So glad I got the Wideboy going on what you have said there EssexLady, I spent last week on mine straight on the floor and I didn't miss my bed at home once
Hi,
We have had several SIMs over the years, and I have returned three due to leaking. We find they leak around the valve area and go down slowly overnight. There seems to be a problem with the fabric puncturing at the (hard) edges of the valve. The leaks are small but enough to leave you on the floor in the morning. We have mainly had problems with outwell 10cm mats, on four different mats. We returned two because the leak occurred quite quickly and they were replaced with the following years model. We still have the other two because they were the replacements and we had lost the receipt so we patched them, but they still leak.
The problems are not exclusive to Outwell, We have had the same problem with a (cheap) Multimat and a 10 cm Gelert. (Design same as Outwell mat, and we got a refund). We are now really careful about supporting the valve as we tighten and loosen it but I think it is a design flaw.
Not all Sims have failed in our hands - We have two really old thermarests which have lasted v well but they are only thin and are now used by the children - and we have two other Multimats (expensive) that have survived several camping trips. Personally I would not buy another Outwell mat and I would buy single mats not a double.
Despite all the problems I like Sims above airbeds, we currently sleep on the leaking Outwells 10cm, above Multimats 7cm. The combination is very comfortable but very bulky to transport and we only do it this way because we have the thick Outwell mats that despite leaking, and no longer adequate on their own, do add extra comfort. I am considering buying a new mat to reduce the pack size - possibly an exped 10.
In addition we also have 3 leaking Vango pillows that use the same valve fabric technology.
Unhappy camper hubby spent 8 nights on Exped Megamat 10 in France and declared on return that he couldn't sleep as well at home as he did in the tent.
Cooler months I put brushed cotton fitted sheets on. With pillow and duvet from home I'm snug as the proverbial bug.
Have great fun deflating them - opening the valve while the late riser is still in bed kick starts the process and certainly appeals to my sense of humour.
PS have got Megamat 7.5 for the kids - much prefer the 10 for me as I'm not exactly a featherweight,
We started with Aerobed inflatables which all got splits in recessed seams, but they were quite good. We then upgraded to 7.5cm Vango's, 2 singles for the kids & a double for us, they are fantastically comfortable, however they have all suffered with leaking around the valves just like JojoW's Outwell versions. Despite trying several different repairs, they still leak. We looked at all of the ones stocked by our large independent camping shop & GoOutdoors, they all had potential quality issues to the point that we didn't want to make the same expensive mistake again.
Thermarest was recommended but we haven't actually seen one, so a bit nervous to invest.
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Topic: Self Inflating Mattress
