The Bottom Line
The Trekology UL80’s standout feature is its price. In my opinion, though, it isn’t worth even that: it’s uninsulated (I’ve never had a warm night’s sleep on mine), and the quality is relatively low (mine popped after only a few uses).
(2 / 5)
- Very comfortable
- A better size than most mats
- Cheap for its weight (£45, 560g)
- Very thick
- Takes up a lot of space in the tent
- Not very warm
Purchasing & Price
The Trekology UL80 costs around £40 on Amazon. It is also available direct from Trekology’s US website for about $40.
Size & Weight
At 560 grams, it isn’t as light as some other inflatable pads available – the Rab Ultrasphere 4.5, for example, weighs just 370g. The comparison here, though, is that the Rab is £170 compared to the Trekology’s £45.
When folded, the Trekology UL80 is relatively small. It goes down to just over the size of a drinks can, and it comes with an elastic tie to keep it together, so it won’t slowly unroll in your pack. Using the Trekology and my Traveller 50 sleeping bag (see review here), my summer sleep kit really does take up almost no room in my pack and weigh very little – all for a very low price.
Comfort
Comfort is where the Trekology UL80 really excels. It is the most comfortable sleeping pad I have ever used, and more comfortable even than some beds. With its 10cm (4in) thickness, there is no risk of bottoming out if you’re lying down, even for side sleepers – although if you sit or kneel on the mat while in your tent, you may touch the ground. The mat is slightly curved up at the edges, although less than I expected. This supposedly helps stop you from rolling off the mat – but I don’t tend to roll off my mat anyway. I understand the idea, but I don’t think the curve will make too big a difference to how often you roll off as it just seems too slight.
The one issue with its comfort is that it is quite a large mat – longer and wider than my others, as well as thicker. This means it does make my tent feel considerably smaller than when I use the Salewa Mat Lite.
The other big issue with this mat is that it isn’t insulated. Despite its nearly three-inch thickness, I usually feel cold when sleeping on it no matter what sleeping bag I use. I have happily upgraded to the Rab Ultrasphere 4.5 I mentioned earlier – pricier, but excellent. The Mat Lite is also a good choice if you’re more budget-sensitive.
Ease of Use
Trekology has its own 20mm valve, which makes inflating and deflating the mat easy. The valve has three settings, shut, inflation only and open.
Inflating the mat is best done with a pump sack, otherwise it does need a lot of blowing. Not only that, but blowing up a mat like this without one ends up with a lot of condensation (from your breath) inside the mat. Trekology does make its own pump sack, but it is hard to get hold of, and isn’t on Amazon at the moment. The one I have is a 15l sack made by Robens (see here) – its valve is a bit of a squeeze on the Trekology, but they do work together. The 15l Robens bag can also be used as a drybag, which is very useful.
Because the stuff sac provided with the mat is much bigger than needed, you’ll always be able to get the folded mat in, but folding and rolling the mat down as small as possible is always a challenge. the mat is (obviously…) airtight, so squeezing all the air out can take a few goes. It isn’t any more effort than properly squeezing down a self inflating mat, but it does take a couple of minutes.
Conclusions
The Trekology UL80 is a phenomenally comfortable sleeping mat, and at fantastic price. Despite its advertised minimum temperature of 2°C, though, don’t expect it to keep you warm on anything but the warmest of summer nights.