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squeezebox
12-30-2013, 11:34
Been thinking about sleeping pads lately. rei flash is R 3.2 and $100 , 1 lb. // Therm a rest neo air therm 1lb, R 5.7, $200.
a peice of blue foam 3/8 ", $20 and 6 oz. R 1.4 could be handy as a nap pad , but gatta cut wt. somewhere.
Exped UL 7 not much different from rei flash.
I do expect to do some below freezing camping, An AT thru, and/or stuff here in the MO ozarks.
Hypothermia is no joke, neither is a sleepless night from being too cold.
So below freezing do I really need to go with the R 5.7 or will The 1/2 price R 3.2 be enough
$ 100 is a fair bit of money.
Thanks for your opinion.

Malto
12-30-2013, 12:29
Everyone has a different value to money but I have an xtherm and it is likely the single best gear purchase I have made for cold weather camping. A good pad (R5 +) is the key to sleeping on cold ground or in cold shelters. It is amazing the number of folks that use a lesser pad then complain about how their bag or quilt doesn't live up to its temperature rating. If the money is too much, layer up two pads to hit R5. It may weigh more but you only need to do that when you are in the cold.

Whack-a-mole
12-30-2013, 13:01
So many people are just concerned with just weight with sleeping pads. The older you get, the more important it is to have a good nights sleep. I'm not blasting on the younger generation here, it's just one of those things that you'll understand when you get older. I sleep on a prolite plus, with a little extra air blown in. If not, I wake up with my hips hurting. I am also 6-2 and 240lbs, so you need to look at things based on your age and body type. I see that you are 60 yrs old, and that could make a difference for sure. We all look to cut weight everywhere that we can, but if you aren't sleeping good at night, you won't be having fun, and that is what this stuff is all about.

Maui Rhino
12-30-2013, 13:10
Like Whack-a-mole, I'm 6'2" and 240. For years I was a foam pad guy, but as I got older, I needed something better to get a good nights sleep. I use a full size REI Flash and love it. Granted that living in Hawaii, I have little opportunity to test it below freezing. I did spend a few nights at altitude with it where it hit 36 deg, and I was plently toasty in my DIY quilt. I suppose, if you only do some occaisional camping below freezing, you could supplement the REI pad with a thin foam mat.

Rocket Jones
12-30-2013, 13:12
I'm a side-sleeping middle aged guy, and I need the comfort I get from a NeoAir Trekker or my hips are killing me in the morning. For cold weather camping, I put a cheap blue foam pad from Wally World on top of the Trekker for the added insulation and sleep fine that way. The foam pads are inexpensive enough to experiment with. I found it much warmer to have it on top of my regular pad rather than underneath. YMMV.

LAF
12-30-2013, 13:35
Depends on what I'm doing. For my upcoming thru I'm using a NeoAir XLite (woman's, I'm not the tallest person and slightly higher r-factor than men's, 3.9 vs. 3.2 and is a little lighter :) ). For winter stuff, like a Presidential Traverse, I take 2 (just like clothing, layering works): a short closed cell along with an inflatable (NeoAir on top of a RidgeRest or Z-Lite for example). I know, more weight but I sleep and these are shorter trips, not a thru. Yep, NeoAir is a little expensive at ~160 but if you look at least 20% deals can be found (timing).

bigcranky
12-30-2013, 14:06
I paid over $100 for my Prolite 4 when it first came out, and thought that was ridiculous. I've used it countless nights over the last nine years, and it was worth every penny.

My wife now has an Xtherm and it's very comfortable -- and the xtra R value is great since she's always cold anyway.

OCDave
12-30-2013, 16:11
Squeezbox, what have you been using? What do you not like about it? Are you thinking you could modify your current system or will you scrap that and start from the ground up. (Itza punny, No?) Ground-up?

I have carried the cheap blue foam pad-( too bulky), the original 3/4 length self-inflating Thermarest (not very comfortable), a full-length REI self-inflating Thermarest clone (too heavy and always goes flate overnight)

I prefer a hammock w/underquilt but, when I sleep on the ground I am now using the full length REI Flash, If bought on sale, the price is right. It is compact and I am OK with the weight. I tried to do without an inflater but, inflation time and accumulating moisture inside the pad when using just my breath convinced to invest in an EXPED Snozzel bag inflater. I am happy with this combination.

Good Luck

OCDave
12-30-2013, 16:13
See the pad starts on the ground and goes up from there....? Ground UP...?

So,my family thinks my puns are not so funny as well.

OCDave
12-30-2013, 16:17
Oh...technically not a pun. The pad is literally starting on the ground. Ok, not funny.

sorry :(

squeezebox
12-30-2013, 20:34
I thought today how the appreciation of having good equipment, I'm mainly a cyclist, lasts much longer than the pain of paying more than I wanted to, which generally doesn't last very long when you see the good stuff you've got in your hands.
So I think it's gonna be the therm a rest R 5.6 and and a pump so I don't get the inside messed up with condensation. I should be happy in cold weather.

shelb
01-01-2014, 02:15
Just make sure it doesn't make too much noise when you turn over at night! My last sleeping pad was SO LOUD that it woke up the other people in the shelter every time I switched sides during sleeping!!!

SunnyWalker
01-01-2014, 11:29
Thermarest Scout.

Wise Old Owl
01-01-2014, 15:47
Is it me or did the prices double over the last five years? I vaguely remember Neo Pro Air at $100 back then