Good riding means getting a good night’s sleep so if you’re going to be camping you should put a bit of thought into which sleeping mat is good for you. Don’t even consider camping without a mat. Even in warm weather you’ll want some insulation from the ground. We started our trip with the inflatable Prolite 3 mats from Thermarest but we changed midway through to the solid-cell Z Lite mat. In this article, we’ll outline the differences between the two and why we made the switch.
We initially plumped for the Thermarest Prolite mats because of their light weight - just 570 grams - and their small 28cm x 10cm size when packed away. They have several ratings for warmth and we picked a 3 Season mat because we knew we’d be doing some cool weather camping, occasionally with night temperatures around or just below freezing. We were also attracted by Thermarest’s lifetime guarantee. Although expensive, we were able to rationalise the price because we knew we would be putting the mats through their paces.
Initially we found the Prolite mats a bit too thin to be comfortable but after a few nights our bodies adjusted and as long as we cleared the ground under our tent of the biggest rocks we slept well. Only Andrew didn’t sleep well once when we felt rocks under his mat, only to wake up the next morning and discover our head torches had been under his back all night! We used the mats a few times in very cold weather (frozen ground, frost on the plants) and with a few layers of clothing and a good sleeping bag we were always warm.
For the first six months we were very happy with the Prolite mats and used them frequently but this intense use caused one of the mats to delaminate. This means that separators that create the pockets of air inside the mat began to break down and instead of a flat mat we had one with a huge bubble in the middle of it. This was nearly impossible to sleep on comfortably and no longer provided insulation from the cold ground.
Happily, Thermarest were true to their word and went above and beyond our expectations when we contacted them. They sent us a replacement immediately, even though we couldn’t follow the normal return process. You are supposed to send the mat off for examination and then Thermarest repair it or replace it. This can take a few weeks but because we were travelling and had no permanent address, Thermarest made an exception and sent us a new one immediately. Great customer service!
All was fine until the second mat gave way a few months later. This time we located a nearby Thermarest dealer and decided that instead of swapping our old mat for a new one, which would likely deteriorate in another few months, we would try a closed cell mat. We didn’t like the feel of the Ridgerest so we picked a Z Lite. It weighs less than a Prolite 3 at just 440 grams but its accordion-style folding makes it much bulkier - a massive 51 cm x 13 cm x 14cm when folded! We had to rearrange our gear and placed the new mat in a heavy duty bag on the back of Friedel’s bicycle, on top of the rear panniers.
As with the Prolite mats, there was an adjustment period to the Z Lite’s eggshell carton surface but after a few nights we grew used to it. An unexpected bonus was that we were no longer worried about using this mat outside and getting a puncture. When our remaining Prolite 3 mat gave way in Syria in December 2007, we asked Thermarest if they would replace it with a second Z Lite and they quickly couriered out one to us, no questions asked. Once again we were very impressed with their customer service!
Since then we’ve been using our Z Lite mats without complaint. Given our experience with inflatable mats, we would advise against choosing this style for a long tour. Even with great service from Thermarest, you still have to find a place to receive a replacement mat and it’s better not to have this hassle in the first place. The Z Lite is also less than half the price of the Prolite mats.
If you aren’t doing an epic journey and only normally plan one or two short tours a year then a Thermarest inflatable mat is a great choice. It’s more portable and it will be no problem for you to send it off for repair from home if it does delaminate. If the average cycle tourist gets out for two weeks of biking and camping a year, then we got a good decade’s use out of our Prolite mats before they gave way.
It’s worth noting that we are fairly easy sleepers but some people find the Thermarest Prolite inflatable mats uncomfortable, especially if you sleep on your side or you’re a larger person. If this is the case, you may want to research thicker mats, which will be heavier and bulkier but make for sweeter dreams. One option, if you’re flush with cash, is the Exped DownMat. We can’t offer any first-hand experiences with that product but we’ve seen it recommended by a number of other cycle tourists.
