There is a whole list of things without which it is impossible to imagine a hiking trip. This is a tent, backpack, sleeping bag, map, compass. When a group of tourists stops for the night and sets up their temporary camp, such a process cannot be carried out without the use of a special rug called a karemat.
Karemat - what is it? A must-have item for any tourist. Without it, a night's sleep or outdoor recreation can turn into real flour. Without a tourist rug, a traveler risks making sciatica or other unpleasant ailments.
Variety of names and origin of the word "karemat"
Rug-karemat in everyday life is called differently. Isomat, foam or just a rug - all this, in fact, means the same thing. In English-speaking countries it is referred to as a sleeping pad, in Germany - isomatte.
The origin of the term “karemat” itself is interesting and not completely understood. So far, what this word is and what it means is still not really understood. Foreign tourists, in particular Americans and Europeans, do not call their rugs so.
The most plausible version of the origin of this word is the following. Once upon a time, one of the British companies produced tourist rugs under the strange English name karrimat. This word, as some researchers claim, migrated to the Russian language. According to another version, the term comes from the phrase care material, which means “care material”.
Karemat types
According to the peculiarities of manufacturing, karematy are divided into:
- inflatable;
- from foamed polymers.
In both varieties, the mats are insulated with air, but in the second case it is contained in the polymer in the form of bubbles.
According to the size of the karemat there are:
- standard (width 50-60 cm, length 180-200 cm);
- shortened (used in mountaineering).
According to the design features, the karemat can be:
- rolled (more common option);
- folding (in the form of an "accordion").
In addition, the mats differ from each other in thickness and rigidity of the material used.
Tourist carriages and features of their application
Tourist karemat - what is it? What are its features? This is a special dense rug that spreads to the bottom of the tent, directly under the tourist’s sleeping bag . Its function is to provide the traveler with the most comfortable rest in extreme environmental conditions and protect the sleeping bag from moisture and cold.
Most often in tourism use light and cheap polyurethane foam rugs. However, they are very bulky, voluminous, which complicates their transportation. Inflatable rugs, in turn, are more compact, but, on the other hand, are more weighty.
What methods of transporting a tourist rug exist?
There are no questions with “accordion-shaped” rugs - they are simply folded and put into a backpack. Resourceful tourists figured out how to transport the rolled karemat. It is simply folded and laid inside the backpack so that a skeleton is formed. However, with this installation, up to 10% of the useful volume is lost.
Other tourists, in order to keep the interior of their backpack intact, prefer to attach the rug to it from the outside (rear or side). However, in this case, the karemat can be very quickly damaged by branches, rock ledges or completely lost.
Returning from a hike, a tourist karemat must be dried in an expanded form during the day. Over time, such a mat loses its heat-insulating properties, so it needs to be changed periodically. How often this needs to be done depends on how intensively the tourist goes on hikes.
Choosing a karemat for hiking
In order to correctly choose a karemat, you need to focus on four main selection criteria:
- thermal insulation features;
- mat weight;
- the size;
- comfort.
The heat-insulating properties of karemat are usually expressed numerically, in the form of the so-called R-factor. The higher it is, the more “warm” the material of a particular rug is considered. So, a karemat with R-factor 2 provides a comfortable sleep at a temperature of at least 0 degrees Celsius. For stable subzero temperatures, it is necessary to use mats with a higher R-factor (R-factor 5 - for temperatures up to –20 degrees, R-factor 9 - for temperatures up to –50 degrees).
Important parameters when choosing are the weight and size of the mat. Obviously, you need to choose the most lightweight mat (karemat weighing more than 1 kg are used in special training trips). A lot also depends on its size, in particular the safety of a tourist. The overall karemat will be a clear obstacle in difficult terrain or on steep mountain slopes.
For a comfortable sleep and rest, it is important to assess the surface condition of the mat. It should be soft and not cause discomfort during tactile contact with it.
It is worth noting that the quality of the product does not always depend on its value. A karemat, the price of which is very high, does not necessarily turn out to be of high quality and reliable. Today, the cost of such rugs is very different: from 200 to several thousand rubles. They can be purchased at specialized travel stores or ordered online.
So, according to many travelers, the most popular today is the so-called Izhevsk karemat. What is this rug and what is its feature? It is of high quality, some tourists use it for ten years or more. At the same time, the cost of Izhevsk karemat is quite acceptable.
How to make a karemat with your own hands?
Experienced tourists claim that the karemat can be made without problems and with your own hands. To do this, you need a practical and flexible material - polyethylene foam. It does not leak moisture and does not need additional lining.
For work, you need to take five sheets of polyethylene foam with a size of 50 by 40 cm. Moreover, the thickness of each of them should be at least 8 millimeters. These sheets are stacked tightly to each other, and then securely stapled with kapron ribbons. Stitching is necessary so that the karemat can ultimately be folded “accordion”.
For the production of a rug with your own hands, you can take a continuous tape from polyethylene foam. However, such a karemat will have to be rolled up during transportation.
Thus, a tourist rug (or karemat) is an indispensable attribute of every traveler. It will provide a healthy sleep and a comfortable rest on halt. There are many varieties of karemat today, and the prices for this product fluctuate over a wide range. You can choose for yourself an expensive imported rug or a more affordable domestic production. And you can easily make karemat at home with your own hands.