Self inflating mats

[Purplehulk]

Last year for our first camping trip we got kitted out with a regular blow up mattress each.
This year we are actually going to do some proper camping and all I read about is self inflating mats.
Come tell me why they are better please!

Aldi SIMs on sale this Sunday at £14 - they're 5cm deep

Great way to find out if you like sleeping on them, if you don't you won't have wasted a load of money

Hi Salome, I'd love to get the Aldi ones, but we're not in the UK so we don't have the same Aldi special offers. As it happens, Aldi here is also having a 'camping week' and I picked up two brilliant trekking rucksacks this morning for 17 euros each - but no mats on offer.

Noticed them in Tesco today for £13 but no indication of how deep they are. Anyone know?

Thank you Fanny :)

The Tesco mat says 'assembled height 2.5' so half the thickness of the Aldi one

I have got a double SIM one but I was thinking of getting the Aldi mats that slot together to put underneath for more padding.

Or can anyone else think of something else??

I got the aldi ones yesterday and we slept on them loads better than our Airobed last night. Bargain for the price!

We have an air bed and two weekends ago camped in the lakes (stonethwaite campsite if anyone wants to try it, very good!) and it was going to be v cold overnight (2-4 degrees) so we put a thermarest and a gelert sim under the air bed. We also had a flannelette sheet & blanket on top of the air bed under our sleeping bags (and two blankets in top of those!). Well we hadn't checked the flipping airbed after storing it over the winter and yep it had a puncture! I wasn't expecting a good night's sleep but had the best I'd ever had due to the sim! Kept us lovely and toasty warm too. I'm a total convert now even tho we have a car pump to get away with the hours of fruitless pumping!

I have an outwell 5cm double one and I now have a memory foam topper as well and the both of them together were bloody lovely. Far far better than an air bed that just deflate and are cold.

I know this is 'ask a silly question' but ... where do you get the Aldi sims from? I've just looked on their website and can't see any section that would relate to outdoorsy stuff. Just gardening and it's flowers and plants. Do you have to go to a store to find the mats?

I bought an ASDA SIM last week and tried it put last night (didn't sleep on it but got it out.) It seemed really thin (no more than 2cm) and I am fairly certain I was doing it correctly.

I have seen the ALDI ones- are they good? And will they be warmer than airbeds? We are only occasional campers and each year I get chilly on airbeds..

In my experience ANY SIM is better than an airbed.....

Right. Having read the thread I popped down to local Aldi and bought 2 SIMs. Much better than the Asda ones in terms of thickness. May have also bought some interlocking floor tiles to go underneath....and a multi tool..,and a light . Having already bought travel towels, another light and a travel basin in Asda last week!

I just bought the aldi SIM keep eyeing up the interlocking mats too. Hmm.

We only camp about 5 days a year in total! At the rate i am accumulating stuff, the cost per night will be cheaper in a hotel!

I bought the Aldi ones, but have just been to decathlon and the quechua ones look so much smaller packed! the cheaper ones are only £20, so not much more. does anyone have those ones and are they any good?