SynMat 9 DLX

My Exped LW9 is a dream

What country are you in? It may have a different name. I'm in Australia. There are two. Exped downmat XP 9 LW Exped synmat 9 LW I have the synmat. If l was backpacking l would have got the down one. I have no idea what XP means, but LW is long wide. Good luck

I really like my Exped Synmat 9. It’s not produced anymore but they have a lot of other models.

Most will tell you “you need an underquilt”… but if you prefer the little extra structure/support from a pad, like me, then a pad will do JUST FINE! I have an under quilt, but prefer and pretty exclusively use an inflatable pad. I think what works best is a mummy shape with rounded corners and tapered foot end. I use an older exped synmat LW (long wide) mummy shape pad, basically same as current exped 3R pads. It fits great in my hammock (hammock gear circadian). It’s super comfortable, I don’t get any cold spots at my arms or feet. Would also work great if I ever needed to ground camp. .. you don’t “need” and under quilt, if you have a pad that works well with your setup.

I've had four Expeds. Still have two. Both have the built-in pump. One has synthetic fill. The other has some down insulation which makes it good for ~10F colder than without. The first two developed tiny leaks (could not find them even with submerging). They were a few years out of warranty. Exped still replaced both. I appreciate a company that stands behind their products. I also like side-sleeping. I have not used these as much as what you will. So durability...🤷

If your car camping is that prolific, it seems really silly to compromise it for one backpacking trip. Get a good car camping mattress - I have an Exped and love it.   Then just rent a backpacking pad for your one trip.

I have an Exped Synmat and it's quite comfortable. It's more "air mattress" than my Thermarest Prolite Plus but more comfortable. So much so I'm insisting my wife use my Synmat mattress instead of her existing Thermarest on our next trip. I can handle the lesser one (I hope). I think basically if you're spending some money it's always going to be more complicated than "air mattress". I think OP means a classic vinyl sack filled with air. They tend to have poor support, zero vapor management, and are cold (because air convection inside the mattress takes all your heat and moves it to the ground).

I’ve been using a similar set up for years now. Robens z mat, Exped Synmat and a Criterion sleeping bag. Haven’t had an uncomfortably cold night yet and I tend to camp in autumn and winter.

What time of year are you going? I've done a lot of camping in Iceland in a range of seasons over the course of about 7 trips, if you're going in summer you don't need anything particularly large, just think UK spring or Autumn really. I took a Synmat in May/June and it was fine. All I would say is that it's very windy and there are very few trees or vegetation so your tent needs to be able to stand up to the wind exceptionally well. I stayed at a campsite on the south cost where someone's tent literally blew away with about half their stuff in. It ended up in the sea. So get good pegs. The ground isn't very soily! Definitely take a ground sheet protector there's some spikey rocks.