G'day oz-bargainers,
I'm after some recommendations on a decent bedding solution that is compact enough to be stowed away in a hiking backpack (planning a walk-in camp trip with the boy once restrictions are lifted and trying to kit-up, ready to go).
Primary needs is:
1. Good enough support for hips, elbow and shoulders. Primarily a side sleeper and currently these areas feel like I'm laying directly on concrete lol
2. Compact
3. Reasonable quality
4. Generous width a positive as I tent to roll around alot.
Budget would be around $100, less would be amazing but also if it checks all the boxes I'm willing to stretch up a bit.
I'm not too concerned about weight as the hike would only be about 2-3 hours, this is more about the camping than hiking.
I honestly have no idea where to start with what a "good brand" is let alone identifying the good quality lesser known stuff. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
As a benchmark I find my Son's Denali Camper Ultimate Mat quite comfortable, it doesn't pack down even remotely compact though. Also from what I've read up, the quality just isn't there so time will tell on that.
Pop into Anaconda or one of those stores and have a look and a feel.
I use the Sea to Summit comfort plus, it's not self inflating but you can get a dry bag that acts like a pump. I'm a side sleeper and have used it a fair bit and it's been fine. Depending on the model, they pack down relatively small and they're good quality, but not really cheap.
I find the sea to summit range quite good, but a little bit expensive. The Nemo Tensor is meant to be a good mat, but again, may be slightly higher than your budget.
I think your best bet is to go into some of the outdoor stores and have a lie down on some mats, see how small they go and see how much they cost.
I'd say the most common 'good' brands (expensive, compact and quality) are Thermarest, Exped, Sea to Summit and Nemo, probably missing some too.