Ridge Rest Pad – How Do You Carry It?

If you are flexible in your choice, I use a Z-Lite short with a self made pack. I fold it with 3 panels on each side. It really is a good frame. I like it a lot.

20 x 72 = rolled and tied to my pack – usually on the top

20 x 48 = folded in thirds and inserted into the pad pocket of my SMD Traveler pack where it serves as a virtual frame.

Greg, I used to carry a Prolite 3 inside my Granite Gear Virga. I let it unfurl to fill the perimeter of the bag and then loaded my gear in after. Many people use the same technique with closed cell pads like the RidgeRest. After I got a Neo Air I had to make some adjustments. So I purchased a Z-Rest and cut off 4 sections which I now place against the back of the back on the inside and then load up the gear. It seams to work about as good as the original.

Haven't measured it, but it's basically cut in trapezoidal shape, wider at shoulder and narrower at hip, to fit my torso. The pack is a burn pack and the pad, cut to size, fits with room to spare. I've done this with a standard ridgerest as well.

Most of the time, I hike using a Granite Gear Vapor Trail and strap my 20" x 48" Ridge Rest to the outside of the pack. Like so:

Works great.

When I hike solo, I use a Granite Gear Virga and use the same pad to create a burrito-style virtual frame. Also, works great.

I use a 72×20 Ridgerest unrolled in my pack and pack inside it burrito style. I normally use a '10 SMD Swift and everything fits great!

While on the trail doing some maintenance, saw a PCT thru hiker with a Ridge Rest strapped to their pack like Dave's. They had their bear cannister sitting on top of the pad upside down without the lid on. Thought it was a clever way to hold a cannister.

Greg,

I also carry my 3/4 RR pad burrito style in my MYOG pack.

The main body of the pack works out to a volume of approximately 1660 cubic inches or 27 liters. As near as I can figure the pockets add up to 761 cubic inches or 12 liters. So my total volume adds up to 2421 cubic inches or 39 liters.

My pad isn't visible in the picture but the pack is filled with my gear that I carry for one week. That includes food, fuel, clothes, quilt, pad and cook kit which are all inside the main pack compartment.

The pad is rolled and inserted first. Then my pack liner of a 2 mil trash compactor bag goes in next. I then pack in all of the gear listed above.

Party On,

Newton

Thanks all for the input.

FYI, I'm usually out for 8 to 10 days, with a potential for hours of rain or snow, and low temps around 25°. My pack is a ULA Ohm, with a starting weight around 27-28 pounds. Right now everything fits inside, with little room to spare. Burrito style appeals to me, but I don't have an extra 500 cubic inches for a full length pad.

Which is why I'm leaning to strapping a RR to the outside.

With the ULA Ohm and a Ridge Rest cut to approximately 3/4 length (although I think it'd work with a full length), when I don't put it inside the pack, I strap it to the outside using the two straps that came with the pack and are originally intended as handloops. Since I hike with trekking poles and thus have no use for handloops, I repurposed them for holding my pad.

Greg,

My hiking buddy "Lazarus" also uses a ULA Ohm pack. I added some sewable accessory strap lashing tabs to the bottom of his pack. He now carries his pad tightly rolled and secured to the pack via these lashing tabs and some nylon accessory straps.

If you use this method be sure to either thread the straps through the ice axe loop or a small carabiner hooked to the ice axe loop. Doing this holds the pad away from your body and keeps it from patting you on the bottom with every step. ;-)

Party On,

Newton

I love my setup with my full length pad rolled and strapped on the top of my pack (and both my packs have a buckled strap that goes front to back over the top of the pack bag, making it very easy).

I modifidy my ULA pack to carry a pad on the bottom portion of the pack. I like it much better than carrying on the top.

Unrolled inside GoLite Pinnacle. 3/4 length.

When you put your pad in burrito style, and then insert the trash liner, do you find it hard to get the bag in and out or to move it around. I find trash liners stick to a ccf pad like glue. Its just annoyance I guess.

100cm RidgeRest inserted into my HMG Stuff pack
Perfect to use it as a frame.

Ben,

"I find trash liners stick to a ccf pad like glue."

I use a 3/4 RidgeRest inside of an Xpac MYOG pack lined with a WalMart 2 mil white trash compactor bag as a liner. I have not noticed my "pack liner" sticking to my sleeping pad as you describe.

What kind of pack liner and sleeping pad are you using?

Party On,

Newton

I use the GG thinlight(?)pad and regular trash bag. I might try the compactor bag. Its more of a nuisance than anything. It can just be hard to get things down in there right when the bag sticks to the pad.

The GG pads are generic magnets. The stick to Everything. (not kidding)

I would think you would be carrying pad inside OHM since it has no backpadding. Fold it up and secure against back,I think there are straps for that

Evazote is "sticky", which makes for good carry capacity and support. It really adheres to the fabric inside the pack.

In my circuit, I place the GG pad against the back, insert compactor bag liner, and stuff sleeping bag into bottom to hold pad tightly in place. I couldnt pull the pad out if I tried. It makes such a rigid pack, that I found I didnt need the 1.50z carbon fiber stay at all for wt under 20lbs or so. The load lifters dont work quite as well as they do with the stay, but they still DO work without any stay when packed this way.

If I carry pad outside, with stays inside for more room, I can put pad either under compression shock cord in back or under top strap

I carry my Ridgerest full length mattress rolled and in a Thermarest sack made for it. (Got the sack "back in the day" when Thermarest actually INCLUDED a sack with the price of a mattress!)

I strap it on the bottom of my pack,where it's out of the way. I then take care when setting my pack down.

In frameless pack, rolled as a tube inside with the gear inside it to help firm it up. Helps to keep things from poking your back too. I would prefer the short version. On a framed pack, rolled as small as practical and strapped on the outside. The Osprey Exos has straps on the bottom, so I do that. Some packs like Granite Gear have straps in the center section and favor a vertical arrangement. On top seems to catch more branches and when going under a blowdown. The Z-Rest is a little easier to live with, IMHO.

Ultimately, I went to a Prolite short. It packs so much smaller and can be folded and rolled and carried like a water bottle, folded in thirds and placed against the back panel inside, rolled and carried outside and so on.

I do both.

if I planned things well with plenty of time, I have the ridge rest pad inside the pack burrito style, or in the summer the Z-rest lite flat 3+3 as back padding.

If I'm in a rush or haven't done good research on a destination, and I overpacked gear inside, then I strap the pad to the outside. but that is not my preference.

Also on day-2 of the trip, wake up early and get on the trail quickly, I might be too lazy to repackage it neatly inside the bag burrito style, so once again, I might strap it to the outside. I've put it under the top compartment T-style, other times strapped length-wise to the right or left side, but now it's unbalanced and annoys me. other times its up side down T horizontal at the outside bottom of the pack.

Greg,

The OHM has an internal pad holster, at least newer models do, intended to use folded pads. But many apparently will do the burrito thing too. An old BPL test on a bunch of packs found not much difference between the two methods I recall.

From the ULA website FAQ section:

Q: How do I use my sleeping pad in conjunction with the Ohm? What pads work the best?

[Answer]

A: Just about any lightweight pad (foam or inflatable) will work as a 'frame' inside the Ohm. 3/4 and full length pads that can be folded (as opposed to rolled) work the best. If you are using an inflatable mattress, deflate, then fold it into 1/3's or 1/5's before inserting.