I have begun using an Exped Synmat Hyperlite M. The synthetic filling can handle, but does better without, inflation by mouth. Alternatives av pump bags that Exped sells. Perhaps you can also adapt some other pump bag solution or pump from other manufacturers to fit the Exped Synmat nozzle.
It would be easier, cheaper and lighter to use something you already have in the pack. When I put my mind to this the conclusion felt pretty obvious.
By Jörgen Johansson
Well, what can be seen in the photo is not really something I already had in my pack. It is a short length (10 cm/4 in) of ordinary garden hose. To one end I have added enough layers of duct tape to make it fit snugly into the recessed nozzle where you inflate the Synmat.
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| I found it fairly easy to add the right number of layers for a snug fit with enough friction to stay in place under pressure. |
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To this piece of hose I attach my pumpbag. What is reasonably airtight and reasonably big and always in my pack? My rain pants of course! This is because I live in Scandinavia, where it rains a lot. If you do live in an area where it does not rain much and you do not carry rain pants, my heart bleeds for you ;-)
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| First thing; tie a knot on one of the legs of the pants. |
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| I grabbed a piece of elastic that happended to be handy. |
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| You just insert the hose at the bottom of one pants leg and twist the elastic a number of times around to assure a snug fit. Make sure that this does not mean that fabric inside will block the hose. |
After this you just stick the hose into the sleeping pad and 'collect' some air into the pants, like with an ordinary pump bag. You close it up and roll it towards the sleeping pad.
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| Rolling the pants leg, pressing the air into the sleeping mat. It took about 2,5 pant fills for my sleeping pad. |
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Sorry if I was rude to you poor people not hiking in areas where rain pants are an essential part of your kit. My suggestion is that you use your ordinary hiking pants instead. Should work on all reasonably thin and windproof pants :-)
I usually sleep on a NeoAir mattress, so I don't have to use any fitting to make a pump bag.
ReplyDeleteI used my back pack liner earlier to inflate it, but it's a bit impractical to empty the back pack entirely, now a days I use a plastic bag that I use as a drybag around my sleeping mattress solution (Half a NeoAir, almost half a CCF-pad and a small CCF sitting pad.)
With this solution I can use the same bag for a Exped inflatable pad!
Now that is smart and if it windy enough you can use the wind to inflate the wind pants and then the sleeping mat. I must try this at some stage.
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