Multimat Superlite Full Length 25
[MM-SL25]

I like sleep. simples. Sleeping out on the ground can be both cold and uncomfortable a problem that I personally believe has been solved by the Multimat Superlite Full Length 25. December in Afghanistan, either in the green zone or the desert, was nothing short of bloody Baltic! Sleeping on a cot bed or more commonly a stretcher allows a large portion of your body heat to be lost through the base. As many know the current issue inflatable thermal roll mat is only about half your body length which is frustratingly ineffective at insulating you from the ground and wind.

When the Multimat arrived I carefully read the instructions and was completely happy. Ok that may not have been entirely accurate, if you would imagine 5 glazed eyed Tankies standing around a flat roll mat waiting for it to leap up and self inflate... it didn't! With many sighing and walking off unimpressed I rolled it up and packed it in my wagon. For about a weeks worth of use I had been manually inflating it with the valve at the top and simply assumed the self inflation ability was a selling pun. On a completely unrelated note I would like to add the valve is not only the twist type allowing it to be opened for manual inflation but also it pulls out slightly allowing free passage of air into it.. Feeling like a div at the discovery of this new ability a further few weeks passed and I became fonder and fonder of the mat.

The current issued inflatable roll mat is rectangular and quite thin, The Multimat offers full body contact and is thicker than the issue tissue one. Once repacked properly the Multimat is a very similar size and is very light weighing in at just 510g.

There is only one thing inflatable roll mats are scared of and that's getting punctured, I slept on the floor quite a few times on rough jagged rocks, These were no trouble for the mat and every morning it thankfully was still inflated. A clever and thankfully unneeded option is provided with the Multimat with inclusion of a puncture repair kit. With the best interests of the review in mind I thought I should self puncture my roll mat to test the supplied repair kit.... But I was too scared so I'll just believe them instead.

I tested the Mat in a very diverse climate; the desert. It was very cold in the winter nights but towards the end of my tour become very hot in the early summer nights. The mat performed brilliantly, my only qualm being it was sometimes too effective as often I woke up sweating in the hotter mornings. For approx £55 this sits at the top end of roll mat spectrum but in my eyes it simply has the best design and performance.

I would highly recommend this roll mat to others if they are off somewhere cold, as it boasts a -15 degree lower temp range, but beware if you are off somewhere really hot as all that comfort and thickness has a downside.

Date Added: 19/05/2011 by Arrse Reviews