The low-profile Sea to Summit Ultralight mat is designed for warmer weather, rated realistically, but perhaps not ideal for side sleepers.

The Sea to Summit Ultralight is a summer rated air mat that dispenses with the baffles found in many competitors, in favour of a waffle system of semi-independent ‘cells’.

David Lintern’s verdict

For me, this is a summer specialist, and even then, perhaps best paired with a CCF mat for insurance on longer trips.
Pros
  • pack size
  • relative comfort
  • price
Cons
  • thinness
  • rating
Quick specs
Price: $368 / £100
Weight: 410g
Type: air mat
Materials: 30D/40D Nylon Face Fabric with anti-microbial liquid-extruded TPU lamination
Dimensions: 183x55cm (shoulder) and 42cm (foot) – regular
Thickness: 5cm
Rating: 1.1
Sizes: Small or regular
Women’s version?: unisex
seatosummit.co.uk

It comes with an inflation bag and needs 3 of these bags of air to fill the mat, equating to around 30 breaths. The valve is 2 way and features a mini adjustment nozzle in the centre (which I found no use for in practice). The valve holds the bag securely under air pressure as you inflate. The resultant mat is a slimline 5cm high. The waffle system is stable once inflated, but the mat is so thin that it does need flattening out to distribute the air evenly, or else the ends curl unevenly.

In use, my regular was long enough with a little to spare for my 5’8’ height, but a touch narrow, so my arms dangled on the sides. It’s very low profile. On grass I felt cushioned enough, but on harder surfaces, side sleepers like myself may touch the ground. However, the waffle system means there’s no sense of falling off the sides, as with horizontal baffles – the mat conforms to the contours of one’s body and the ground underneath.

It’s designed for warmer weather and is rated realistically. I found it fine in summer but struggled in the shoulder seasons, especially during the cold spring and early summer of 2024.

The laminated surface does mean it’s quiet under pressure – a relief to others when sharing a bothy or tent! The same lamination comes impregnated with an anti microbal treatment to help manage the damp, internally.

It comes with a well-equipped repair kit, and packs down tiny and easily. For me, this is a summer specialist, and even then, perhaps best paired with a CCF mat for insurance on longer trips.

Testing Conditions

David is quite short at 5’8”, and sleeps cold. He tested the mats over winter, spring and summer from glen bottom to mountain summit camps, all in Highland Scotland. He sometimes used the mats together and sometimes apart and always in different shelters, to help gauge form and function. Weights are from his own scales and include stuff sacks, inflation bags and repair kits.

This review was first published in the October 2024 issue of The Great Outdoors. Read more honest reviews in our round-up of the best sleeping mats.