Exped Multimat for extra insulation

[donjose]

I just did my first hike with the Clark Jungle Hammock NA in Monangahela National Forest in West Virginia. The weather up there can get dicey, so when I saw the forecast was for 50 degree nights, I planned for at least a 45 degree night which is exactly what I got. I used the under pockets for storage and an Exped Mulitmat for extra insulation:

http://www.exped.com/exped/web/exped_homepage.nsf/0/4CDFC9B0BF10277DC1256FE80021EC78?opendocument

I laid an exped downmat 7 on top of that and was in heaven. The multimat is large enough to cover the entire bottom area of the hammock and the sides where your sleeping bag makes contact with the less insulated side walls. It still felt pretty toasty when i removed the downmat and just used the multimat for the second night. I figure it would also make a decent ground cloth if I had to set it up as ground tent. When I wasn't using in the hammock, it made a nice group dining floor for me and my buddies. It doesn't compress into as small of a package as I like, but it weighs next to nothing.

[Narwhalin]

Awesome! Never seen that before...

Welcome to the forum!:)

[Ramblinrev]

Is it just me... or is purchasing information missing from that link? How would one purchase one?

edit:

Never mind found one at REI among other shops. $38 not a bad price either.

[tnhillbilly]

donjose, I also have that same mat and I really like it. It's the only mat I use and because of the thickness and size, just by folding it differently you can get different amounts of insulation depending on the need. I got my mat at REI but I don't know if they still carry them. I found this link that might help. http://moontrail.com/exped-multimat.php tnhillbilly

[Shadowmoss]

After seeing tnhillbilly's, I got one at REI duirng the next sale. Haven't really used it yet, since I don't actually get into the woods anymore with all this traveling...

[donjose]

donjose, I also have that same mat and I really like it. It's the only mat I use and because of the thickness and size, just by folding it differently you can get different amounts of insulation depending on the need. I got my mat at REI but I don't know if they still carry them. I found this link that might help. http://moontrail.com/exped-multimat.php tnhillbilly

just curious tnhillbilly, but what's the coldest temps you've used the mat?

[tnhillbilly]

I guess the coldest temp was in the low 30's. I was using the exped and an inexpensive Bass Pro shop sleeping bag, I folded it in a way to sort of wrap up around my sides with the bottom of the mat being doubled. Hope this helps. tnhillbilly

[kwpapke]

FWIW, myself and two others will be testing the Exped MultiMat over the next four months for Backpackgeartest.org. Well, as soon as it ships anyway...

I am a dedicated HH/SS user, and my principle use of the MultiMat will be as bottom insulation for my HH. I intend to use it with the SS Undercover, both with and without the Underpad to see how much insulation it adds. I'll also test it with/without a space blanket just as with my SS.

It seems reasonably compact, but not all that light at 19oz. The Hennessy OCF pad (Explorer-sized) is only 10.3 ounces, quite a bit less, but of course its not as flexible in its uses. I hope to use the Multimat as a snow sit-mat in early winter if Mother Nature cooperates and gives us some of the powery stuff before the test ends.

It was interesting to read of your experiences with the gear - I look forward to trying it out.

--Kurt

[BillyBob58]

FWIW, myself and two others will be testing the Exped MultiMat over the next four months for Backpackgeartest.org. Well, as soon as it ships anyway...

I am a dedicated HH/SS user, and my principle use of the MultiMat will be as bottom insulation for my HH. I intend to use it with the SS Undercover, both with and without the Underpad to see how much insulation it adds. I'll also test it with/without a space blanket just as with my SS.

It seems reasonably compact, but not all that light at 19oz. The Hennessy OCF pad (Explorer-sized) is only 10.3 ounces, quite a bit less, but of course its not as flexible in its uses. I hope to use the Multimat as a snow sit-mat in early winter if Mother Nature cooperates and gives us some of the powery stuff before the test ends.

It was interesting to read of your experiences with the gear - I look forward to trying it out.

--Kurt

I wonder what the r-value is? It sounds like, used inside your hammock, it should add about 20 degrees to your SS. Were you going to use it that way?

[kwpapke]

I wonder what the r-value is? It sounds like, used inside your hammock, it should add about 20 degrees to your SS. Were you going to use it that way?
I will test it both inside the hammock, and outside the hammock in the undercover.
The website lists the R-value at 1.2.

--Kurt

[BillyBob58]

Maybe you will have better luck than I did trying to use a pad in the UC. Although TeeDee used to put some ligt Goddamer Gear pads on top of the HH pad. He was able to tighten the HH SS suspension enough to avoid sag and had good results. The one time I put one in the UC was the one and only night I froze. Of course, there were other problems that 22*F night, like not being able to get into my sleeping bag adequately. It was my first night in any hammock, so I did a lot of things wrong.

[Roadtorque]

I will test it both inside the hammock, and outside the hammock in the undercover.
The website lists the R-value at 1.2.

--Kurt

Just my 2 cents but seems like you could shove random stuff into the clark under pockets and get an R value of that pad without extra weight.