Pairing sleeping pads with purposes

[Courtney Waal]

I just got my two new sleeping pads from gossamer gear (shipped an hour after the order was placed on sunday!) and I’m now swimming in sleeping pads and wondering how I should reconfigure my sleeping system. I’d be pairing any of the following pads with a Nunatak Arc Ghost and a nice warm bivy, and I live in Texas so the coldest I’ll see unless I do some travelin’ is about 30F, though more commonly warmer than that.

I now have:

A cut down REI blue foam pad that’s 12″ wide and long enough to get my thighs for belly-sleepin’ – this one’s good for bike camping since it fits in the pannier (style points!)

A thermarest prolite 4 which probably will only be used for sleepovers at home (sleepover style points++)

Gossamer gear nightlight (torso size)- I’m guessing this is the warmest foam one I have, but it probably won’t do for sleeping on my belly since my thighs will hang off. I’m small enough that I don’t run into Ryan’s “just three more inches” problem- obviously it was made for me! It’s also the biggest when packed and therefore might detract from the all-important style points.

Gossamer gear thinlight 1/8″- here’s the real question- what temperature range can I expect to be comfortable in with just this pad? I can also double it over and have a thicker torso pad. I also expect that it’s thin and flexible enough to work well inside my sleeping quilt. I’m fascinated with this little pad.

How shall I build my new sleep system from this? I’m really curious about how insulating the thinlight is and am looking for input (since I won’t see nights below 60F for a long time yet).

[Graeme Finley]

I have the nightlight and the thinlight, and although I haven’t done this yet I’m planning to use the nightlight as a torso pad and the thinlight as feet upwards coverage, overlapping underneath the nightlight. I’m thinking this might work well now in the mid-Atlantic where temps in the hills are just starting to get into the high 40s at night. The nightlight is fine at this temp but a GG G5 on its own doesn’t provide much insulation for the legs.

I have used a Prolite 4 and thinlight together down to the 30s with no issues, but the Prolite is now a little heavy for my solo trips.

[D G]

I’ve been using the following combination (I’m a belly sleeper) and have found it to be very comfortable and warm:

Bozeman Mountain Works Torsolite paired with a Gossamer Gear NightLight torso pad. The Torsolite goes under my torso and the Nightlight under my legs. This gives a total length of 61 inches and is super comfortable. Total weight of the combination is 13.25 oz. I use the nightlight as a pad frame in a GG G5 pack.

[R K]

Last weekend I took a trip to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite where the lows were around 30 degrees. I used a GG Nightlight torso pad and half of a Thinlight under my legs. I was quite comfortable and plenty warm. My girlfriend on the other hand says she got a little cold (she has the exact same set up). We were both using quilts.

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