Exped Downmat 9 Deluxe

[HappyCamper]

I recently bought tomswyer222’s Exped Downmat 9 Deluxe mat for cold weather tent camping (yes, I know, boo hiss) and intend it to be a car camping mat because of its weight. But I couldn’t resist immediately putting it in my HH Backpacker.

Exped Downmat 9 Deluxe Specs

Size: 26"W x 76"L
Weight: 2 lbs. 13 oz.
Thickness: 3-1/2"

I thought some Hennessy people w/zipper mods might like to see how it fits in the Backpacker. See pics.

When I first inflated the mat, the length seemed so long I didn’t even know if it would fit, but it did! I spent about 2 hours on it last night in 38 degree weather with a down REI sleeping bag used as a quilt. My backside stayed warm enough so I’m interested in trying a full night real soon.

Perkolady and I were wondering whether the mat would raise me up too high in hammock and make me feel tippy or like I was gonna spill out, but I didn’t have that feeling at all. You can see from the pictures that the mat fits in nicely with hammock material rising above the mat on both sides. Although with the netting zipped up I'm certainly closer to it, but not enough to bug me.

The one issue I immediately noticed was that even though I’d put the mat in at the A-sym angle for a flatter lay, as I moved around in the hammock the mat would slip into the center line position and I’d feel that knee pressure. I usually sleep with something under my knees anyway so not that big a deal, but it’s definitely more pronounced. I’m wondering if there’s some way I can keep it from slipping.

I'm also going to try sleeping with it uninflated to see how much the down still insulates me so I know how warm it will be if it ever leaks or fails when camping. I'm wondering if anyone else with an Exped has tried this and what their experience was?

Anyway, the initial playing around with the mat proved positive, so I’m going to keep experimenting with it and am interested to see what the comfort level will be with a full cold night spent in the hammock.

HC

[GrizzlyAdams]

I used my DownMat 9 Deluxe last winter a few times. I'm pretty sure I was on that when I hit my coldest point that season at about 3 degrees F. I like it!

You can get a bit chilled though at first in those kinds of temps if you don't heat up the mattress first. What keeps you warm is the down in the mat trapping the heat....so where does that first batch of heat come from??? Without an assist it took a very long 10 minutes or so for the iceblock under my butt to go away.

A trick (I learned here at HF) is to heat up some water, put it in a nalgene bottle, wrap that in a wool sock, and toss it onto the mat a little before retiring. Does the trick, and the bottle stays warm pretty much all night.

Grizz

[HappyCamper]

You can get a bit chilled though at first in those kinds of temps if you don't heat up the mattress first. What keeps you warm is the down in the mat trapping the heat....so where does that first batch of heat come from??? Without an assist it took a very long 10 minutes or so for the iceblock under my butt to go away.

A trick (I learned here at HF) is to heat up some water, put it in a nalgene bottle, wrap that in a wool sock, and toss it onto the mat a little before retiring. Does the trick, and the bottle stays warm pretty much all night.

Grizz

Hey Grizz! Thanks for the warming tip. That makes sense because the mat definitely got warmer after I was on it for a while.

[txulrich]

I've used a 9 deluxe in my ENO. I don't inflate it quite all the way. It seems to conform to the hammock a little better. I've used it here in TX down into the mid 20s. Like Griz says, the initial warm up is a little chilly, but then it's all good.

[canoebie]

I used my DownMat 9 Deluxe last winter a few times. I'm pretty sure I was on that when I hit my coldest point that season at about 3 degrees F. I like it!

You can get a bit chilled though at first in those kinds of temps if you don't heat up the mattress first. What keeps you warm is the down in the mat trapping the heat....so where does that first batch of heat come from??? Without an assist it took a very long 10 minutes or so for the iceblock under my butt to go away.

A trick (I learned here at HF) is to heat up some water, put it in a nalgene bottle, wrap that in a wool sock, and toss it onto the mat a little before retiring. Does the trick, and the bottle stays warm pretty much all night.

Grizz

Grizz, I had to chuckle when I read this. Several years ago, my wife and I went camping in November to view the full lunar eclipse. It was a beautiful cold night in northern michigan and got down to about 15 degrees. We did the water bottle warm up as you described. She snuggled down into her bed, felt the warmth from the bottle, and said, "I have a new best friend." We still joke about that. My male ego was only slightly threatened. I am anxious to check out the exped series. Seems a great fit for cold weather canoe camping.

[Mustardman]

I'm thinking I really need to get my hands on one of these downmats. I'm going to be doing a LOT of winter camping this season, as I'm doing some competitive climbing that happens to take place during the colder months, and I would really appreciate the warmth of a down-filled pad. And unfortunately, some of the venues will force me to go to ground, so a pad is probably a better investment than an underquilt at the moment.

I'll probably still try macguyvering an underquilt out of an old sleeping bag, though, for the sake of completeness.

[fin]

Oh, yeah! I can foresee an exped downmat in my future. Combined with a UQ, you may need not even need a topcover! I'll bet it would really make the BMB comfy, as well.

[bison_2]

I too have the Exped 9 DLX and just let me say this thing is sweeet! You will get a better fit and feel if you do not inflate the mat as much, this goes for ground dwelling as well. I have found that if you inflate the mat to were it will almost, but not quite support its own shape, it is about right. The other plus side to this is you do not have to work so hard using the pain in the backside bag infaltion system that the mat comes with. I picke this mat up when I lived out west and used it to hang in some pretty cold temps in the Rockies-never slept better.

[smithobx]

The other plus side to this is you do not have to work so hard using the pain in the backside bag infaltion system that the mat comes with. I picke this mat up when I lived out west and used it to hang in some pretty cold temps in the Rockies-never slept better.[/QUOTE]

I recently bought an exped 9 dlx synthetic. They have a new pump system built into the mat and the bag is no longer the pump. This is way easier and faster than the old bag pump.

[CajunHiker]

I got a 7 short for my son. He used it on our troop's last campout. Got to the mid 40's, we both got cold due to insufficient top insulation.
In regards to the sack/pump, I found that I was inadverdently rotating the sack clockwise, thus closing off the valve. I now mentally force a slight ccw turn and find the pad inflates much faster. Also, as per the instructions, open the valves a while before inflating to allow the pad to expand by itself.