Post
by mrphil » Tue May 22, 2018 11:42 am
Of all the gear I own, sleeping pads have always given me the most grief. Probably the single most thought out and experimented with item in my entire pack. I hate it! I've got a full range of Therm-a-Rest NeoAirs, a Synmat, and a couple older Pacific Outdoors self-inflating pads with side rails. For a lot of reasons, I always seem to go back to the Pacific Outdoors pads, even though they're so patched by now that they look like quilts (a few breaths of air to top it off vs 20 to make it do something other than lay there in a flat heap). You have to compromise in weight, packability, size, comfort, R-value, durability, sometimes crazy prices... then make a decision on what you're willing to give up in order to gain somewhere else.
That said, Nemo and Sea to Summit are putting out some good pads these days, but with some drawbacks. When you think about it, is that really any different than anybody else's? It's always so subjective and personal, but my next pad is going to be the REI Air-Rail. Its heavier and doesn't pack as small, but it's self-inflating, 23" wide, 1.5" thick, has an R-value of 4.2, and it's cheap by comparison. To save a couple ounces and for more insulation/padding at the hips, I may end up buying the women's version. Right now, it's on sale for less than $70, so when you ask yourself how wrong you can be for that amount, it's a whole lot less than you could just as easily be for $200 if it's not the pad that gives you what you want and need.