Vango Shangri-La 15 Grande Self-Inflating Mat (that works!)
The Vango Shangri-La 15 Grande is a comfortable sleeping mat for camping. It will feel much more like a bed at home.
Review Score
A fantastic mat to sleep on. Easy to inflate and deflate.
Our Score: 9.5/10
We've given the Vango Shangri-La 15 Grande Self-Inflating Mat the Thumbs Up award.
Value for MoneyQualityComfort
The good
- This is one of the most comfortable self-inflating mats we've tried. And yes, it does self-inflate too.
The not so good
- It's still a large mat when rolled up, so check you have the space to transport. Kitting your family out with these will be expensive.
This was a hands-on product review. The product was supplied to us to test and conduct the review.
Price Guide
Vango Shangri-La 15 Grande Self-Inflating Mat has a recommended retail price of £200.00.
The best price we've found so far is £149.00. That's £51.00 off the RRP of £200.00.
Vango Shangri-La 15 Grande Self-Inflating Mat Videos
Vango Shangri-La 15 Grande Self-Inflating Mat Photos
Vango Shangri-La
Inflate and Deflate
Vango Shangri-La
Our Review
Product Update
This review was for the first version of the Vango Shangri-La Grande. Vango have since updated the design to the Vango Shangri-La Grande II.
Large Self Inflating Mats, or SIMs, are gradually replacing the air bed as the camper's choice if you don't have room for a camp bed.
Getting them to be self-inflating and easy to put away. Vango has tried to address this with their new self-inflating mat, the Vango Shangri-La 15 Grande.
The Shangri-La Grande SIM
The Shangri-La Grande lives up to its name: this is a big mat, 76 cm wide and 200 cm long.
the Shangri-La Grande feels much more like a mattress you'd find on a regular bed
And at 15 cm thick, the Shangri-La Grande feels much more like a mattress you'd find on a regular bed.
That extra thickness makes this one of the most comfortable SIMs we've tried.
Inflating and Deflating the Mat
This mat does self-inflate
This mat does self-inflate.
Despite this type of sleeping mat being called a self-inflating mat, many of the bigger mats have difficulty inflating themselves.
However, the Shangri-la Grande did do exactly that.
It's not instant. You'll need to leave it some minutes. But it does get there.
You might need to blow in some air though if you want a firmer mattress. But we found, with all the extra foam in this mat, that it was just fine after it was given enough time to inflate.
Inflatating and Deflating the Vango Shangri-La Grande SIM
Vango's new valve design really helped with deflation, and I got the air out without the mat wanting to re-inflate.
Now, this is a big camping mat to roll up. Vango provides a couple of compression straps to keep the bag together after you have rolled it up.
Verdict
This is a very comfy mat to sleep on. It inflates itself, and deflation is much easier with the special valve design.
The only downside is that the Shangri-la Grande is still a large mat when deflated, so check you have the space to transport these to the campsite.
It gets the thumbs up from us.
Details
| Attribute | Vango Shangri-La 15 Grande Self-Inflating Mat |
|---|---|
| RRP | £200.00 |
| Best Price | £149.00 |
| Product Info | Brand Web Page |
| Height (cm) | 15 |
| Width (cm) | 76 |
| Length (cm) | 200 |
| Weight (kg) | 5.24 |
| Pack Size (cm) | 80 x 36 |
| R-Value | Not Specified |
| Mat Depth (cm) | 15 |
| Number of Valves | 1 |
| Re-Inflation Prevention | Yes |