Mountain Equipment Helium 3.8 Warm Zone Self Inflating Sleeping Mat Expert Review [2021]

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Our very own knowledgeable buyer, Will, takes you through what he thinks are the best features of the Mountain Equipment Helium 3.8 Warm Zone Self Inflating Sleeping Mat.

The Helium 3.8 Warm Zone self-inflating sleeping mat from Mountain Equipment provides warmth and comfort no matter where you may be camping out. This sleeping mat allows you to stay warm and off the ground in comfort insulating your body and not allowing heat to be lost through the floor of your tent. Not only is this sleeping mat comfortable but also has a very small pack size meaning that no matter where your adventure takes you, you can always have room for the support of an inflatable sleeping mat. This camping mat features Warm Zone technology which means in key areas such as the torso, there is a higher density of foam providing better insulation and warmth where it is most needed on a cold winters night. The Helium 3.8 sleeping mat also features a large push-in valve for quick inflation and deflation making it versatile and easy to use.

Specification

Fabric:
Top: Polyester 75D with micro-brushed surface
Base: Polyester 75D with non-slip, reinforced finish
Warm Zone with higher density foam
Tapered design
Self-inflating
Large push-in valve
Stuff sack included
Dimensions: 183 x 51 x 3.8cm
Packed dimensions: 27 x 16cm
Weight: 0.75kg

0:00 Intro
0:45 How does it expand?
1:13 How do you store the self inflating mat?
1:31 My personal opinion
1:53 Why is it good to have a sleeping mat?
2:20 What does the material on the bottom do?
2:45 How does the self inflating nozzle work?
3:19 Why does the surface have dimples?
4:10 What is the real difference between self inflating and foam roll mats?
5:02 What is the next step up from this mat?
5:30 Other benefits of this mat.
6:19 How do you roll away a self inflating camping roll mat?
8:41 What is the stuff sack like?
9:30 Outro





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Transcript:





Hi there, my name
is Will I'm one of the buyers

at Cotswold Outdoor, and I'm here today
at our head office here in Kemble.

And today I'm going to run you
through the Mountain

Equipment, Helium . self
inflating sleeping mat.

So the Helium ., .
referring to the centimetres

off the ground, so it's .
centimetres off the ground

is a self inflating,
backpacking, sleeping mat,

great for sort of first time users

or those who are looking to start
making the step in upgrading their kit.

So when you first get it out of the bag,
when you first buy it,

it will have been compressed
since it was in the factory.

So it will take some time for it
to self inflate,

because the way that it self
inflates is by having foam inside.

So you can sort of see it here.

The foam inside expands out
and that's what draws in the air.

So when you first get it out of the bag
for the first time,

you might need to give it a couple

of breaths of encouragement
just to get it going.

Or you can leave
it, but it will just take some time.

But in terms of storage
for long term storage,

they do prefer to be kept inflated.

That means the next time around,

when you want to take it
out on the hill, you roll it up.

And that first time out, it will
it will be really quick

in terms of self inflation
because it's not being compressed.

I don't have this specific one,

but I have got a self inflating mat
and I have had many of them in the past.

And I would usually find myself
storing them either under my bed

or I've also I've got a closet where
I can have them up right in there as well.

So they're kept inflated
upright in my closet.

But they're a really handy piece of kit.

And the whole idea is that you're

giving yourself as much distance
as you can from the ground

and it prevents the ground

from drawing out heat from your
from your body, keeping you nice and warm.

And then obviously,
it also gives you a nice soft cushion

surface to lie on as well.

So it's a little bit more comfortable
if you're on harder ground,

something that's a little bit less
forgiving than nice soft grass

hopefully gives you
a more comfortable night's sleep.

You've got a nice sort of flocked

material on the base
and this actually helps massively.

To stop the mat from sliding around.

The downside to all of these light
synthetic fabrics

is that they're quite shiny
and they're quite slippery.

[middleman]

Good bit of kit, if I can offer one recommendation to anyone reading it would be to fold the mat away with the green side facing outwards (i.e the side with less friction) and it's miles easier to get into the stuff sack.

[TZplayer]

My version is about 8 or 9 years, wider than the newer models, it has been reliable even in winter, never new about the storage inflated!! Doh!!

[pcondes]

Hi. what is the difference with the Mountain Equipment Glacier 5.0 Sleeping Mat ? can you review the Glacier 5.0 so I can compare. thanks!!

[sebastiancovenent]

QUESTION FOR COTSWOLD -
can you tell us which of the mini elctric pumps can be used to give the M/E mats that
final boost of pressure?
I've sent M/E an e-mail, asking about this - but yet to hear back