DownTo1 Packs

The engine's answer

Best sleeping mat in mild summer nights, under €400

Forclaz

MT500 Foam

The cheapest sleeping surface here, and it will outlive the tent.

  • Costs almost nothing
  • Cannot puncture
  • Doubles as a sit mat and pack frame
  • Bulky and strapped outside the pack
  • Thin and hard

Find it at Bergfreunde · Trekkinn · Decathlon · Alpinetrek · eBay (used)

Why it wins, in numbers

Forclaz MT500 Foam is the sleeping mat the engine picked for this trip: €30 and 480 g, R-value 2.0, a 50% match on the questions asked. The kit around it comes to €310 of the €400 ceiling, leaving €90.

What the engine asked for: a sleeping bag rated to 6 °C or lower, a mat with an R-value of at least 1.5, a pack of at least 42 L, and €400 for all four; anything that falls short of these is flagged beside the item.

The kit it belongs to

Four items chosen together, not four separate winners. Swapping one moves the others.

4.58 kg on your back · €310 of a budget of €400

Tent
3F UL Gear Lanshan 2: €130, 1.10 kg, Season rating 3, 50% match.
Sleeping bag
Deuter Orbit +5° SQ: €90, 1.50 kg, Comfort rating 5 °C, 50% match.
Sleeping mat
Forclaz MT500 Foam: €30, 480 g, R-value 2.0, 50% match.
Backpack
Forclaz MT100 Easyfit 50: €60, 1.50 kg, Capacity 50 L, 50% match.

What the runners-up gave up

Each of these still leaves a kit that closes — the budget holds and the pack shuts. This is where each one lost.

  • Therm-a-Rest Z Lite SolIndestructible, cheap, and it will never once deflate at 3 a.m.Therm-a-Rest Z Lite Sol — €55, 410 g — gives up Price: €55 against the winner's €30. It scores 50% to the winner's 50%.
  • Nemo SwitchbackThe other closed-cell mat, with slightly deeper nodes.Nemo Switchback — €60, 415 g — gives up Price: €60 against the winner's €30. It scores 50% to the winner's 50%.
  • Alpkit NumoA light summer air mat for a third of the usual money.Alpkit Numo — €70, 390 g — gives up Price: €70 against the winner's €30. It scores 50% to the winner's 50%.

Questions this trip raises

How much does the whole kit cost?
€310 for all four items, €90 under the €400 ceiling. Prices are indicative euro list prices; the shops set their own.
How much does it weigh?
4.58 kg base weight — tent, sleeping bag, mat and pack together, before food, water and clothes. The pack is rated to carry 16 kg comfortably.
Is Forclaz MT500 Foam warm enough on the ground at 8 °C?
Its R-value is 2.0. For nights near 8 °C the engine requires at least 1.5, which it meets.

Change an assumption

This page answers one trip. Yours is not that trip — adjust the nights, the budget or the company and watch all four re-rank.

Build my kit

Specifications are manufacturers’ own published figures and prices are indicative, not live. Comfort ratings and R-values are comparable across brands but describe a standardised sleeper on standardised ground — neither is a promise about you on a particular night. Check the current spec and price with the retailer before buying.