Lichfield SIM Self-Inflating Camping Mat, Scuba Blue, 3 cm [Amazon Exclusive]

I've recently started a new project at work that involves working nights. During the night I may be stood down for up to two hours and that would be a great time to catch up on some sleep. As the only option is a bumpy concrete floor I was looking for something to make the rest periods more comfortable. I came across this self-inflating mat at less than £15 and ordered one. I've been very satisfied with the mat: it has exceeded my expectations for the budget price.I do a lot of camping and generally use inflatable mats as they are comfortable, well insulated and lightweight. This self-inflator is very comfortable, very warm but fairly bulky. I wouldn't use it for a backpacking trip: it's simply too heavy (around 1kg) and takes up too much space when stored. But for my current situation it's excellent. The 3cm pad is very supportive and holds me off the ground. It's also very good at keeping me warm. Although it is branded as Lichfield, the label attached states that it is manufactured by Vango, a company I trust. The quality seems very good for the price. The material appears durable and has handled being used on concrete floors with no issues. As I am 1.88m tall and 105kg, I was concerned about the pad being able to take my bulk, but it has coped really well. As a side-sleeper I have found the mat plenty wide enough, but back-sleepers will probably find there's not enough width for their arms.Inflation is simple: I open the valve and leave it for ten minutes then add two or three breaths to fill it completely. Deflation needs a little effort: the pad is thick and the material is rugged, so rolling it up takes both hands and a bit of welly. The mat comes with a repair kit, 2 elasticated bands to keep the stored mat rolled tight and a generously sized storage sack.Overall I have been really impressed with this mat, especially for the price paid.

I go camping at festivals every year and normally use a blow up bed to sleep on, but not having a car last year meant I wanted to look at at a cheap and easy-to-pack alternative to my beloved bed which takes the pain out of sleeping in a tent on a bumpy grassy verge.I searched high and wide and stumbled upon these inflatable mats, I did not even know these things existed and started researching further. I looked at lots of different options and used the reviews and product descriptions of many similar products to finally have my keep coming back to this item.There were plenty of good reviews to make me think this would be good choice but enough bad to make me question my decision if these things did actually work or not, my main worry was wasting money on something that I would not even get one use out of. However it is so cheap (£12.99 inc VAT and delivery was free) that I decided to go for it and if it was rubbish then I was not too out of pocket.ProsI loved it, this is an excellent mat, it is quite small and thin so very easy to pack and carry, it weighs next to nothing. When it arrived I really thought it would be like resting on a bit of cardboard but it is deceptively good.... When I blew it up fully it was really comfy and then given that you will be in your sleeping bag too this is a wonderful replacement from the large waterbed I used to use and would now bring this camping every time to save effort and space rather than dragging out the bed again. If the weather is good you can use this to sleep on directly with no sleeping bag or it is also good for lounging, it may get a little sticky given the material. Make no mistake: it is not like sleeping on a thousand pillows but it really evens out the surface you are sleeping on, holds a good lot of air and took my weight fine throughout (all 11 stone of it!).It feels like a sturdy well made product but comes with a repair kit in case there are any mishaps. Ater a long weekend (5 whole days) it shows no sign of wear and tear and this was at a wild festival. If this changes on the next few outings I will update my review but if I get two more festivals out of it which I have no doubt I will then I will be even more elated!!Cleans easily, when I got home a once over in the shower and it was as good as new.I rate the product as 5 stars as it was perfect for my needs and so cheap but I will list things that people may find issue with: Possible cons....It is small but the dimensions are listed for you so the reviews that complain about the size are foolish for buying something they have not measured out to see if it will fit them, I am 5'7", medium build and a fidgety sleeper but never found that I was slipping either side of the thing.It does say self inflating so maybe you will expect it to inflate in full and tuck you in at night. It inflates a small amount but it took me about a minute to blow it up.

Need to blow it up manually to full capacity

Ok so it really depends on what you’re looking for. I needed something for camping. I previously used a blow up bed that I kept rolling off and kept deflating. I’m not a spring chicken anymore alas and my back is prob the equivalent of an 80 year old, so needed something that I could easily inflate and would stay for the night.This did the job. It’s not wide! I’m 6ft and a normal size (what’s that these days!) I’m not slim but don’t eat 10 donuts a day, so go figure. I just about fit. BUT… it was easy to unroll, inflate and stayed still all night.It’s not thick, so not deluxe but I slept ok. I slept directly on it with a sleeping bag so it was a tad slippy slidy but it worked.

On the plus side, it is lightweight, easy to carry, and I'm sure it improved my sleep. It is really comfy, providing that you don't move about much in the night. I think it might be too narrow for sleep-wigglers.On the other hand, however, I had to blow it up (which was very quick, but when you're expecting "self inflating"...), and it was sometimes a faff to put down (obviously, it takes longer to put away than something that doesn't inflate - I did not think about that beforehand) which was annoying when I was in a rush, and was a bit narrow.I used the mat to go on a cycling holiday where we set up camp in a new location each night, then set off the next morning, carrying everything. Obviously that meant that the putting away issue was an issue for me, whereas if I was using it at a festival, I would probably have given this mat a 4.For my purposes, I would probably have been better off with a normal foam roll mat, bearing in mind that I am a heavy sleeper anyway, but perhaps more delicate sleepers would have a better appreciation of the added comfort.