You’ve liked the spectacular insta pics of vast valleys, sky-piercing peaks and frolicking forests. You geared up with the latest hiking boots, down-filled jacket, merino baselayer and durable hike socks. Your do-everything backcountry backpack is bursting with accessories. You hit the trails full of excitement.
And every night you’re cold, sleeping on a lumpy hard surface digging into you where you wish it wouldn’t. Each morning you’re so groggy and tired no amount of instant coffee on your portable stove can save you from stumbling through the day. Camping mat, anyone?
Sleeping Swiss-Style
Founded in 1983 in Zurich, Exped puts a focus on expedition comfort – specifically, sleeping in the great outdoors as comfortably as possible. The husband-wife team of Andi and Heidi Brun and their employees have dedicated themselves to making each explorer’s camp, hike and trek that much more comfortable, all within an environmentally-sound framework. Camp booties and slippers, neck pillows, hammocks, sunshades and tents for mountains or beaches – Exped makes everything you need for R&R outdoors, including award-winning Exped sleeping bags and unbeatable Exped sleeping mats.
It’s In the Bag
Constant innovation has produced a number of innovative designs. Summertime and hut sleeping is refreshing in a Versa Quilt Duo – slim enough to double as a liner for a heavier sleeping bag on cooler nights.
The Hyper Quilt won a ‘Best of’ sleeping bags 2018 from Backpacker.com, with a poncho-like construction that hearkens to their first wearable sleeping bag in 1998. You relax at the campfire already wrapped up, then flop onto your mat, already warmed up. A number of other sleeping bag models cater to all sorts of climates and adventures in different parts of the world.
Versa Quilt Duo Sleeping Bag |
Hyper Quilt Sleeping Bag |
A Mat For All Seasons
Of course, even the best sleeping bag won’t matter without the right sleeping mat. Exped’s mat designs will change your next camp-out for the better.
Backpackers will love the idea that at-home comfort is their wherever they might roam. The lineup of lightweight, compressible air mattresses is impressive, like the Exped Synmat series that comes in different sizes, lengths, thicknesses and weights. Airmats are lighter and more suited to warmer weather. A night on a Synmat Sleeping Mat is like no other (duo or single), with microfiber and small packing size making them affordable and comfortable for shorter trips or even backyard sleepouts.
Airmat Ultralight Lite Sleeping Mat |
Synmat HL Sleeping Mat |
Synmat HL Duo Sleeping Mat |
Down-Insulated Mats!
Heading to higher ground or colder climates? It’s time for the DownMat down-insulated inflatable mats, just right for backpacking adventures in cold weather like backcountry ski touring. Lofty, luxurious down is the winter insulator of choice in jackets – why not sleeping mats?
Since 2002 Exped has stuffed sleeping mats with down and still make them packable to a small enough size for easy transport. Inflate as you need it – these are surefire backpacker hits in colder conditions. A variety of lengths, temperature ratings and sizes means there’s one waiting for you.
You’ll sleep even easier knowing that the down is monitored at the source by the Responsible Down Standard, a tracing body that checks on ethical down suppliers. An Exped down mat is quickly becoming required gear on outdoor expeditions.
Downmat XP 7 – Medium Sleeping Mat |
Luxury Sleeping Mats
Admit it, when you see MegaMat you’re thinking like we are – plush comfort and cushion. They are ultra-thick, with a 3-D construction that raises the edges for a more level sleeping surface. Bring one of these along and win the Most Popular Camper award every time. It’s not the weight, it’s the cushion – we’re talking thickness and a pillow feel perfect for acclimatizing at Basecamp. Or the back of the camper-van, where your sleep on the long haul will never be better. Go long and wide with the Megamat Lite 12 – squeeze in a friend and revel in the comfort.
Megamat 10 Sleeping Mat |
Megamat Lite 12 Sleeping Mat |
What the Schnozzel???
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the handy companion to these mats, the amusingly-named Schnozzel inflator. Exped’s Schnozzle does justice to the oft-overused adjective ‘innovative’ – a hand-pumping bag that doubles as a waterproof stuff sack and provides quick inflation without any mouth-to-mouth nozzle time. Indispensable for those who have used them or are at least in the know (now including yourself). Plus, there aren’t many words that sound better than Schnozzel.
Schnozzel Pumpbag |
Camp Booty
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Travel Hammock Duo |
Outdoor Gear by Outdoor People
Exped is that they have centered their products around their bread-and-butter – comfortable camping. Everything is an interconnected ecosystem. Bound by commitments to organizations like bluesign and Ökotex, Exped leads the way forward in responsibly-made outdoor products. As outdoor people, they understand the importance of sustainability, preserving Nature, and a good night’s sleep – wherever you are.
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