EJ,

1. Yes, these mats, (also Exped I'm sure), imo, are so comfortable compared to CC, OC, SI, that you'll be happy with either size.

2.Easily.

Whaddaya think? Buy both sizes, planning to send one back.

By the way, I have a recollection of Richard Nilsey posting about the BA pump bag as the lightest, and working on any of the mat brands. I haven't pursued this.

Enjoy your decision!

Edited by skots on 11/03/2009 07:41:51 MST.

That's exactly what I was planning to do.

No wonder Stephenson makes such warm pads - they're in New Hampshire - they get seriously cold winters.

Thanks for the tip on the BA inflation bag - I'll check it out.

Jolly Green Giant reported that his largest size Stephenson DAM weighed much more than advertised. Anyone weigh their DAM 60 or 64 for themselves?

Mine comes in at 26 ounces. That includes seam sealed stuff/ pump sack. Stephensons weight is 19 ounces without stuff sack.
I use a Rab Top Bag, and have had cold nights on a RidgeRest, and a TR Womens Prolite 3- cold from below, not above, in temperatures around 1/2 degrees Celcius above tree line. I'm hoping the Stephensons negates this cold from below. 5 minutes on the mat at home confirmed that it's like sleeping on a warm radiator- we'll see next season when I start using it.
I have some Exped stuff, which is consistently heavier than the advertized weight. YMMV.
cheers,
fred

Can someone please post a link to the mentioned Stephenson DAM mat? I tried to go through their archaic website and catalogue but didn't find the mentioned DAM mats.

The site is a mess Hendrik. Have a look here.

Thank you, Mike. So prices starting at 140$ + shipping to Finland. I reckon I might get cheaper away with an Exped 7 or 9. The Exped 7 has heaps of good reviews here, the Stephenson's DAM none. Hmmm.

I can't speak for it myself as I haven't tried it yet, but there are many positive comments about the Stephenson in the forums and I've gotten several PMs from very happy owners.

I had, and returned, a Stephenson's DAM. It's a top notch and extremely warm product if you can muttle through the odd marketing and dysfunctional website. Their customer service is also excellent as is their entire line of products. Unfortunately, the weight on it was significantly higher than expected and despite thinking it was a quality item, I knew it would never make it into my pack. Mine was the largest size. I've found that I have no desire to have anything other than full body length when dealing with something over 1" in loft/height as the drop-off is otherwise too uncomfortable to my back. The list weight was 24 ounces. With the sack (unmentioned in the ad for it), the total came to over 31 ounces. Instead, I either double up on CCF pads or use a Thermarest Prolite with a CCF pad.

Edited by regultr on 11/08/2009 13:35:45 MST.

Because of the weight? Yours was one of the larger sizes if I recall, right?

What do you use now?

Strange marketing I don't care about. It took one email to the company to clarify ordering and they responded right away. I do care about customer service and integrity.

Edited by mountainwalker on 11/07/2009 16:23:25 MST.

Our DAM 60s were spot-on advertised weight. They are a well made (though really cheap looking) mat, but I don't find them as warm as I expected at colder temps. It feels like it's just too large an area to heat up, and unlike closed cell foam, it isn't instantly warm when you lie on it. The down is also almost never evenly distributed, and it's not easy to re-distribute it if you see an area that needs more down. I imagine the Exped mats would be the same though.

If anyone is seriously considering trying a Stephenson's 60 inch mat, send me a PM. I'm sure I could do you a pretty good deal on one or two ;)

The dam air mattress was designed by Jack Stephenson to fit into a sleeve in the bottom section of the bag. The bottom section is the heaviest individual part of the 6 possible parts...did I get that right? 1. thin top layer, 2. thicker or middle layer, 4. bottom layer 5. dam air mattress and 6. mosquito net top.

Stephenson was an aerospace engineer. The guy was talking about vapor barriers and insensible moisture transpiration by 1970. Anyway.

The bottom portion of the multiple layer bag has down baffles that fir around all 4 outer edges of the dam air mattress. I'm sure this improves the already impressive thermal efficiency of the dam by a factor. These bags are really well designed and (were) made of the finest available materials with the finest available down.

I did have a DAM mattress fail but not because of a leak, or not a puncture anyway. Bacteris of some sort had broken down or decomposed the coating on the inside of the fabric of the mattress to the point that it would leak air very gradually overnight with the weight of a person on it.
The bag was made in 1986,I didn't always keep it in an air conditioned house and the humidity and moisture levels around here coupled with the heat are very high. I imagine that was a problem with the urethane then in use? coupled with our hot and humid climate and shouldn't be be a problem now. Besides the mattress was 20 years old and they repaired it to boot.

I have always found the Stephenson family to be easy to deal with and stand behind their products; but I have not yet had dealings with William Stephenson or the company since the elder Stephensons turned the business over to him.

My first visit was in 1974 to their home on Hatteras Court in Woodland Hills Ca. ( I live on the NC Outer Banks near Cape Hatteras, hence the OBX; and grew up in the small town of Woodland NC which is why I can remember that CA address. It was actually 100 degrees the day I stopped by their shop on Lake Winnepasauke in NH @ 1998! and no one was naked on either visit! I also own the old frame pack with the hip "arms" on the frame. You should see the looks I get when I break it out on occasion!

I guess modern technology and the desire to go even lighter is catching up to the Stephenson line of products but the bags are really warm, very comfortable and I wouldn't think of reaching for another bag any time weight isn't a critical issue or any time you want to be safely warm way below zero. As you can see from the interest in this thread at 19oz the dam matress is still competitive on a warmth/weight ratio.

Hi Cola, very helpful info. Thanks for sharing.