Gear Blog Thurs 26th March
Gear news
24 March 2009 16:02
New sleeping mat brand – Pacific Outdoor
Fresh from the US, sleeping mat brand Pacific Outdoor will now be available to buy in the UK this June. The eco-friendly company make all styles of mat, from space and weigh-saving mummy-shaped air-beds to holey closed cell-foam designs, with both women’s and kid’s specific versions.
We particularly like…
…the Peak Oyl Aero Mtn, a self-inflating 4-season pad.
Why?
Pacific Outdoor’s philosophy is “Good gear, less waste,” a feature reflected in all of its sleeping mats. The Peak Oyl Aero Mtn for example features 'Aspen Aerogels' used to insulate NASA space suits (should be toasty then!) and cross-axis drilled foam that uses 40% renewable palm oil.
What's so good about Palm Oil?
“Palm Oil isn’t a food replacement crop like so many other bio-plastics,” say Pacific Outdoor. “It has a shorter distance to travel to our manufacturing site than plant alternatives or petroleum, so it uses less carbon in transport.” The fabric it uses is also recycled, PVC free and BlueSign accredited, which means no harmful chemicals were used in their creation all the way along the manufacturing chain. Even the valve is made from recycled hard-anodized aluminium.
Vital mat stats
The regular length mat costs £90, weighs 773g and folds out to these dimensions 51cm x 183cm x 3.8cm.
How does it compare?
Pacific Outdoor’s James Bartho says, "The Peak Oyl Aero Mtn is not unlike the Thermarest Prolite Plus, but for insulation, nothing else is currently available on the market against this pad, hence the true 4-season classification, and security if problems occur with punctures. We are also the only ones using Recycled PET in this class for construction and we believe that we offer the highest level of comfort and support to the user when sleeping with our foam cutting (drilling) techniques."
Other mats in the range
Peak Oyl Aero Mtn - from £80
Ultra warm, 4-season, mummy-shaped mats with Aerogel insulation at the torso to add 10-15% more warmth
Peak Oyl Lite - from £60
A very light (539g size regular) fully die-cut foam, 3-season, mummy-shaped mat
Cruiser Series - from £60
The luxury range, with velvety top fabrics and more foam comfort at the torso
Ether Series - from £40
Light and massively packable airbed-style mats with 6cm of wedge-cut foam air-cushioning
Traditional Series - from £40 (4 season)
Old-style mummy and rectangle-shaped mats for a warm, 4-season sleep
What happens next?
Trail magazine's gear tester Claire Maxted will be sleeping on a women’s version of the Peak Oyl Aero Mtn shortly, so watch this Gear Blog and the Trail magazine Used and Abused pages for reviews. The women’s version is the same as the men’s, but with added Aerogel in the foot area to keep ladies toes warmer, so watch this space to find out how useful that really is.
