sleeping mat advice

What I don't understand is why bother? Who do they think is going to read it, who is going to be interested in it and what on earth do they expect to get out of it? It's crap, plain and simple. And if you're the one posting it (not you Honora)......just bog off.........! Now that will no doubt get this post 'edited' by Matthew and as long as it gets rid of the twat who posted this crap in the first place then it's more than worth it.........!

Quite so! It's a crap machine at best. There is no option for caterpillar tracks to make hill climbing easier, and no mention of pontoon options for crossing rivers. Stick it down the long drop where it belongs.

"What I don't understand is why bother?" Sadly it must work "Who do they think is going to read it", Forum posters, search bots ect "who is going to be interested in it and what on earth do they expect to get out of it?" Hopefully no one on these forums, the bot probably detected the word Mat,bag so posted. They expect to get money out of it.

Hopefully they get nothing but ......well.......nothing!

Back on-topic. The warmest in terms of R rating that I could find was the Thermarest ProLite Plus WR (W=women's - but who cares so long as it's warm?)- which claims an R=3.6. More R's and similar weight to the much more expensive neo-air. And also more R's than the similarly priced ProLite Men's variety. So what am I missing? There most be other advantages of the others ... but stuffed if I can see what they are. Anyone got answers? Too late now, anyhow. Ended up getting one of these from the states for about NZ$90 inc shipping to NZ. The price in stores here is about double that.

On a tangent, do you have any tricks for shipping things from the USA? I can't find any online shop in the USA that ships internationally with anything other than USPS. Domestic shipping within the US is invariably free but the international shipping costs go absurdly through the roof. (Add another NZ$40 minimum, maybe up to NZ$100, which usually negates any possible savings over buying in NZ and often costs more.) I figured out that I could post the same things in the other direction with full track & trace for 1/3 the amount at worst. I've heard there are some good places to order from the UK, but haven't wanted anything in particular yet.

The warmest mat I know about is the Exped Downmat 9 which is R8 , the next would be the Downmat 7 which is R5.9 The main advantage to the neo-air is the thickness, the neoair is something like 6.3cm thick compared with 3.7cm for the prolites. The Neo-air also rolls down to a much more compact size. Comparing the Neo-air, prolite plus with Downmat7. Choice regular length for comparison puproses. Downmat 7 length: 178cm R: 5.9 thickness: 7cm weight: 898g Neo-Air Length: 183cm R: 2.5 Thickness: 6.3 Weight: 410g ProLite Plus Length: 183cm R: 3.8 Thickness: 3.8cm Weight: 940g

Yup, I bought a hat from REI but I think paying the freight and membership plus the hat, worked out to what I would have paid at Bivouac and I got a cool colour that they didn't stock. Brilliant hat (OR Rain Sombrero). Be good to know about those places in the UK you mentioned. I'm a member of Outdoor Magic and get a lot of ads and reviews about their gear.

Well I went and looked at REI. Did you pay $US20 for shipping? That seems to be the lowest international rate they have according to http://www.rei.com/help/intl_order.html At the time I was thinking about buying a $US200 Bivy Sack, which with REI's International Shipping rates would cost an extra $US60 for shipping anywhere outside the US or Canada! And every US online retailer has the same international rates because they all use the same moronic international shipping service. The same 680 gram parcel could have gone the other way through NZ Post for at most half the amount ($NZ45) with track & trace. In the end it felt wrong, and I settled for something from the very restricted range of stuff that's imported into NZ. I'd have to ask friends about the UK options 'cos it's only second hand info. I'll try to remember next time I see someone, and let you know.

Have to admit I can't remember. I paid about NZ$60 all up for the hat, subs and postage. It sounds like a rip-off but as you say, you get a better range. Might be better cultivating the company of people who travel. I got my Japanese tent (Montbell) via a Japanese work colleague who goes there all the time. Luckily she and her husband are keen outdoors types. He bought a few things himself while he was in the shop.