground.

The pad is easily rolled up into a relatively small package (compared to other self-inflating pads), either long and thin or short and thick (if folded in half lengthwise before rolling up). I have carried it outside of my pack in an outside mesh pocket (in the long variant) as well as inside my pack (both in the long and short versions of rolling it). It was generally easy to find a suitable spot for it.

The size is also nice in that it takes up less space on the ground than the grown-up's 3/4 pad my daughter used to sleep on. Finding a spot to camp has become easier since we require less space by more than a hand's width, which in my experience has made more of a difference than I would have thought. It has allowed both of us to use a one-man shaped tarp (the Six Moon Designs Gatewood Cape) as shelter, which is good. I glanced a piece of the ultralight mantra here ("if you take less weight, you'll need a smaller pack which again weighs less") in that taking a slimmer pad allowed us to take a more minimalist shelter. An add-on effect of the pad, and much appreciated as it is I who carries most of everything when we hike.

As far as comfort is concerned, Renée has yet to complain. Whether on grass or rocks, an inch (2.5 cm) of firm cushioning seems to be enough, at least for this particular 21 kg (46 lb) person. I have asked her repeatedly, when lying down and when getting up again, whether she was or had been comfy, and the answer was a curt "yes" every time. For her, sleeping comfortably outdoors seems to be the norm and I am glad to find that this pad has not changed this in any way.

Another aspect of comfort is warmth, of course. The verdict is the same so far - Renée has treated my questions regarding her thermal equilibrium with equal disdain (answering with an exasperated "yes" when I followed up on the comfort question with the warmth question). Of course, to a degree (pardon the pun), the verdict is still out, as we have yet to try the pad at less than 8 C (46 F). But I am already happy with that - getting up in a rather foggy morning at that temperature felt rather chilly, so even if we should find that the pad won't serve any lower than that I would be happy with it. It's already shown to be good for the warmer half of the year, which I like.

In summary, by reducing the weight I carry when I carry for two (and making more space in my pack), thereby allowing me to take less in the way of shelter and a smaller pack, the pad has made it possible for us to do an overnight hike to such places as the "Löwenburg" (Lion castle) in the Siebengebirge Nature Preserve, which was a thoroughly enjoyable trip. We hope to do more of the same in the coming two months, and I will report our experience with the pad then.

Dawn at the Löwenburg (Lion Castle) - note the Kid's Mat in the lower left corner

Read more reviews of Pacific Outdoor Equipment gear
Read more gear reviews by Andre Corterier

Field Report

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