Tramping Equipment: Sea to Summit Ultralight Insulated Sleeping Mat

 A new Sea to Summit sleeping mat for 2023

Here is another new piece of kit Karen brought me for my birthday back in August of 2022. It is a Sea to Summit Ultralight Insulated sleeping mat. I have already used this beauty and it made for a comfortable night's sleep.

Sea to Summit Ultra Light sleeping mat

Sea to Summit are one of the larger outdoor gear brands and they make a range of tents, packs, sleeping bags and other outdoor kit for the backcountry adventurer. I have quite a bit of their gear mostly cooking equipment like cutlery, plates, cups and mugs but this is the first sleeping mat I have owned from this company.

Various inflation settings for the Ultralight Mat

The Ultra Light Insulated comes in a number of sizes from X-Small through to Large. My mat is the large size and it is plenty wide and long enough to fit my 6'3" frame onto with space to spare. 

Sizes in the Ultra Light mat range compared to a water bottle

Part of the comfort and warmth of the mat is provided by the air cells in the mat. They make small pockets of air under you as you are laying on it which protect you from the ground. The mat has a soft finish to the outer material and it was reasonably quiet when you roll around on it at night. 

Air cell construction adds comfort and warmth

When packed the mat is about the size of a large Nalgene bottle so it is a compact item. There is a stuff sack/pump bag for inflating the mat which is becoming a standard feature for most sleeping mats. It only required five bags of air to fully inflate so it is a breeze to use. 

Ultralight mat compared to a drink bottle

My mat has a insulation layer inside and its R-Value (or measure of how warm it is) is 3.1. This means it would be good to down around 2 degrees Celsius but it would not provide enough warmth for temperatures lower than this. The R-Value can be extended by adding a foam mat underneath but you should really be looking at a mat with a 4.5 or above R-Value for proper winter camping. 

The Ultra Light Insulated has a 3.1 R-Value

This mat would be best suited for use in summer and the shoulder season either side so here in New Zealand that would be from November through March. When inflated it is about 2" thick (5 cm) so it is actually quite comfortable to sleep on. It is thick enough for people like me who sleep on their side to keep your hip up off the ground. 

Technical specifications of the Ultralight Mat

My mat is 600 gm's in total which is not super light but is quite competitive when compared to other brands like Klymit and Thermarest for the same size and R-Value. Sea to Summit are certainly cheaper with this mat retailing for around $320 as compared to the $550 price for a NeoAir XLite from Thermarest. 

All in this looks like a really good sleeping mat and I look forward to using it in the future. 

The Ultralight in use...

So far I have only used this mat on one trip which was my Hawdon Valley camp back in January. As I said at that time I am looking to do more camping trips before I get to old to handle them. My intention is to do several tramping trips a year solely as camping tramps as well as some overnight "Wild Camping" trips.  

Jon on his camp in the Hawdon Valley

The sleeping mat performed well and I had a good nights sleep using the mat and my Big Agnes Tent. It is an excellent summer weight mat and it could probably be used down to temperatures around 5 degrees with ease. It was 15 the night I was out and I was actually a bit warm...

Sea to Summit Ultralight mat in the Big Agnes tent

The mat fitted into my one person tent and it is a good size to allow me to store gear at the head of the tent with the mat laying flat on the tent floor. For most of the day I had it folded up or stashed behind me so I could sit on the floor of the tent to read, cook etc. 

Gear packed on the last day of the Hawdon Valley camp

This will now become my go to summer sleeping mat and will replace my older Pacific Outdoor mats I have been using for the last 10 years. I am still in the market for a warmer autumn/winter sleeping mat and I am looking at another Sea to Summit product the Ether Light XT. It has a slightly higher warmth rating and is 10 cm's thick so it would be more comfortable. 

The Sea to Summit Ether Light XT sleeping mat

As always cost is a factor i.e. I need to save up some money to be able to buy another mat so we will see what happens. Keep an eye out for future trips where I am using this piece of equipment. 

Tramping Equipment: Exped Lite 500 down sleeping Bag

My new lightweight pit for thru hiking

As part of my quest to lower my tramping weight I have invested in a new lighter weight sleeping bag. This is the Exped Lite 500, a sub 1kg down sleeping bag rated to -2 degrees. This bag will be good for spring/summer/autumn use and is a long size. 

The Exped Lite 500 down sleeping bag

I would have liked to go ultra lite unfortunately bags of this type are prohibitively expensive (more than $800 NZD) or unavailable in New Zealand. We really need a local quality cottage manufacturer of light weight gear...someone like Western Mountaineering, Golite, Gossamer Gear or ZPacks.

Western Mountaineering Ultralite: rated to -7 degrees at only 880gms total weight...!

Exped Lite 500 down sleeping bag

The Exped Lite 500 is a down bag, in this case it uses 800+ lofting goose down with a anti moisture coating. The material on the bag is lightweight nylon again with an anti moisture coating. The dimensions of the bag are:

Length: good to 195cm tall (long size)...I am 193cm!

Shoulder width: 79cm

Foot Width:53cm

Weight:1 kg 

Performance: down to -2

The Exped Lite 500 down sleeping bag

Exped are a well regarded Swiss company who manufacture a wide range of outdoor gear including packs, sleeping bags and sleeping mats. I brought this bag from Bivouac as part of a clearance sale, it cost me $340 NZD rather than the usual $450.

 There is a nicely thought out baffle along the side zipper to stop heat escaping through the zipper area.

Detail of the Exped Lite 500 zipper and draft blocker

The bag has a nice neck baffle system to hold in heat, something that is missing from my current winter weight bag and synthetic summer bag. Even though I use my bags as quilts this will still come in handy. 

Neck draft baffle on the Exped Lite 500

I could have saved another 100gms if I went with the ultralite version of this bag but I tried one on for size and it was far too constricting for my oversized frame. The lighter bag is cut super tight mummy style, not my thing at all.  This bag is a good compromise between price, weight, size and durability.

Exped Lite 500: the hood arrangement

The bag has a continuous baffle system through the bag to stop down from migrating between the chambers leaving cold spots in the insulation. Here is a review of this bag on the Wilderness magazine site.

Exped Lite 500: the down fill baffle system

Exped Lite 500: detail of the internal baffle system

You also get an airing/storage bag and a sil-nylon stuff sack with this sleeping bag. 

Exped Lite 500: An airing bag and sil nylon stuff sack are included

Once I have used the bag on a tramping trip I will post some photos on this blog.

Note: I went up the Waimakiriri River to Carrington Hut in February 2018 where the new pit was put to the test and performed very well. Light, easy to pack and warm, it is going to be a winner!!!

The Exped Lite 500 at Carrington Hut, February 2018

My Exped 500 pit set up and ready to go in Speargrass Hut, February 2018