High Sierra Topix

Has anyone tried one of these? Saw one at A-16, and I was impressed how much plusher they are than Thermarests, and how much smaller they pack down to.

I have both ( I think ) air core and insul-mat Air Pads.
IMO they beat thermarest no question. Lots more comfort and lots less weight. That said I always take a patch kit and a short z-rest pad to put
under my air pad. The idea is if my air pad fails I will still have basic insulation and with both in use I will have double the insulation. Still with both pads the total weight is less than a thermarest and twice the comfort.
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I bought one of the insulated ones but have only used it one time. I really like it though. It's much more comfortable than a thermarest. The insulated model weighs 2 more ozs but gives you a 20 degree lower comfort rating.
Gary C.

Which model specifically, garyc? I was looking around at the REI website and there's a bewildering variety...

Here is a link for the insulated pad. I don't remember what site it was but I did find it a little cheaper after doing a search. I bought mine(rectangle model) because a friend got one and loves the pad. He says that he also bought the Big Agnes chair conversion to go along with his pad and that the two combined still wiegh less than his old Thermarest.
Gary C.

http://bigagnes.com/str_pads.php?id=ia& ... ee5d1c66a8

I have an Exped Down Mat 7 - I love it. It's about 3 inches thick and much more comfortable than my thermarest. It also pretty lightweight.

I tried out my Big Agnes Air Core Pad and BA Horse Thief sleeping bag this past weekend on a Tenaya Lake to Yosemite Valley via Clouds Rest trip. I also brought a generic 1/2" blue foam pad cut down to size in case the Air Core Pad failed and for insulation.

The night time temperatures were below 32F since the ponds all had ice sheets on them.

With the Blue foam pad on top of the BA Air Core Pad, I slept very cold (unusual for me since I am a warm sleeper). With the Blue foam pad beneath the BA Air Core Pad, I slept much warmer. The correct combination was ground --> Blue foam pad --> BA Air Core pad--> Sleeping bag.

The BA Horse Thief is rated to +35, but keep me warm on top for temps less than +35 and warm on the bottom once I got the sequence of foam pad and air core pad correct (and put on extra clothes).

I think I will get the insulated BA pad to see if makes mcuh difference.

Funny, I was in the Caribou Wilderness last weekend and Friday night was colder than Saturday night but I slept in on Saturday morning, but when I got up it was 32. Sunday morning I got up early and the temp was 28, no ice anywhere, not even in my water bottles. As I was hiking out on Sunday, there was frost on Indian Meadow still. I wonder how cold it got Friday night?