ALDI ARE DOING SELF INFLATING ONES FOR £9.99 IN DIFFERENT COLOURS. THEY ARE 5CM THICK AND VERY GOOD QUALITY, THEY EVEN COME WITH A BUILT IN ZIPPED CARRY BAG WITH HANDLE, EXTRA VELCRO STRAPS AND A REPAIR KIT. I BOUGHT 3 AND, AS I READ ON HERE, LEFT ALL OF THEM ROLLED OUT WITH THE VALVE OPEN OVERNIGHT PRIOR TO USING THEM. FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN OF THEM (NOT CAMPED WITH THEM YET) I SHOULD IMAGINE THAT KIDS WILL CERTAINLY BE COMFORTABLE ON THEM. I PLAN TO USE MINE ON TOP OF A CAMPBED. THEY SEEM IDEAL FOR WHEN KIDS HAVE MATES AROUND FOR PROVIDING EXTRA SLEEPING SPACE. I HAVE SEEN MATS THAT ARE FAR INFERIOR IN QUALITY AND SIZE FOR A LOT MORE MONEY ELSEWHERE.
OMG ALMOST HAD HEART ATTACK, SOMEONE ON EBAY IS SELLING THE SAME CAMPING MATS AS ALDI. EXCEPT YOU GET A PILLOW TOO. THEY ARE SELLING THEM FOR £22.99 AND £6.99 POSTAGE. I WORK THAT OUT AS ALMOST £20 FOR THE PILLOW LOL.COMPARED TO ALDI PRICE. MY CAPS BUTTON HAS STUCK !!!! SORRY IF I AM SHOUTING.
hey andystewart, are the Aldi ones lightweight enough for us to go backpacking with. these self-inflating ones do tend to be a lot heavier than the run of the mill mats..
for celticgothette:i hadn't thought of contacting the manufacturer for seeing if the valve on my Highlander one could be salvaged..
well thanks for that, celtic, but i've already bought the cheap Poundland ones, they'll do the job for now,and for the future, i'll sort it out with the manuf.. have you ever dealt with camping manuf. before? i have with Terra Nova for my bent tent pole, but they wouldn't give my a free pole when it was just out of guarantee..
Probably not but would still be ok on a bike I reckon.
Mind I am a happy bunny with my Thermarests and am doing to stick with them until they invent a way to put my bed from home complete with duvet and pillows into a bag about the size of a medium rucksack.
Quote: Originally posted by celtic_gothette on 08/7/2007
Why not contact the manufacturer and see if they can replace the valve?
We bought some great ones from Lidls for around £10 a couple of years back. But when the kids used them we noticed too that the valves were not working. On closer inspection it seems that when the top is unscrewed too far and comes off (like when our kids are mucking about with them) a small thick plastic/rubber band which forms the seal when you tighten it up falls out. I now have three of the things with the seal missing which is so frustrating as it is such simple little thing that has gone wrong.
Did try a small rubber band which gave me limited success. It did form a seal when tightened, but tended to 'ping' out of place once it was loosened again.
One idea I've had is to use that special fine flexible tape that plumbers use to to seal joins in pipes. I would imagine it would stay in place longer, and it is designed to seal under pressure. Haven't tried it yet ... mainly because I can't remember what the tape is called!!
from a DofEer i can recommend collecting little bottles with tight lids for toiletries and pouring your ones into them. this way you save money because you're using existing stuff! another tip is get tescos own 29p toothpaste, it's much better value than the small calgate one!