Solar Tackle SP C-Tech Memory Foam Sleep System MkII

How well is it built?

Solar have built the MkII on a full high-tensile aluminium frame, with oversized reinforced tubular sections and oversized oval Spring-Loc legs, and the point of all that is strength and load-bearing.

The Standard is rated to 225kg plus, which is a big figure and tells you this is a bed built to be used hard over long sessions.

The finish matches the frame, with a 20k waterproof SolarTex D outer, easy-slide anti-snag zips with Solar pull tags and an oversized baffle to keep the warmth in.

There's a cast Solar plate on the side rail, and everything looks properly engineered rather than built down to a price.

It's all finished in SolarCam camouflage, and the outer has connection points for a lightweight shroud, though that's sold separately. At this end of the market that's the level of finish I'd expect, and the spec backs it up.

Comfort & Adjustability

The Memory 6 mattress is the heart of this system. It's 6cm thick and uses 50-density memory foam, and because it's built into the frame rather than sitting on top, it stays put and gives you even support from head to foot.

Add the lay-flat lumbar support and I think it's about as close to a proper bed as you'll get on the bank.

The dual-layer, five-season duvet is rated from minus 10 to hot summer days, so one system covers you all year rather than needing a separate bag for each season.

The easy-slide anti-snag zips are the kind of detail you'll appreciate when you need to get out quickly for a take in the dark.

The legs give you a height range of 40 to 52cm, which is plenty to level the bed on an uneven bivvy floor, and if you want more room there's a Wide version at 100cm across rather than the Standard's 90cm, with both 208cm long.

Ease Of Setup & Portability

Weight is the price you pay for all that foam and aluminium. The Standard weighs 19.40kg and the Wide 20.80kg, so this is a sleep system for the barrow and the car rather than a long walk, and I'd think carefully about it if you fish venues with a long push to the swims.

Solar have made it easier to live with once you're there. The Flat-Pac hinge system lets it fold down with the duvet still in place, and the carry handle and strap keep it all together when it's folded.

The clever part is the Pac-Away compression straps, which work separately from the leg locks, so you can fold and compress the bed with its legs still open and the mattress off the floor inside a bivvy, which keeps the mattress cleaner when you're packing away on a wet bank.

Setting up is a matter of unfolding it and adjusting the Spring-Loc legs, and the oversized oval legs give it a solid base once it's down.

Is it good value for money?

This is a big spend, and it costs more than the Fox Flatliner X All Season System, which is the other premium bed and bag combination I'd look at.

The Fox has a more flexible three or five-season bag and comes in a little lighter in three-season form, but the Solar's memory foam mattress, high-tensile frame and 20k waterproof outer put it a step ahead on comfort and build.

You're also getting a five-season duvet and a bed in one, so there's no separate sleeping bag to buy, and that takes some of the sting out of the price. The shroud is an extra, but plenty of anglers won't need it.

It suits carp anglers who fish long sessions and multi-night trips from a bivvy, barrow their gear to the swim and want the most comfortable night's sleep they can get, with the Wide version there for bigger anglers or anyone who likes more room.