View Full Version : RidgeRest Foam or ThermaRest Inflatable?
Jail Break
03-05-2008, 16:40
Curious to see which you prefer for the long-distance trips...
The RidgeRest foam pad or the Thermarest ProLite inflatable pad?
...And why?
Ridge Rest. They don't get holes.
Im assuming this is if you are tent camping?
take-a-knee
03-05-2008, 17:03
Both if I can't use my hammock.
Cabin Fever
03-05-2008, 17:05
I made the jump to Big Agnes products recently. May be an ounce or two heavier, but they are MUCH smaller. VERY COMFORTABLE!
Tipi Walter
03-05-2008, 17:08
I've had lengthy experimentation with both and used the Ridgerest many times but always by itself with no other pad. I found it to be basically uncomfortable(for me)and useless on ice and snow. I learned the hard way one winter when I tired of the leak-prone inflatables and went with a foam ridgerest. Never again.
The Prolites are great pads, the Prolite 4 large is especially good for winter backpacking though even it is still a little thin when compared to the thermarest Trail Comfort. My rule of thumb is this: If you can feel the ground under your butt when you're sitting up, the pad is too thin. Not important in the summer, but in the winter I don't want to feel the ground. Not even when sitting up. This is one of the reasons I deep-sixed the Exped downmat.
Strangely enough, but, before I started hammocking, I would take the Ridgerest on short hikes and put in big miles. After 9 days of closed cell foam in Georgia in 2006, I was ready to go home (planned to, anyway).
It's a waste of money and weight to bring a full length T-Rest, though. Bring a 3/4 length and a small piece of ccf to use as a sit pad. Let it get dirty on one side - no big deal.
Dang i have both but since i bought the pro lite thats all i have toted. Works great for me. I like the fact that it rolls up and fits inside my pack.
envirodiver
03-05-2008, 18:36
REI Lite Core. Just as good as Thermarest and much lower cost.
Appalachian Tater
03-05-2008, 18:55
Thermarest. Problems with nerves in my arm make the soft support absolutely necessary.
take-a-knee
03-05-2008, 19:19
Strangely enough, but, before I started hammocking, I would take the Ridgerest on short hikes and put in big miles. After 9 days of closed cell foam in Georgia in 2006, I was ready to go home (planned to, anyway).
It's a waste of money and weight to bring a full length T-Rest, though. Bring a 3/4 length and a small piece of ccf to use as a sit pad. Let it get dirty on one side - no big deal.
In the unlikely event I have to lay on the ground, I'll bring a full length ridgerest (or maybe evazote) and a short prolite 3. Plenty warm and the CCF pad will prevent punctures in the thermarest. A reviewer of the Six Moon Designs Lunar Solo at their website suggests placing a full length CCF pad UNDER the floor of the shelter and placing an inflatable inside the shelter. You get the same insulation and protect the integrity of the floor at the same time.
aaroniguana
03-05-2008, 22:24
I carry a walmart blue CCF and a Lite-Core short. I get busted on that occasionally but it's actually the same weight as a Prolite regular.
eventidecu
03-06-2008, 05:43
I've got a thermarest I've had since 1990 at least. (3/4 length ) It's been bomb proof. Never ever one leak yet. My daughter uses it now I got a knew one! ;) My feet get wet or cold a little from time to time
Frolicking Dinosaurs
03-06-2008, 06:07
Big Agnes Insulated Air Core these days. He-Dino uses a Thermarest Pro-Lite 3. Ridgerest are for younger folks IMO - you need more padding when you are older.
I use a ridgerest. Its a little lighter and I don't worry about it leaking.
bigcranky
03-06-2008, 08:19
Closed cell foam when I was a lot younger, Thermarest Prolite 4 now. Hammock in the summer.
Lone Wolf
03-06-2008, 09:00
only weenies use a blow up doll. i sleep on the ground. that's my pad
the goat
03-06-2008, 09:38
thermarest. have never had a hole or leaking problem in 4500k miles and counting.....
Johnny Swank
03-06-2008, 09:51
I'm still a huge fan of closed cell pads for the most part. Bombproof, and you can carry 2 evazote pads for the weight of a thermarest and still come out ahead. We've got some older 2.5" thick pads for car camping, but that's about all the use they get.
Pennsylvania Rose
03-06-2008, 09:58
Wal Mart blue pad, although I have a really old ridge rest that my kids now use.
Jail Break
03-06-2008, 10:12
only weenies use a blow up doll. i sleep on the ground. that's my pad
"I like ME... who do YOU like?"
only weenies use a blow up doll. i sleep on the ground. that's my pad
O ya, well I do to but I put rocks under me for added comfort
Jail Break
03-07-2008, 01:31
Think I'm gonna go with the ThermaRest Trail-Pro L. 2" thick, 2 lbs, full-length, wicked comfy.
minnesotasmith
03-07-2008, 01:37
I used the same one all through my 9-month 2006 thruhike without it getting punctured. Using a Tyvek groundcloth in shelters and in hostel bunks with no pad (so I needed the Therm to sleep on there) was why IMO.
IMO, getting a puncture from an inflatable is possible, but lousy sleeping on a rigid pad is certain. I can't hike if I can't sleep.
Frolicking Dinosaurs
03-08-2008, 14:56
only weenies use a blow up doll. i sleep on the ground. that's my pad::: Dino peeks into waistband to verify she is not a card-carrying weenie :::
I slept directly on the ground many years ago - switched to a CCF before Ridgerest were being made. I have used a Ridgerest and gotten no rest. As MS says - no sleep = no hiking. Having enough warmth and insulation in my pad to get enough rest is as important as having a good bag or adequate shelter to the success of my hike. I'll carry whatever is necessary for that.
dessertrat
03-08-2008, 16:05
Wal-Mart Blue! And if there's a place with pine needles and soft forest floor to pitch your tent, it's more comfortable using that as a pillow and sleeping on the ground.