[Bobling]

I found myself standing outside the house in July on our first trip away since the birth of our new baby boy contemplating the huge mound of stuff to fit in our modestly sized Astra.  Yup, I was finally a dad.   On that trip I did manage to fit the bouldering mat in - an ancient Cordee 2nd hand job that takes up half the boot.  As he has grown along have come baby carriers, high-chairs and increasing mounds of placcy taccy and never again has the bouldering mat got in.

So I am looking for recommendations for a mat that I have some chance of getting permission to take with me on our forays round the country. Small is best, after that consideration price is the next most important thing. 

Any tips appreciated!

[Tommy]

I have an ultra thin small mat you can have for free if you're able to pick up from Sheffield? I think they call it a "Taco shell" or something like that. You'd not want to land from any higher than about 2ft!

[granticus]

Any tips appreciated!

A Roof rack or a trailer..

[butters]

A van? 

[tommytwotone]

A van? 

+1!

[SA Chris]

A van? 

+1!

+1

Amazes me that on a week away we still manage to fill it what with bouldering mat, bike seat, carrier, stroller etc etc.

[Jim]

• learn to pack better
• don't take so much shit with you(especially the placcy taccy as you call it)
• remember you can fill the rest of the back seat up with stuff
• get a bigger car
• go old school with only a beer towel

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Get a roof box (and roof bars) 2nd hand off ebay. We've got a massive car but still manage to fill it most trips away. That said we use the roof box even when it not fully loaded as it nice not to pack kit around the kids on the back seat. Also useful if the mat/buggy etc is muddy. In ours I can get my standard Metolius mat and our Maclaren buggy. Be warned that the mat will get 'borrowed' for feeding/changing/entertaining baby whilst out at the crag so also invest in a nice plastic backed picnic blanket so there's no excuse.

Roof box is also brilliant for beach trips, all the wet and sandy kit goes straight up there.

If you've got a massive buggy, sell it and get an Maclaren.

[shark]

bouldering mat in - an ancient Cordee 2nd hand job that takes up half the boot.  As he has grown along have come baby carriers, high-chairs and increasing mounds of placcy taccy and never again has the bouldering mat got in.

So I am looking for recommendations for a mat that I have some chance of getting permission to take with me on our forays round the country. Small is best, after that consideration price is the next most important thing. 

Any tips appreciated!

Try opening the mat and jamming the back of the mat on the top of the headrests of the backseats and use the handrails/straps to attach bungees so you can strap the mat to the ceiling.

Works in my car. Kids don't need the headroom.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Try opening the mat and jamming the back of the mat on the top of the headrests of the backseats and use the handrails/straps to attach bungees so you can strap the mat to the ceiling.

Works in my car. Kids don't need the headroom.

...and you get to make a 'in car den' at the same time, genius.

[andyd]

Pads on the bike rack works well on the estate. If it's wet and you don't have a tarp, you can throw the pads on the front seat and strap the wife on the rack as wives tend to dry much quicker than pads

[underground]

If you've got a massive buggy, sell it and get an Maclaren.

I've got a buggy you can have for nowt if you want it. Not a Maclaren but it's free and barely used.

[Tommy]

Child in the boot with pram, 2 x pads across the back seats. Job done.

[Bobling]

Heh, classic fatherhood.  Post this up and then only check back four days later!  So the UKB advice on getting a small and cheap bouldering mat is......get a van.  Thanks!

Tommy - thanks for the offer but chances of getting up to Sheffield are 0 at the moment.
Jim- I am the king of packing, not only did I learn from the best (my dad) but I did the advanced course in the Army (kick it till it fits).   Placcy taccy is a tricky one, whilst at first I thought it was the spawn of the devil now I think if it gives me ten minutes of peace whilst I cook tea then all is forgiven. 
Shark - like the thinking, maybe that's the answer.

But if anyone can give me a suggestions for small and reasonably priced mat I'm all ears!

[sidewinder]

I have an alpkit woomf http://www.alpkit.com/woomf which I mainly use as an auxillary mat, a role in which it excels, it also has the advantage over some other small mats that I have seen that it is pretty thick so it is ok to fall on from a reasonable height, you do however have to make sure that you hit it!  I managed to get mine for ~£30 in one of their fairly frequent yard sales, don't know quite if I can recommend it for £60 which is the current retail price.

Another option might be http://www.rockrun.com/products/Rock-%252b-Run-Lepton-Crash-Pad.html this new Lepton crash pad from rock and run which they describe as a secondary/circuiting pad, looks bigger in area than the woomf but thinner, I have no experience of this pad?  There is currently a code here http://www.rockrun.com/pages/Discount-Coupons.html that would give you 10% off it.

If it were me I would probably be looking at getting a custom made one from the climbing factory http://www.climbingfactory.co.uk/products.html . People seem to say good things about them and they are reasonably priced.  Work out what area/depth of the car you can allow yourself and get one made to fit that area, no wasted space allows you to pack round it easier etc.  Ie a narrow pad that fits on the tonneau cover, one that exactly fits the bottom of the boot, or maybe, if you are currently only with one rear seat passenger one that fits across the other two seats, or again a longer narrower one which can stand vertically in the footwell behind the driver/passenger seat.

Just my thoughts in that whenever the pad fits 'exactly' into an area in the car it feels as if you magically gain some space.

[Monk]

I have exactly the same situation (and has just got worse now that I have 2 kids). I haven't been able to fit in a full size mat for a couple of years now. I use an Alpkit Woomf too. It's pretty small, but relatively thick. It's pretty good for short, straight up problems, but I wouldn't want to fall more than a couple of metres on to it. I have to admit that it wasn't really up to the job on a solo trip to Porth Ysgo - that was a fairly intimidating morning out!

[wintermute]

If it were me I would probably be looking at getting a custom made one from the climbing factory http://www.climbingfactory.co.uk/products.html . People seem to say good things about them and they are reasonably priced. 

I genuinely wish i could second this. I bought one on the glowing recommendations i'd seen online and the desire to support a little british company, but it is absolutely shit. From the day it arrived its been like landing on a soggy crisp.

[tomtom]

Snap calzone. Not too big not too small. But may be out of stock...