PCT Pad Options

Southern California is cold at night.

How about using a ccf sit pad as pack frame and then the pad of your choice?

I have the Granite Gear Virga (also frameless pack) and use 4-sections of a Z-Rest as the pack frame folded in half against the back portion of the pack only. I then supplement this with a Neo-air. Not the lightest of options I'm sure, but it's quite comfortable for me this way. Around camp I have the z-rest for lounging about and at night I place it under the Neo-air near my torso. I think this provides additional warmth and resistance to punctures as well.

I don't think it would be a good choice for pack frame/pad, but it's dang comfortable. It honestly made my PCT trip so much better – I slept really well compared to other pads, but I am a side sleeper.

Dirk

I used a Z-rest on the PCT. You should think a bit more about the insulation values of the pads–nights in the Sierras, SoCal, and WA-OR can get cold. The Z-rest has an R value of 2.6, and I could still feel the cold coming through on a lot of nights when temps were below 35 or so.

The R value of the Nightlight alone is even worse at around 2.3. A 1/8" pad would add ~.45 to that, putting it in roughly the same range as the Z-rest. If I was hiking again I'd want something with a higher R value than that, at least for most of the trail.

Me and my wife will be using the Z-Lite on our PCt through hike this year. We did originally buy Pacific outdoor peak elite ac mats, but both developed small leaks. So although the Z-Lite is a little heavier and harder to pack, it does mean we won't have to worry about leakage and can use them as sit mats next to fires etc.

I am also hiking the PCT this summer and my pad-decision is also not final:
Good to hear that Z-lite is definitely out.
My choice at the moment:
Pack is a Mariposa (w/o +) – pads are a combination of Multimat Adventure (8mm) with a POE Ueberlight.
Thinking about a RidgeRest Solar – very bulky
or a X-term – risky, only air between me and a small hole …

You can always get $7 blue foam pads from Walmart and try them in single and double layers right now to see how warm of a pad you need. If it's too cold outside, then sleep inside and crack open a window. Keep a thermometer nearby to keep track of the temperatures unless you have a good heater that can prevent the temperature from getting too cold…let's say 20°F.

As far as air pads go, I understand the fear, but even leaking pads don't deflate instantly. You should get some rest, even if it means getting up frequently to refill your pad. Most people probably think cactus thorns are the biggest thing to fear, but I worry more about some of the pine needles and cones.

A good pad keeps you warmer… trying to go ultralight with it is not the greatest idea. I think a 3/4's or torso length z lite would work best. I think the folding pads make the best, sturdiest frames. You pack them differently than a regular, circular pad but they give you more support.
I say don't go for the air pad. It's comfy, but you can live without until you try it out… then you can't live without it!

A good pad keeps you warmer… trying to go ultralight with it is not the greatest idea. I think a 3/4's or torso length z lite would work best. I think the folding pads make the best, sturdiest frames. You pack them differently than a regular, circular pad but they give you more support.
I say don't go for the air pad. It's comfy, but you can live without until you try it out… then you can't live without it!

Ha, ha…yeah, been there!

The NeoAir, et al, are fairly warm and comfotable down to about 32F(0C). That said, I will be switching back to a Nightlte after several leaks. A good CCF pad never fails. Nightlites are warmer than a simple Rvalue will tell you. IFF you use them with the bumps up, they allow some lofting of your bag under you. In warmer weather, you use them with the bumps down, allowing more compression of the down under you. This will let you adjust to conditions slightly (maybe 2-5 degrees) for no additional weight. The thin ones are quite light at about 6oz. By carefully nesting the bumps and cutting the pad, taping it back together, 5 layers can be put together in about 2.5" for a 50"x20" pad. Anyway, the entire sleep system becomes important, not only the pad, due to the extra lofting. I believe that you would actually get closer to an R3 out of the Nightlite pads than the advertised R2.3 when all is considered in a sleeping system.

This also means using the pad as a frame in your pack. The GG packs have a pad pocket built into them. They DO fit the additional bulk of a folded Nightlite. These together make a real nice frame for your pack. I have carried up to 25lbs easily. I am sure than 30lb is possible, likely more, but that much food doesn't fit in my old pack. For other packs, a pad pocket will have to be added. Zpacks offers these, but I am not sure of the fit.

The folded pads work well as a sit pad and windscreen, with a few sticks/rocks. The nightlights can support up to 3-5lbs on them. Two sections down and three up make a decent chair, leaned up against a tree or rock.

The imbalance caused by moving the pack out a couple inches is not that bad, considering that many framed packs do close to the same distance. Anyway, coupled with a good bag, it works. I have been out for two-three weeks at a time with this setup. When I got the NeoAir, I simply added it. I needed the pack frame. When my last one starts leaking, I will give it to someone willing to repair it. Last year I didn't use it, 'cept in lean-to's.

Bulk can be changed to an advantage.

I use a Ridgerest 3/4 length closed cell foam pad.
They are made in USA.
I cut it down a bit.
This makes my pad 6 ounces.
Cutting the sharp corners off makes it easier to insert into my pack as a framesheet as well.
I have found that only the areas of my sleeping body that contact the ground need insulation and thats why I cut the pad down to this shape.
For the PCT i had an even more cut down pad, like a peanut shape to it. I decided that was a buit extreme and reduced the useful width in the center for sitting on so i came up with this shape for the other trails. I actually cut more than the corners, this pad has had the ends cut off as well cause i am only 5'7 & 3/16 inches tall.
For foot insulation i put extra clothing or my empty pack under my feet.
The ridgerest in the photo has 5,000 miles on it.
.
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Ridgerest folded thrice for frame sheet in an MLD Exodus.
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Why a ridgerest for a PCT thru hike? Because you can't pop it. It will last the whole way and then some. It's cheap. Makes an excellant, supportive, and resilient framesheet when folded in three. Simplicity incarnate.

Matt how tall are you? That looks like a sit pad to me:)

@Ken Yea I caught as lot of crap for my pad on the PCT!
It's a wonder I was not called puny pad instead of iceaxe.
I am 5' 7 & 3/16 inches tall.
I forgot to add that not onkly do i put spare clothing or gear under my feet i also use my food bag as a pillow most of the time (bear canister reqd areas excepted) so the pad insulates from my shoulders to my booty.

Comments so far center on warmth (aka insulating oneself from the heat sink called "the ground"), but I submit there are two other, perhaps equally important factors to consider; bulk and comfort.

BULK:

Inflatables like Thermarest and Neoair roll up into pretty small packages that don't take up a lot of your valuable pack space. So does a Thinlite pad; the bulk being proportional to its thickness.

CCF pads like the Zrest, Ridgerest, and GG Nightlite pads do not.

Bear this in mind when selecting your pad. Yes, some packs are designed to use one or more of these as virtual frames but you might also have to secure one of these to the outside of your pack, especially when you need the extra internal real estate for food, water, and other gear.

I've used all but the Neoair. My system of choice, which works well for both the PCT and CT, is a 20x66x1.5 Thermarest Prolite Plus (R=4.3), folded into the pad pocket of my SMD Traveler backpack. I also carry a 20×24 inch piece of an old Ridgerest pad straped to the front of my pack (because it fits easily there using the convenient compression strap). This gives me an externally carried sit pad that is easily accessed during rest stops. It serves other functions as well; a bomb-proof windscreen for my canister stove (especially when secured around my Bearikade bear canister with one of my pack straps), as supplemental insulation under my heels or torso, or as a doormat just outside my shelter to keep my shoeless feet out of the dirt or mud.

COMFORT:

Some folks can sleep on just slab granite; not me. I've found that as I got older, my body grew new pressure points that weren't there in my 30's and 40's. Life is so unfair! Where I used to be able to sleep fairly well on a full length Ridgerest, my rolly-polly side sleeping now required the comfort of the thicker inflatables. Air mattresses, even the BA Insulated AirCore, while quite comfortable, did not keep me really warm below freezing and leaked incessantly. The egg crate design CCF pads felt like someone was poking me all night and also squashed down, leaving me cool but not cold. The Thinlite-style pads aren't thick enough by themselves for either warmth or comfort, but they make a GREAT light-weight addition to a sleep system, especialy nice for shielding an expensive Thermarest inflatable from pointy things that seem to grow up in the night. I envy those SUL-types who can (or claim to) sleep like a baby on a postage-stamp sized torso pad. "You're a better man than I am, Gunga Dihn!".

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Good points Bob. I too like the sit pad plus sleeping pad approach. I get a sit pad and a neoair large in my pack easily. A much, much smaller package than any ccf pad. And it's cush.

@Matt lol at the 3/16"

With a Mariposa Plus I suggest you use the Night Lite as the frame sheet. It fits perfectly and works. Better than the sit pad. I am fine down to freezing. Sometimes I supplement it with a 1/8" pad in the desert when I expect mostly fine pebbles in the dirt. This was been my main pad system for several years. The past year or so I have occasionally used a NeoAir because I am getting too freak'n old to sleep on foam pads, but on a long trip you will get conditioned to the ground. The NeoAir is fine down to about freezing too. So now the question is what do you do for the colder sections? I say keep the Night Light for its multi-purpose and maybe add a NeoAir or similar.

Thanks guys for the insight.

I am well aware of the need for a pad when it comes to cold. I think I am going to use my Thinlite with the 1/8" pad and then maybe send myself another pad to supplement that in the snow. The longest I have slept continually with that setup was 3 weeks and I don't remember any discomfort. I'll chock that up to being young.

I do appreciate all of your wisdom, and James Marco, I'll take your neoair when you pop it! :D