[tomtom]

Hello,
Starting to gingerly venture back outdoors with my creaky back - and was having a look at the Snap Wrap pad... I've already got 3 pads of varying age/wear/size, but was quite taken by the 'variable softness' of this one.. (soft low, harder high etc..)...

Wondered if anyone has used one and care to comment on whether they are any good?

Also a couple of technical/build issues. My last snap pad (3rd) was a c.2012 Bun which didnt have the best build quality IMHO (not a patch on their own stuff) - so what are these like? and... I notice it has velcro loops as the main closure (as opposed to the usual aluminium buckles that were on their other pads and many other brands) - are these OK? I can imagine them getting a bit shitty as they wear and the velcro gets filled with crud (as it usually does)....

Thanks in advance,
TT

[dr_botnik]

Can't comment on longevity or anything like that as don't own one, but had a little play on one and was quite impressed with the soft landing. Really thinking of getting one myself tbh.

[JJP]

Hey TT
Never used a snap pad but do have an old red chilli pad that has velcro straps - these have been fine but the pad has only been used intermittently over the years.

[Duma]

Hi TT, sorry, must have missed this last week - I've got one, sadly not had many chances to use it in anger yet so cant comment on longevity/build quality, though it seems well made. Can say it's massive, and a lovely thing to land on, noticeably firmer from a couple of feet than a couple of metres.

[tomtom]

Thanks Duma

[Duma]

obv my last phrase should be the other way round...
 

[B0405413]

It's a great pad to land on from really high up, but I find the velcro straps a bit annoying; if you have lots of stuff in it it comes undone after a while. Minor fault though.

[Richie Crouch]

Just ordered the petit wrap so it fits in plane luggage for trips as well. Did you plump for one TT? Hopefully a good improvement on the old brown bun that has seen better days!

[tomtom]

Not yet Richie,

I've already got 4 pads of varying age - and not 100% sure I can justify a new one - though a new one every couple of years (its about that now) isnt a huge expense compared to the diesel I burn getting to crags...

I also noticed that SNAP sell them direct for Eu299 (with free EU postage apparently) which given the Euro to ££ rate seemed a pretty good deal.. They sound good though - apart from the velcro closures..

Thanks for the beta folks.
T

[webbo]

What's the significance of the square quilting bit.

[benno]

I asked the same thing a while back: http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php?topic=24973.0

So you could grab some more opinions from that. I'm still planning on getting one, it just needs to make its way to the top of the "things to blow my disposable on this month" list.

[tomtom]

Sorry Benno - I should have bumped your thread...

[fried]

If you do get one TT, any chance of putting up a few words.

I'm after something big and soft for my bday in July and I've just let the missus book up a weekend with her sister and mum for a long weekend to get some leverage. It was 'no way' last week to 'only if you keep it clean' today. Bloody wimin. I can get one for 269 here.

[mrjonathanr]

Tomtom, I thought you regarded Ocun as les couilles de chien? Why so fickle?

[tomtom]

Tomtom, I thought you regarded Ocun as les couilles de chien? Why so fickle?

Well the Ocun Dominator has done very well for a couple of years - and its foam is still good and firm.. But I have to admit that I prefer taco style - and I'm intrigued/taken by the 'soft for short falls hard for high falls' spec.. Some form of air release has always seemed like a great idea for pads - and the Ronin ones (that are no longer available) still seem to be working well some 5 years on (the ones I've fallen on do anyway..)

Also a chink in the Ocuns armour has appeared as the backpack attachment has started to come away (the loopy bit in the middle of the pad) at the stitching meaning its long walk in life is starting to ebb away.. (its fixable, but a bit tricky).. This is within my 'wear and tear' allowances for a 2 year (+) old pad - but a little annoying...

Wrap also has a larger footprint (1.6 by 1m?) whereas the Ocun is 1.4 by 1 (I think)... I'm wondering if it could be better for where I only want to lug one mat - the Ocun is great for the two mat options...

But - the SNAP pad is heavy (10kg)... though lighter ones don't have the same fall capabilities.. 

Or I may have an Emelda Marcos style bouldering mat addiction :D

Not ordered one yet...

[mrjonathanr]

Thanks for your reply. Ocun do Tacos too, just wondered if your view of them overall had declined. I've got a poor man's Dominator  DMM Highball, it's excellent.  Also have a WC Big Air- good foam but stitching is very weak. The solution was to remove the cover and stitch thoroughly by hand, I expect that will fix your mat too..

10kg is a lot - about the same as 2 pads which is a pretty normal carry for many folk i expect. Would one air mat eliminate the need for 2 foam ones I wonder?

 

Or I may have an Emelda Marcos style bouldering mat addiction :D

Did I read a comment of yours in powerclub about struggling with 'high heels'?    :It's all falling into place now...

[tomtom]

No ones noticed my tights under my rock boots yet... I always use a pasty flesh colour...

[webbo]

I bought one last week £244 from bananafingers. I've only used on my board so can't give a fair assessment yet.
I bought it on impulse, having tried to put some Spare foam in old pad only for the existing foam to crumble away. So I started looking at new pads saw this thread and thought why not.

[groovedog]

+1 for the snap wrap pad.

I bought it a month ago, so can't comment too much on longevity. It definitely gives you confidence going for snuff.

It felt a steep investment, but I had my Moon Saturn for 3 years so thought per year they are not so bad.

The other thing I weighed up is how much are your ankles worth? whilst the snap pad won't guarantee you won't break ankles I think you stand a better chance.

It is fairly heavy to lug about and I quite like to carry a rucksack in the pad, a problem I have is the Velcro strap attachment wants to peel under the weight, without a rucksack in the pad though its fine. I might look at putting a fastner in to secure it a bit better.

[tomtom]

I just had this email from someone at reception...
I'll be able to pick it up tomorrow...

Hi Tom

We’ve had what looks like a mattress delivered for you.

Caroline

[Duma]

bit late, but I do have one bugbear with mine, highlighted last week - the velcro strap at the bottom has too much "loop" and not enough "hook" - so to properly close the bottom there's not much overlap of the 2 and a lot of strap flapping about. Might do a bit of home sewing job to sort this at some point. Also it doesn't like being left folded - more so than previous tacos I've had, maybe the seperate cubes get more squashed somehow?

[tomtom]

Got mine today. Only unwrapped and trampled on it. First impressions are that its large, heavy and well made. Pulled one end apart and I like the air blocks -seen well made. Wonder how well they will perform when the foam inside them is shot - whether that alters the overall performance much etc..?

[Richie Crouch]

Got the petit wrap today and 2 days off coming up. Excited to give it a go

I imagine the foam blocks to be quite useful in that you can shift them around if the foam gets tired in the centre of the mat.

[mctrials23]

Hoping to pick one of these up in the next month or so. Would be good to have some feedback from you guys before then.

[lagerstarfish]

I just had this email from someone at reception...
I'll be able to pick it up tomorrow...

Hi Tom

We’ve had what looks like a mattress delivered for you.

Can't wait to "test drive" it with you

Big Caroline

[tomtom]

It had its first outing today at Brownstones..

1. It is heavy - but not crazily so... just noticablely heavier than my other pads.
2. It is large - worked well today as a 1 mat solution...
3. Its mouldable.. the blocks of foam inside it move about a bit to fit the surface below. This has postitives and negatives - it means no dead spaces to collapse when you fall onto it - but its probably not as good as covering large gaps on rocky landings as a solid foam pad - still good though...

4. Most importantly - whats it like to fall onto... well, it seems to be like it says on the adverts - soft to fall low on, and stiffer when you fall from higher up. I dropped from about 2/2.5m today and it felt fine.. was nice and soft on lower stuff too...

5. It seems well made - nice snap touches like the felt foot cleaner snap logo bit...
6. I'm not sure about the quilted bit on top.. This seemed to soak up the moisture from my (wet) boots today - so interestingly might be quite good for this - but conversely might stay dampish..

Sofar sogoody...

[lagerstarfish]

and what about sitting about between failures? how comfy is it to sit on?

could you have worked in a "safa, so good" pun at the end?

[tomtom]

and what about sitting about between failures? how comfy is it to sit on?

Its excellent - much better than a normal pad (softer)...

[lagerstarfish]

obviously I meant "sofa, so good"

(fat fingered twat that I am)

[Richie Crouch]

Cosy for resting on. Had a trip up to manor crag with the p'tit wrap and it's a great size for a lazy bastard like myself.

The Velcro shoulder strap closure is more solid than on the old brown pad bun I had, so hopefully it won't come apart and open out after a year of use (when carrying anything inside).

Only fell on to it from lowball shuffling and it was nice and thick/soft. Will test it out on some higher stuff soon

[tomtom]

How big is the petit wrap? Pas de dimension sur la website du SNAP...

[sjw]

How big is the petit wrap? Pas de dimension sur la website du SNAP...

Just stumbled across the answer when perusing pads online...

open: 120 x 100 x 12 cm
closed: 100 x 55 x 31 cm

[tomtom]

FYI wrap owners.. (wrappers?)..

I pulled mine apart out of curiosity this eve - and its made of nylon wrapped foam blocks with velcro around each edge... its soft velcro on two sides (ie north and east sides) and hooked velcro on the other two sides (south and west) so they can all stick together as one when inside the pad (I assume thats why this is the case..).

However, mine was not all put together in the same way - some were stuck in blocks of 8, some in blocks of 4 etc... so I guess it was lazily put together rather than deliberate (there was no apparent order to it).. so I've re-assembled mine so it all sticks together inside the wrapper if that makes sense... Might be worth checking yours - though its a bit of a velcro wrestle!!

Pic below...

[tomtom]

A report 2-3 months in...

I'm a little concerned with the build quality...

First, I've a couple of mini-rips (near tears) on the top padded surface..

Second, I'm noticing a definite 'sag' or flattening around the fold area. I wouldnt mind if this came back quickly (ie 5-10 min after opening) but it seems to persist for a while. In other words, I'm not convinced by the quality of the foam inside the air blocks. They are not the main cusioning (its the air) but still need to have enough oomph to 'inflate' the mat correctly - and the are starting to not have enough oomph. I guess I could always:

I imagine the foam blocks to be quite useful in that you can shift them around if the foam gets tired in the centre of the mat.

But after only a couple of months of use this doesn't bode well for the longevity of the mat....

So I really like the mat (did I mention its quite heavy?) and its a pleasure to fall on - but only so far.... I hope its not a £200 crisp packet by the end of the year.

[benno]

I just had this email from someone at reception...
I'll be able to pick it up tomorrow...

Hi Tom

We’ve had what looks like a mattress delivered for you.

Caroline

  This reminds me of the the paramedics description on the handover form to A&E when my girlfriend bust her ankle up: "Jumped off a rock onto a mattress". Poor doctor was very confused.

[Duma]

Mine's still fine, and no build quality issues yet, but I am pretty anal about keeping it open when not in transit (admittedly not that easy given its size...) the stupid strap length on the bottom still annoys me though.

[Stubbs]

Tom are you leaving the mat open when it's not in use? Have found in the past that this has drastically improved the life of taco style pads.

[fried]

Mines about a month old and fine. i'm a bit worried now because I have to keep it in the back of the car so it's always folded.

My only complaint about the pad is it's cumbersome rather than heavy, it's good when there's lots of stuff close together in flat areas, but in overgrown areas on the side of rocky hills it becomes a very expensive white elephant. I now have the additional dilemma of choosing which pad to take with me.

Obviously if it's fucked after 6 months it'll all be TTs fault and I'll be expecting some kind of reimbursement.

[tomtom]

Tom are you leaving the mat open when it's not in use? Have found in the past that this has drastically improved the life of taco style pads.

I am now - but a bit annoyed this has started so soon... I think part of the problem may be that the foam inside the blocks is very soft (deliberately) so collapses when bent rather than bending if that makes sense? EG normal taco pads tend to bend around the fold - this one seems to crease on the fold.

Mines about a month old and fine. i'm a bit worried now because I have to keep it in the back of the car so it's always folded.

Yes - mine spends most of its life in the car. So now having it out and unfolded is a bit of a PITA....

Obviously if it's fucked after 6 months it'll all be TTs fault and I'll be expecting some kind of reimbursement.

I'll have to consult my protection racketeers (Lagerstarfish international (tm)) before any financial issues

[Duma]

Mines about a month old and fine. i'm a bit worried now because I have to keep it in the back of the car so it's always folded.

Yes - mine spends most of its life in the car. So now having it out and unfolded is a bit of a PITA....

If you store the mat in the car a taco's not really a brilliant choice imo, esp such a thick one as this.

[tomtom]

Maybe - though the three other taco pads I own/owned have not done this...

Anyways was just passing on what I've found...

[fried]

I thinkj I'll make some room in my cellar for it. My first taco, you live and you learn.