I feel gypped

I KNOW eh?! Why do they have to keep making things better and lighter! Sheesh :P LOL.

I certanly hope your comment was tongue-in-cheek. My attitude is one of joy each year as equipment gets better and lighter. If I want it I simply sell what I have and have that money to go toward the new and better piece of gear. This year my wife and I have upgraded our tent, both sleeping bags, air mattresses, water filter, my pack and our stove. We sold some of the gear which helps others get started on a budget, kept some for car camping and some as extra so we can introduce friends to the wonderful world of backpacking.

"equipment gets better and lighter."

Don't you believe it. Weight and quality go up and down in a predictable cycle and have done so since the 1940s. Gerry Cunningham instigated the first true ultralight movement in the mid 1960s. Another one came and went in the late 1970s and now we have the current one.

Several things go wrong.
1. Manufacturers beef up their gear to reduce complaints and returns from folks who don't know how to take care of gear. The generous return policy of manufacturers and retailers exacerbates the pressure to make gear bomb-proof.

2. The manufacturers are in the business to make money, not equipment. Market studies show that most backpackers are neophytes at best. You can sell them anything. If an item is easier to make in a heavier version, that is what will get made.

3. Often, the manufacturers are not themselves wilderlings. And if they are, the chance that they are gram weenies like us is pretty low. The obvious exceptions are the cottage gear makers who have a commitment to a product and the community. Rarely are such people good at business or long for the business. If nothing else, biology puts sole proprietorships out of business. In short, the big guys don't have the incentive to keep pushing against the tide.

4. The one thing that has kept the current UL trend going is the pressure of the UL community and its ability to recruit new member – i.e., customers. The one thing that will keep the gear makers working for us is to help them make money and to punish them when we are dissatisfied.

5. Therefore, GMONEY, send that pad back to the manufacturer or the retailer with a clear expression of your dissatisfaction.

nm

Now I feel bad too. My BA Insulated Air Core, same dimensions as yours, weighs 30 ounces. I bought mine last year (2007) in March.
I really like it for sleeping but would prefer less weight.

Well, as much as I don't quite love having something heavier than the new primaloft version, I'm not going to return it or even complain. There are at least two obvious changes in the new versions: the stuff sack of the new pad is of a much lighter materials and also the repair kit is less bulky and lighter.

this is the rub, eh? buy the latest and greatest only to see it get out-dated soon after. it's moore's law, but with weights and on a slower scale.

BA AirCore pads vary in weight. After I got 72" mummy shaped one, I was annoyed that it weighed in 6 ounces more than spec – not even close. When my wife wanted one, but non-mummy, I went to REI with digital scale in hand. While I did get some interesting looks, I discovered the weights of each BA mat varied by quite a bit. I was able to find a non-mummy for my wife that weighs less than my mummy version. Go figure.

@ Bob: Yes. I was joking. Hence the "LOL" :-) My point is… there is never a good time to buy. Newer and better gear keeps coming out. Which is as it should be of course. Sometimes it sucks when something better comes out a month after you've made a purchase… but that's just how it goes. And really… to be upset about a better pad coming out 3-4 years after your original purchase is not reasonable. It sucks… sure… but it's not reasonable in my opinion. That said… there's no harm in complaining or trying to send it back. You never know!!!! The MEC actually has a lifetime satisfaction guarantee… which is pretty great.

@ Dan: Whoa!!!! 6 oz. of of spec is pretty deplorable!!! I wouldn't be happy about that at all. That's a TON of weight to an ultralighter. I fail to understand how some mainstream companies get away with being to nonchalant about weight.