Sea to Summit Comfort Deluxe SI Review
Our Verdict
Compare to Similar Products
This Product
Sea to Summit Comfort Deluxe SI | |||||
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Awards | Best Overall Camping Mattress | Best Bang for the Buck | An Exceptionally Comfortable Mat | Great Lightweight Value | |
Price | $249.00 at REI Compare at 2 sellers | Check Price at REI Compare at 3 sellers | $179 List $179.00 at REI | $239.95 at REI Compare at 3 sellers | $179.95 at Backcountry Compare at 2 sellers |
Overall Score | |||||
Star Rating | |||||
Bottom Line | This mat provides a great night's sleep and quick, easy inflation | A high scorer in our tests, this pad is warm and comfy and easy to inflate | All the favorite features we love from a camping mat at a great price | With four inches of foam you can't go wrong, unless you don't have space to store it | Comfortable enough for car camping and backpacking, this is a versatile and packable mattress |
Rating Categories | Sea to Summit Comfo... | Therm-a-Rest MondoK... | REI Co-op Camp Drea... | Exped MegaMat 10 | Therm-a-Rest NeoAir... |
Comfort (40%) | |||||
Ease of Use (20%) | |||||
Warmth (20%) | |||||
Versatility (10%) | |||||
Packed Size (10%) | |||||
Specs | Sea to Summit Comfo... | Therm-a-Rest MondoK... | REI Co-op Camp Drea... | Exped MegaMat 10 | Therm-a-Rest NeoAir... |
R-Value | 6.5 | 7 | 6.6 | 8.1 | 3.7 |
Thickness | 4.0 in | 4.3 in | 4.0 in | 4.0 in | 4.0 in |
Length | 79 in | 80 in | 78 in | 78 in | 77 in |
Width | 25 in | 30 in | 32 in | 30 in | 30 in |
Weight | 5.1 lb | 5.3 lb | 6.4 lb | 6.1 lb | 2.3 lb |
Packed Size | 7.5 in x 25 in | 9 in x 32 in | 11 in x 30 in | 9 in x 33 in | 12 in x 6 in |
Type | Self inflating | Self inflating, inflation sack | Self inflating, inflation sack | Self inflating | Pump inflation |
Test Model | Large Wide | XXL | XL | LXW | XLarge |
Bed Material | 30D polyester | Polyester | Recycled polyester | 50D polyester with TPU polyether film laminate | Polyester |
Valves | One valve | TwinLock | Two valves | Two valves | TwinLock |
Accessories | Stuff sack | Stuff sack | Air pump, pillow | Mini pump, stuff sack, repair kit and manual | Stuff sack, pump, pump sack |
Our Analysis and Test Results
The feel of this mat is very similar to others we reviewed due to its 30D knit polyester fabric. Four inches of foam core thickness keep you warm and well off the ground and allow plenty of leeway to half inflate that pad if you prefer a softer, squishier sleeping experience. The catch to this king of comfort? Packing it away is a wrestling match.
Performance Comparison
Comfort
Comfort is the most important consideration in camping mat, and you'll hear no complaints from us in terms of feeling good and falling asleep on the Comfort Deluxe.
We tested the large-wide size, which measures 6'7" long and 29" wide, and we had plenty of room to toss and turn without fear of rolling off the pad. The top material is soft, and we never experienced the dreaded sweaty mattress stickiness. When it comes to firmness, the one-way valve will let you inflate this pad as firmly as your lungs allow, or feather the valve by pressing it down until your desired level of softness is achieved. The Comfort Deluxe has high vertical sidewalls that don't collapse when your nighttime migrations bring you to the edge of the pad.
Ease of Use
Self-inflation is what sets the Comfort Deluxe apart from the rest of the camping mattress pack. While some models took up to ten minutes or longer to self-inflate, we could watch as the Comfort Deluxe inflated before our eyes. This thing sucks in air like a surfacing whale, taking one long audible breath. We attribute this quick inflation to Sea-to-Summit's Delta-Core Technology.
Instead of a solid slab of foam, the foam inside of the Comfort Deluxe has triangle-shaped chambers to help cut weight and bulk, but we also feel this design helps the pad spring back into shape quickly while creating a vacuum inside the pad. This mattress does not come with a pump device to add air, so you have to add additional air by mouth. Luckily, five to six full breaths will top off this pad to maximum firmness.
This mattress does not roll up and pack away so easily, however. The two-way valve can be flipped around so you can squeeze the air out of the pad without it re-inflating, but this still doesn't work as well as a one-way valve dedicated to deflation. One tester had to re-roll it three times to get it small enough to slide into the storage sack. This is not a huge deal if you're only packing it away a few times a year, but if you camp often, this could quickly become an annoyance.
Warmth
With an R-Value of 6.5, the Comfort Deluxe is plenty warm for most camping trips, most of the year. We slept on this pad when the temperature dropped into the upper 20s without ever feeling the cold ground.
One thing we did notice on a cold night after a warm day was that the pad lost some of its firmness overnight. Not by air loss, but because of pressure loss due to slow cooling of the air inside the pad. Because of the thickness and the shape of the air chambers, there is a lot of air in this pad, and it's more sensitive to pressure changes than other foam pads. Take this as a useful observation for the discerning sleeper since it didn't detract from the slumber time of any of our testers.
Versatility
This pad is available in three sizes: regular wide, large wide, and double. We tested the large wide version. When purchasing any of these plush mats, keep the size of your tent in mind. Any tent that can hold two of these will need to be at least 58 inches wide and 51 inches for the double. If you're mainly in the market for a super comfy guest bed, this pad is an excellent choice, and your visitors will thank you.
Packed Size
This pad is similar in size to other self-inflating mattresses of this type, both stored and ready for use. That means it takes up a significant amount of space even when rolled up and crammed into its storage sleeve when it takes up 7.5 by 25 inches of premium space in your trunk or closet.
If space is not a big concern, the Comfort Deluxe is an excellent option without sacrificing comfort; just remember that you'll have to work a bit to get it back inside the storage sleeve.
Value
This mattress is comfortable, warm, and excels at self-inflation. It is a bit more expensive than other models in the test, but not outrageously so, especially considering how well you will sleep on it. We find it to be a good value.
Conclusion
The Comfort Deluxe is just as comfortable as a few mattresses that we tested, and it inflates easily. Our testers are always on the go and don't want to spend time rolling up and squeezing the air out of camping mats. Maybe our impatience makes us a little biased towards a mat with an easier storage system, but we also realize there are folks out there who really hate inflating pads, and the Comfort Deluxe sets up quickly and easily.