thoughts on good but cheaper sleeping pad

1.) Kooka Bay Air Mat(not very warm)? or Synthetic Insulated Mat?

2.) CC Foam pad with a Thermarest Prolite X-Small on top?

3.) Thermarest Ridgerest Solar? (I know it is CC foam, but it is pretty thick so it might qualify as soft-ish.

If you can't do CCF like a ridgerest, then +1 on the kooka bay – i haven't seen more reasonably priced inflatables

I enjoy the Thermarest Prolite 3. Around 60-70 bucks and light for an inflatable for the price. Packs down nice and small as well. Find some good deals on this website or on Ebay.

Hope it helps

You can get the Big Agnes Insulated Air Core pad for $60 shipped or the regular Air Core for less.

The POE Ether Elite's are cheaper than the Neoairs.

When I bought air pads for myself, my wife and my daughter we went with the POE Ether -Thermo. Very good for the price, and included a stuff sack and a patch kit. Very comfortable so far but winter is another matter.I even found a balloon pump at Amazon that fits it well and which removes the issue of getting moisture into the internal fabric/baffles that seems to be a real concern especially on down filled mattresses.

I love my Big Anges Clear view mummy. Good till about freezing by its self. Lower than that add a foam pad. $45 to $55 on the web.

I got one. light, cheap, comfy. I dont know how warm the torso insulating strips will be though.I cant imagine much colder than neoair. slight weight penalty, mummy vs. rectangular, but big price difference.

Its harder than heck to find a regular length right now. I do know you can get the 2/3 or long length from detourgearzone for a great deal, especially if you can take advantage of the 20% off code.

Your best bet is a Big Agnes Insulated Air Core. Pick up the 20 x 60 mummy for 18 ounces, R-value of 4, and 2.5 inches of comfort… for ~$75. Incidentally, retail on the standard 20 x 72 IAC is ~$80, not $60. But still half the price of a Neo.

I do recommend 2" + pads for side sleepers. Your shoulders and hips won't bottom out on the ground. They definitely would on the much thinner pad.

I am a side sleeper, and love my new POE Ether.
More comfy than the Neoair I tried in the store.

Review coming on POE Ether Elite 6 soon.

Yeah, not bad. Not perfect either, but comfy.

Cheers

I don’t know how Big Agnes gets away with advertising the Insulated Air Core with an R value of 4.1. According to Richard Nisley’s testing the R value is actually 1.5-1.8 depending on inflation. Other air mats were much closer to their advertised ratings. The Insulated Air Core uses a thin layer of Primaloft Eco which has a clo of .74. I believe the thickness is 0.6″ if I remember correctly. The Eco insulation would need to bee several times thicker to reach the advertised R value.

To those that have owned both, (or at least the BA IAC and the RR Deluxe) how do they compare in terms of comfort (just comfort, not concerned about warmth). It would save me about 5 ounces, more after I cut it down, and I would not have to worry about punctures, blowing up, etc.

I start off trying to sleep on my back, but usually end up all over the place, stomach, back, and side.

I own both (a RRD and the BAIAC Short rectangle), and hands down comfort goes to the BA. I'm a side sleeper, and found that even the 1" thick Thermarests make me wake up sore.

In the summer it's always the BA, in the fall it's the BA with a GG 1/8th pad, and in the winter it's the BA and RRD on the snow/ice.

If Bender had been around when I got my BA, I would have gone with him first – but kept the syn filler over the down (just a preference).

The POE does look like a good substitute for the money IMO.

So as a stomach/side sleeper, I really do not have much of an option (as far as weight savings) but to go with something like the BA IAC? I like it, but tend to roll off. I may try to snag a NeoAir large. I would save about 5 ounces, and it would be 25 inches wide instead of 20, however, it is quite a bit more expensive.

Basically, I am looking for:

1. Comfort
2. Weight
3. Cost

In that order.

I own the BA IAC already.

Thanks everyone for your comments. I just went for a Big Agnes Insulated Air Core (the short mummy). Can't wait to sleep on something on which I don't bottom out when I sleep on my side.