summer pad!

[Wags]

well i've decided to go w/ the majority of yours advise and get the big agnes airpad. but i have a question i haven't been able to find an answer to...

is the plain airpad cooler than insulated airpad in the summer? i have a blue wally pad that i carry for multi-purpose use (to chill on while cooking/eating/hanging outside) in case it gets cold at night, but will the airpad be cooler when it gets hot in the summertime? i mean, if it gets cold during cold weather it should stay cooler during hot weather right? due to movement kicking out the warm air molecules...

any experience/advise on this theory?

[ishmael86]

Hmmm.... I definitely know it's not all that much help as far as warmth in the winter--all that cold air from the ground coming through.

But I don't know if there would really be an appreciable difference in the summer. I'm thinking you're getting body heat from your body affecting the pad's temperature, and a little coolness from the ground seeping in--doesn't seem to me it'd be much different from any closed cell pad.

[Whitey9457]

Well if you were using the pad to keep u warm in the cold, I'd guess that not using a pad in the summer would keep u cooler than using a pad because the coldest thing would probably be the ground...I don't plan on using a pad when I hike this summer and really only thought of using a pad a) to keep me warmer when its cold out or b) for comfort. I really don't have all that much experience though so I'm not sure and this is partly a question hoping people will respond -Whitey

[Jaybird62]

Well if you were using the pad to keep u warm in the cold, I'd guess that not using a pad in the summer would keep u cooler than using a pad because the coldest thing would probably be the ground...I don't plan on using a pad when I hike this summer and really only thought of using a pad a) to keep me warmer when its cold out or b) for comfort. I really don't have all that much experience though so I'm not sure and this is partly a question hoping people will respond -Whitey
I personally like to use an airpad because I am a sidesleeper, and my hips and shoulders tend to get really sore without it. I use to use a wal-marthttp://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/devil12.gif
blue foam pad, but it just did'nt cut it for me(just my .02)

[Blissful]

I used both in the summer. Not sure I felt a difference.

[JAK]

I haven't had a problem up here with a blue foam pad being too warm in summer, though it is certainly very clammy on bare skin. When I sleep on one without a sleeping bag I will at least wear a skin layer. A wool blanket would be better, both layers over when its cooler, and one layer under and one layer over when its warmer. For summer if you do go the blanket route, a very thin layer of lightweight non-waterproofed nylon, like spinnaker cloth, is worth its weight over a fleece or wool blanket. Whatever is as light as you can find, windproof but still breathable. This is for under a rain poncho/tarp or in a tent. Normally I would ditch the tent way before a sleeping bag, except when I hike with my daughter in summer I prefer a tent but don't always need a sleeping bag. It's re-assuring to me to know she can't wandering off, plus kids really like tents. I want to make a small summer sleeping bag for her though. The ones in the stores are OK and cheap enough but I think I can do just as well and more to her size.

[Wags]

i'm not sure if i got my point across how i meant it, based on some of these responses.

i'm asking if the big agnes aircore is cooler in the summer than the big agnes insulated aircore :D

[Jaybird62]

i'm not sure if i got my point across how i meant it, based on some of these responses.

i'm asking if the big agnes aircore is cooler in the summer than the big agnes insulated aircore :D
I only have experience with the insulated, but I would have to think that yes, the aircore would be cooler to sleep on than the insulated.