Robens Sunstone 120 Self Inflating Mat

Review Score

Price Guide

Robens Sunstone 120 Self Inflating Mat has a recommended retail price of £259.99.

The best price we've found so far is £181.49. That's £78.50 off the RRP of £259.99.View at Amazon UK

Robens

£233.9910/03/2024

Amazon

£181.4910/03/2024

Robens Sunstone 120 Self Inflating Mat Videos

Robens Sunstone 120 Self Inflating Mat Photos

Our Review

As with many big camping brands, Robens also now has a large, comfortable, self-inflating mat in its range: the Robens Sunstone 80, an 8-cm deep mat, and the Robens Sunstone 120, a 12-cm deep mat.  Both of these mats come in a double and single version.

We take a closer look at the single Robens Sunstone 120.

The Air Highway

As you would expect from Robens, rather than create a self-inflating mat like other brands, Robens has brought some new innovative thinking to the problem.

There's no doubt that these large inflating mats are extremely comfortable, but they have a downside: they can be quite large to transport due to all the foam inside. Plus, they may not self-inflate that well.

Robens introduced what they call the Robens Air Highway. Rather than the regular chambers found inside SIMs, the Air Highway gets air faster to parts of the mat compared to traditional designs. This includes chambers in both directions. The result: faster inflation and deflation and reduced pack size.

The pack size is reportedly 76 cm wide by 23 cm thick.  That's extremely good for a large 12 cm deep SIM.

Improved Mat Sides

Robens has also worked on re-designing the sides of the SIM.

You'll find that the fabric on the sides of large mats is stretchable. This is the same stretchable fabric used to make the top and bottom of the mats. As you inflate normal mats, the sides stretch, requiring more air to make the mat rigid.

Robens has designed a new manufacturing technique to make the sides with a non-stretchable fabric. This has not been possible until now.

This means the Robens Sunstone requires less air to make it rigid than regular large SIMs.

Well Insulated

Replacing more foam with air didn't make the bag any less comfortable when I tried it, nor has it reduced its insulation rating.

The Robens Sunstone 120 has been verified to have an R-Value of 6.8. What does that mean? Well, insulation from -30°C! I don't expect I'll be camping in the UK if the ground reaches that temperature ;-)

This will provide comfort and warmth for camping, and remember, a common reason for waking cold at night is that there isn't sufficient insulation underneath.  The Robens Sunstone 120 will prevent that.

Self-Inflation

So if this pack is small yet still comfortable and well-insulated, does it pass the self-inflation test?

Well, the answer is yes! I am extremely impressed at how easily this mat inflates itself.

If you want the mat firmer, you might want to blow a little more air in, but most of the work has been done for you.

It's also quick and easy to deflate, especially with the Robens Peak Valve, which can let air in and out quickly.

Watch the video below to see how easy it is to deflate and how well the mat re-inflates itself.

Verdict

As with any high-spec kit, it does come with a higher-end price tag. However, compared to other similar-sized mats, such as the Vango Shangri-La or the Outwell Dreamboat, it's in a similar price range. So that's not bad given all the additional features, such as the higher insulation rating, convenient smaller pack size, and both fast inflation and deflation.

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