Self-inflating technology
Inside Airic is a layer of die cut open cell foam. This foam is what makes a self-inflating mattress different to an airbed. When you open a small valve the foam expands and sucks air into the mat, after a couple of minutes the mat will be semi-firm. Then you have to do a little work: a few breaths of air is all it takes to make the mat firm enough to sleep on.. The first time you use your mat you may have to blow into it more to wake up the foam.
Deflating news
There is nothing clever about deflating the sleeping mat (they are
not self deflating!) This is achieved by opening the valve and rolling
the mat towards the valve end. The better you are at squeezing out the
air the smaller the mat will be. The Fat Airic features a twin valve
design allowing faster inflating and deflating speeds.
Materials and construction
The outer is constructed from Honey Comb Nylon 66 (Superfine fiber)
which has a special raised hexagon pattern, this is tough and resistant.
Laminated between the outer is a layer of Xlite die cut open cell foam
that offers a 30% weight reduction, high resilience, anti-mold and
bacteria resistance. It is this foam that gives the mat its
self-inflating characteristics. |
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What did we think?
Firstly I was pleasantly surprised by how lightweight the range of Airics
are, when the delivery arrived I expected the box to be very heavy but even
my youngest daughter was easily able to carry the box with all four in!
They were all neatly packed in good sized bags, each rolled up, strapped
tight with two good heavy duty straps and each Airic comes complete with a
puncture repair kit. The straps are a simple quick release which meant they
were open and rolled out in a matter of seconds. The first time we
rolled them out and released the valve, I think we were expecting too much
and pretty much nothing happened. We helped it along with a few deep
lung fulls of breath and without much effort they were springing into shape.
To test that they were in fact self inflating, we let them all down again
and retried. This time they did start to self inflate, and I imagine
the more they get used the quicker the self inflating process will take.
You will need to top up the mattresses with some of your own breath to
make them solid, but the effort needed is minimal, and within seconds you
have an inflated and ready to use mattress.
Deflating was quite simple, rolling them up expelled the air, and we were able to get them strapped up and back in their carry bags with only minimal effort.
We used all four to sleep on and each was suitable for the purpose. The Wee Airic is a little short - still enough to sleep
with your back on it and your legs hanging off - but it's designed for lightweight camping fanatics. As to which one you choose,
that is entirely down to you, where you would be using it, e.g. hiking, or
general camping and how space and weight you want to use! I had a very comfortable nights sleep on the Fat Airic, and that is the one I would choose if I were taking the car.
These are a great alternative to heavier airbeds which take a lot of pumping up, and they retail at a very
reasonable price. Highly recommended.
Where Can I get them From?
You can buy the full range of Airic Mattresses only from
Alpkit . They offer a full seven day money back guarantee if you dont get on, so you can try one at home with no risk. |
