High Sierra Topix

Well thanks for the congrats on the twins. I am overjoyed and terrified all at the same time.

Just made solid plans for late-ish august up into Royce, French, Bear/Gables. So i will definitely know how this pad works out by the end.

Flux wrote:The sad state of affairs is that I haven't slept in the backcountry yet this year. Just found out the wife is pregnant with twins and life is gonna be..................................interesting for a while.

Got a 10 day planned for late august though, so I will know then. Best read up on the online reviews at all the big gear retailers. Those can be pretty telling.

Congratulations! Only about 3-4 years of "interesting" and then it gets easier
You might think about getting a satphone for your late August trip. There was no way my wife was going to let me be out of touch for 10 days when we were expecting twins
There are plenty of reasons to panic, even if some of them were false alarms (not to worry you but she did end up on bed rest for 12 weeks and then the twins were born at 32 weeks).

87TT wrote:I just got an Exped synmat 7 UL and the external pump. The pump works great and only weighs an ounce. The downmat 7 ul is only slightly heavier. The synmat 7 is way comfy but I haven't tested it in extreme cold. I do sleep hot though.

The only thing with these mats is they need to be adjusted based on how cold it is, but you know that. Cold air depresses the mat. This season, that hasn't happened to me. It will in Sept. I had to decrease it's pressure to get comfortable with the heat wave 2 weeks ago. my hip was 1/4" off the ground and it was perfect.. SelectComfort in the backcountry. how sweet is that.

I'll be using it in Sept and maybe Oct so good to know, thanks

Russ,

the problem was in the internal flapper valve that prevents air from leaking. I learned to check it to make sure it was flush with the orifice. The Exped Downmat UL worked flawlessly for the remainder of that trip and on Markskor's and my 19 day trip in Yosemite. With my arthritic shoulders it is the only pad this old fart can get a decent sleep on.

Mike

Another design change coming for the Exped UL down mat to make it lighter.

http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/gear-news/ ... 936-7.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just spent 6 nights on the Thermarest X-lite.

Pros:
Comfy - as good as I have ever slept on camping of any sort, nice and thick. Lateral channels adjust to hips very well. I even let some air out to soften it up.
Warm - not a cold trip (40 for the low), but never a cold spot
Big - I got the big size and at 1lb, my whole body is on there no problem
Silent - this thing does NOT sound like a bag of potato chips at all, pretty darn quiet.
Small - packs up tiny, about like a 1l bottle.
Sticky - they put some kind of silicone in the material and you stick to it pretty good. Minimal slide around and waking up off the mat.

Neither Pro Nor Con:
You need a ground cloth and to pick your site well. Should not be an issue. i slept on decomposed granite without issue with a sil-nylon bottomed tent. I would just be careful with the durability.

Pricey, but you get what you pay for. This is an ultralight mat that is very plush.

Cons:
I already have moisture in there from blowing it up. I may contact thermarest to see if there is a trick to removing it. Long term it may end up weighing more. A sack pump might help this, but that's more weight.

You do have to be careful with it.

Hopefully it stands the test of time.

freestone wrote:Another design change coming for the Exped UL down mat to make it lighter.

http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/gear-news/ ... 936-7.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

just got a UL 7 LW - taking it on the trail in about two weeks. first tests in the house were very promising. Most comfortable pad I ever had, and it blows up very quickly with the "shnozzle bag"

thin material, but that's what makes it light, not just the drop of the complicated built-in pump

oldranger wrote:Russ,

the problem was in the internal flapper valve that prevents air from leaking. I learned to check it to make sure it was flush with the orifice. Mike

I just got one too, and that internal flapper valve makes me nervous. I had the same problem with it on the 2nd use, which leads me to wonder how long before it's no longer an easy fix. There's something very awkward about clamping the valve seal onto the valve. The pad sure is comfortable though, and folds up nice and small.

I bought the smallest inflation pump to try to save on weight and regret it. It takes forever to inflate with that thing -- I think I'll try the pillow pump instead.

Q...

I've done about 20 nights since the "malfunction" with no problems. Heading out for 6 more nights in the Eaglecap Wilderness in a few more days.

Mike