Would you ever go from a Exped UL 7 to a foam pad?

[Ty Ty]

So I own an Exped Synmat UL7 20"x72" which weights (with little sack) 475 grams / 16.8 oz plus the .4 oz repair kit = hair under 17 oz for conversation sake.

I am tempted to buy a blue foam pad and test it out, not really as a weight savings so much as a hassle savings. Besides setting up my shelter, blowing up, then deflating and rolling up my sleeping pad is the biggest hassle of my camp setup. It also gives me grief worrying about putting a hole in it with my little 18lb dog that comes with me, sharp objects, etc. How nice would it be to be able to just yank the pad out, throw it in the tent, throw my quilt on top of it and be done with it?

Another thought is I use a GoLite Pinnacle and I figure I could eliminate the foam back pad and holder for it if I had a foam pad that I could put in a circle to line the pack.

Of course the downside is it's not going to be as comfortable. Also the R-value of the Exped is 3.1, blue foam mat R-value is 1.4 I believe.

Curious what other people think. Seems like most people go the other way, from closed cell foam to air mattresses. I have never slept on a closed cell foam mat, bought the Exped as my first mat.

[Andy F]

I would do this if I could sleep comfortably, but I've tried it. I could do it if I were a back sleeper.

Use a RidgeRest SoLite. It has an R-value of 2.8, and it's more comfortable than blue foam.

[Ty Ty]

Okay

RidgeRest SoLite R-value is 2.8 vs the 3.1 of the Exped UL7, that does get that aspect a lot closer, possibly the same considering how high the Exped is blown up (my understanding is the listed R value is only at 100% blown up, I tend to sleep with a little less than 100% to suite my comfort level).

[Mark Ries]

Let me think about that for a minu NO!

[Ty Ty]

The other thing that temps me is the width. My Expend is 20" wide and when on my back my arms hang off so I usually cross them, put them in my pockets, or put my hands kind of under my legs to hold my arms from falling off the sides.

I have thought about getting a 25" by 77" foam pad, leave the torso at 25" then cut the leg area back to 20" and the length at 72" or so to get the best of all worlds.

[j lan]

I would only trade it out for ridgerest solar or z-lite. Thermarest knows what they are doing. If you are having problems fitting it into the back padding for your pack, you can always cut it and use velco strips to attack it back together for sleep. Seems like a good plan.

Or you can also try tube packing with the ridgerest, for me it gave my frameless packs serious frames that i would put against aluminum stays.

[Ty Ty]

"Or you can also try tube packing with the ridgerest, for me it gave my frameless packs serious frames that i would put against aluminum stays."

That is what I was thinking about, tube packing it would allow me to remove the foam backpad in the pinnacle, if all works well I could cut out the sewn in sleeve in the pinnacle and save 2-3 ounces there, have a bigger pad to combat the arms on the ground issue, reduce the hassle of setup and breakdown, and no fear of putting a hole in a $155 pad.

Sounds great possibly until I have to sleep on it :)

[Chad “Stick” Poindexter]

I love my NeoAir. I have found it to be the most comfy sleeping pad for me in the back-country. But I too have thought about going strictly ccf pad in the slightly cool to warmer months. Mostly due to weight savings too since I use a ccf pad as my frame in my Blast pack and this option would allow me to leave behind almost 14 oz of NeoAir. That said, the only ccf pad I think I could manage with is the ZLite. I do find it to be slightly comfortable, but nothing near my Neo… So I dunno…I am still up in the air about it. Especially considering my BPW is pretty light even with a ccf pad as frame and my Neo in my pack… I am a little over 9 lbs for my "winter" and just over 5 lbs with my warm weather setup.

[Ben F]

Hell no! But I'm not a back sleeper. If I was I might think about it for longer than a fraction of a second. But ridgerests and side-sleeping were the reason I hated camping as a kid. My hips would hurt for days.

[Larry M]

Last month, I car-camped with my scout troop and tried to do the same experiment, with the same thought of removing some hassle from camp setup/breakdown.

I lasted one hour on my blue foam.

So I grabbed a ProLite (womens) out of the truck to (re)try.

I lasted two hours on the ProLite.

Deflated, I blew up my NeoAir large and slept like a baby the rest of the night.

[Ike Jutkowitz]

I own a neo air short and a GG nightlight. The neoair is one of the most comfortable pads I've ever used, but on 3 season trips I always bring the cutdown foam pad. I prefer the simplicity, weight savings, and foolproof nature of the foam, and am willing to settle for some discomfort at night because of this. In winter, I stack the foam pad on top of the neoair.

[K C]

I have never used the air mat you have, but I use a Neoair short length (9oz), A GG sitpad (1oz), and a MLD 1/8" Good Night EVA UL Foam Pad Mod(1.5oz). The sitpad is used in my pack as back padding, then attached to the Neoair to extend it at the bottom. The MLD 1/8" along with a MYOG shrink wrap floor protects the Neoair. Total package (11.5oz) Or you could use a GG Nightlight torso pad (3.7oz) instead of the neoair for a total package weight of (6.2oz)

[Barry P]

“…not really as a weight savings so much as a hassle savings…”

I wonder if that’s a typical UL wish. I want a CCF that’s as comfy as my short neoair and packs just as small. Then I don’t have to worry about punctures and it can take more abuse. This grandpa wants to handle a CCF all year; but I can’t :(

In cold winter (0-10F), I actually use just CCF. Even though my neoair has a higher R-Rating than my GG Nightlight, it appears there are more variables involved. My Nightlight just flat out feels warmer. And I do put a Thinlight on top of that.

So in the winter I do feel enough kush (cushioning) from these layers:
1. Thick long johns
2. WM Antelope
3. GG Thinlight
4. GG Nightlight
5. and then snow.

In the summer I just can’t handle my quilt and a Nightlight even though I would love too; to minimize hassle (as you said).
When I use the Nightlight, it is ‘bumps down’ and IMHO it seems softer than these I’ve tried:
1. Ridgerest standard
2. Ridgerest Solar
3. Ridgerest SOlite
4. Z-Lite (probably #2 in comfy behind Nightlight; and I love its compactness)
5. 3/8” blue pad from REI

Bottom line, you’ll just have to try it and see. More power to you if you can handle CCF.

-Barry
-The mountains were made for Teva’s

[Andy F]

Camping on a thick floor of pine needles or thick forest soil (as found at a non-established campsite) will go a long way toward comfort when using the foam pad. I can just barely tolerate the foam pad when camped on these as a side/stomach sleeper.

[Ty Ty]

Sounds like I just need to try it and see.

[Robert Carver]

I just switched from Neoair to a Gossamer Gear Nightlight pad. I grew tired of inflating it each evening and deflating it each morning. I am a side/stomach sleeper and have not had any problems adjusting to a foam pad. I used to use a Ridgerest before all this crazy inflatable pad business started.

I'm not saying I will never use a Neoair or like pad in the future. This is just where I am at now.

[Ty Ty]

Is the GG NightLight the best CCF going then? Several people have commented on it and the Z-Rest which have the similar egg shell design.

[Author]

Posts