Did anyone actually use one of those new Ballonbeds that were being sold in Leyburn on Friday night on this weekend's event? Our team had a major mechanical on the Saturday so we never got to try them out properly. I'd be interested to hear from anyone that used them in earnest

I bought one prior to the event, and had the benefit of being able to inflate it once as a test before having to use it in the field. Saturday certainly provided a harsh testing environment for it, but my comments are as follows:

Postive points:
I loved the amount of space it freed up in my bag, and meant that it was not overstuffed and was consequently more comfortable to carry.
It was comfy to lie on, and provided good insulation.

Less positive points:
I found that it was time consuming to put up. Being in a bivi bag on saturday, it was a bit of a pain to inflate, but I managed it in about 15 minutes.
The most concerning issue is having to knot the balloons with cold hands. I really struggled to get the first two knotted properly, until I developed a more effective technique and my hands warmed up a bit.
It seemed to move around a bit under the sleeping bag and I had to re position it several times during the night. It would probably have been better in the sleeping bag.

In the morning, I had suffered punctures in only two of the 28 compartments and the pressure in the others had held out well.
Given the conditions, I would have prefered the convenience of a roll mat, but felt that it did a sufficiently good job of keeping me from freezing. I would certainly use it again.

Thanks for the feedback Ian. Totally agree with the comments about being fiddly with cold fingers and I guess the mat is better suited to less challenging conditions. We would appreciate more comments from others as the balloonbed is still in the development stage really - but the principle of 100g mat which packs away really small and uses balloons to inflate will remain.
We have now discovered that there really is no need to twist and tie each ballon 3 times to make 28 compartments. Infact this procedure makes them much more likely to burst as the air has no where to escape to when you sit on them - this was sadly discovered as we tried to impress everyone with them on Frdiay night. If you simply insert the 7 balloons whole into the mat they are virtually indestructible - you can dive on it, stamp on it, dance on it ..... and no bursts!

Unfortunately I didn't get to use mine in the end but I echo Ian's comments about the small size and more importantly the weight.

I did however test my ballonbed at home last week. At first I thought it a bit too hard but then I used to use a small cheap (and heavy) 3/4 air bed that I picked up years ago and which gave up the ghost at Alston, and that was not much different. OK so you could let a bit of air out but then you tended to hit the ground as you moved, so the ballonbed was as good as that (but much smaller and lighter). In the past I've also used a Karrimat but don't find them at all comfy and of course bulky to carry.

I actually thought the time taken to inflate the bed would be an advantage, filling the hours until you get to sleep has always been a bit of a pain on the Polaris, especially in the wet/cold so having something to amuse myself for an extra half an hour wouldn't have been a problem.

Hands too cold to tie knots? Yeah that was part of my problem in not being able get my tent pitched as I had no feeling in my fingers and partly why I bailed out to Leyburn on Saturday evening.

Looks like I'll have to wait until Autumn to try out my still shiny new ballonbed.

I've found the knot tying is easier if you use one of the bits of wool.
Before you wrap the neck of the ballon round your finger to form a loop, place a bit of wool on the same finger, then once you've formed the loop, you can use the traped wool to pull the loop away from the finger to aid stuffing the neck though.