Fox Flatliner X All Season System

How well is it built?

Fox have built the Flatliner X on a completely flat frame, and it's the details underneath that make it.

There's in-frame lumbar support through the head, middle and foot sections, and elastic runs through the large double hinges to keep the mattress firm right across the bed, which is what stops a bedchair dipping in the middle.

The six legs come as three double Maximum Support legs, which spread the load along the frame, and the side tension straps fold around the frame rather than over the mattress, so there's nothing lumpy under you.

It's the sort of detail that tells you Fox have designed it around comfort as well as strength.

The bag uses Ventec water-resistant outer fabric and attaches with a full-length perimeter zip, so it stays in place on the bed. It isn't the fully waterproof outer you get on the Solar SP C-Tech MkII, but it's a quality fabric for a bag that lives inside a bivvy.

Comfort & Adjustability

The 50mm dual-layer mattress combines a high-density foam base with a hollowfill upper, so you get firm support underneath and something softer on top. The main section is fleece, with a camo peach-skin perimeter and head area, and the sleeping area is a roomy 94 by 217cm.

The bag is where the all-season name comes from. With the thermal inner in, it's a five-season bag for the coldest nights, and with it out it's a three-season bag for spring through to autumn, with a stuff sack supplied for the inner when you're not using it.

The reversible inner gives you a choice of microfleece and sherpa fleece or polyester lining, so you can pick the feel you prefer.

The one-touch spring-loaded legs adjust from 42 to 55cm, which is a generous range for levelling the bed on a sloping bivvy floor, and it means you can set it up for the season rather than putting up with one setting all year.

Ease Of Setup & Portability

There's no getting away from the weight. It's 20.4kg in five-season form and 18kg with the thermal inner taken out, so leaving the inner at home in the warmer months saves you a couple of kilos, but either way it's a sleep system for the barrow rather than your back.

Packing away is simple because the sleeping bag stays attached, so the whole thing folds to 102 x 80 x 42cm with the bag still on, and there's a carry handle on top.

That means no separate bag to roll up and stuff into a carryall, and it's quicker to set up as a result, because you unfold it, set the legs and you're ready for the night.

At that folded size it still takes up a fair bit of room in the car, so it's worth measuring your boot if space is tight. The one-touch legs make setting the height quick once you're in the swim.

Is it good value for money?

The Flatliner X costs a good chunk less than the Solar SP C-Tech Memory Foam Sleep System MkII, and for a lot of anglers I think it's the better value of the two.

The Solar has the memory foam, the higher-spec frame and the waterproof outer, but the Fox gives you a completely flat frame with lumbar support in all three sections and a bag you can switch between three and five seasons.

You also get the bed and the bag together, which saves the cost of buying a quality all-season bag on its own, and the stuff sack for the inner is a nice touch.

It suits carp anglers who fish overnighters and long sessions right through the year, barrow their gear to the swim and want one bed and bag that adapts to the season without paying top-end prices.