Phud Reviews

This is the second Phud I’ve bought, which is a recommendation in itself. There is just no better value for padding.

I find the size fairly optimal - any bigger and it doesn’t fit in cars, and smaller and it becomes less reassuring.

The only slight problem I had with my first one was the stitching that attaches the shoulder straps breaking after only a couple of months, but I managed to DIY it easily enough.

interesting, bookmarked and link from my blog.

I have just recieved my Phud, and I am so pleased that I am leaving my first review ever.
The pad seems very sturdy in construction, and has all the right features where you want them to be, no more, no less.
Having had a Franklin Drop Zone, I was getting so annoyed with the taco hinge creeping up when bouldering that I opted to get a new, hinge designed mat.
Having done alot of research I settled for the Alpkit Phud, not only for the amazing price and reviews, but also as they are a local business.
I can’t wait to get this out on the rock, and looking at the weather it shouldn’t be long.
One more point I would like to add is that the shoulder strap/ruck sack convertible is a real treat! Perfect about of velcro and lots of available adjustment for individual needs.
A handwritten thankyou note and climbing calander was really the cherry on the cake!
Thanks Alpkit!

The mat arrived the day after I ordered it - fantastic service.  Very impressed with the design and build quality, and slamming into it in a less than controlled manner was fine.  Good foam.

I do have a couple of little niggles, though.

1) The carrying handles aren’t long enough.  You need Big Hands to hold both at once.

2) The rucsack-style straps appear to be convertible to a single long strap for slinging over one shoulder (there’s buckle attachment points in the right places) but the mid-point of the shoulder straps is velcroed down so tightly you can’t budge it.  This isn’t really a problem, more of an oddity.

Having said all that, this is an excellent mat at a truly bargain price.  Superb work, chaps.

guys,
excellent service as usual. I had the mat at my place yesterday, and it’s a shame I have to wait until the weekend to use it!!! only when I got the new one I realized the hard time and the bashing I have given to the old one. a good soldier.
well well psyched!!!
keep it up.

Just Got my new mat on next day delivery, Fantastic service for such a reasonable price! The mat looks and feels great, can’t wait to get up the peaks with it:) If I can get if off the kids that is. They want it permanently in their bedroom for diving of the bed on to!!! Cheers Alpkit.

2 mats for £110! amazing value, even more so when compared to other products on the market, really pleased with my new mats, good you can buy all spare parts aswell, save the need to buy a whole new matt in the future.
I thought delivery might take longer with a backlog from easter weekend, but it was here within 24hours!
Thanks very much all at alpkit!

Very very happy with the mat, i got it the next day (which was a surprise as it is a big mat)

Very good Price, dense foam and very quick delivery with no extra P&P.

Hi g,
thanks for the comments. We have recently altered the design of the aluminium buckle by extending the lip slightly so that it is much less likely to come unattached.

We have also sold Phud with durable plastic buckles but most people seem to prefer metal.

As you say the hinge design has its pros and cons.

owning a phud for 10 months now, i can estimate it bouldered between 30 and 60 days.

the foam is holding great (softer than new, but still way stiffer than many other brands) and still keeps the comparison with brands like snap and beal (maybe the best foams in the shops in 2009?).
still, i’ve recently seen and touched a really old franklin dropzone that despite every kind of abuse is stiffer of all the above, and makind the newer bd production look like a joke (and it is also way heavier of anything i’ve seen in that size…probably really high densities in both layers…)

the only real issues with phud are :
a)shoulder strap buckles. If you don’t tape them they get off all the time, if you tape them you loose the opportunity of reversing the pad on stones. Could maybe be fixed in production tightening a bit the two tape loops at the bottom of the pad, where you hook the buckles???
b)in the unlucky event of falling exactly on the middle fold, you definitely feel the “hole”...could be nasty with stones or roots under the pad, needs extra care!

however these issues are much less important if you mostly boulder in areas with even landings (eg fontainebleau).
I’m sure they could start to be a pain in the ass in places like magic wood, though.

so, bottom line, an easy reccomendation for anyone bouldering on mostly flat landings, but not so much for messy rocky terrain.