Klymit Static V Pad

[Jake D]

Anyone have one of these yet? I just ordered one after meeting an AT hiker with one on my Long trail hike. I have a Big Agnes Air Core now but am looking forward to easier inflation and a bit wider pad for equal or slightly less weight.

http://klymit.com/static-v.html

[Nick G]

I've just gotten back from testing my new Klymit Inertia X-lite on a river trip, and it worked like a charm. Folds down almost to the size of a soda can, so the only danger is losing it! It was very comfortable (even at 3/4 length) and I did not need to bring the air pump–2 breaths got it so firm that I needed to let some air out!

However, looking at the website I'm not sure about the Static V, if you're into weight savings. I was willing to go with a small, 3/4 length pad, which got me down to 6.1 oz–one third of the weight of the Static V.
If you want a full length pad, I'd recommend the 9.1 oz X-frame. If you need width, you'd have to go as big as the Inertia XL-it looks way more comfortable than the Static V, and saves an ounce or two.

Don't be afraid of those gaps in the pad–I was a little cautious at first because I'm a side sleeper, but the minute I laid down on mine, I got the feeling that the gaps made it much more comfortable–it felt like a pad specifically designed to fit my body. The gaps also allow your sleeping bag to puff up for insulation.

[Jake D]

i'm not worried about a bit more weight for a full pad without the gaps. i don't "need" the width.. i'm 5'7 120-125lbs but it is nice to not feel like you are rolling off when flipping sides.

18oz is 4oz less than the Air Core and the smaller packed size and ease of inflation were enough to convince me to order one. it should be here by friday so I can give it a shot.

at 60 bucks it also weighs less than the Neoair trekker at half the cost. 6oz more than the Neoair xlite but i'm not paying 180bucks for a pad lol

[James Marco]

The Static-V looks nice, but it is HEAVY at 18oz for something the NeoAir XLite does for a lot less weight(about 12oz for a regular.) But you DO save a lot of dollars. Maybe it will be a bit better for cold weather?

The Klymit Inertia is iffy and offers no signiicant advantages over my NightLite and has a few disadvantages. Just as bad on a hard floor, it is no more comfortable, so comfort is the same. Harder to take down. It just doesn't fold up and stuff into the pad pouch. It takes time to de-inflate it and roll it up. It does save space, if you don't have pad pouches or pad pockets. It does NOT work as a frame, just too floppy. I stuck it in my Miniposa (obsolete) but still needed the stays for support. I tried rolling it up and sticking it inside, but it was still floppy, even near fully inflated. I tried it inside and outside…in neither case did it work well. When on duff or sand, it worked great, but so does the NightLite. Overall, I would rate it a 3 out of 5. About the same as a NightLite for usability. But, it cost about 3 times as much. 2 out of 5 for cost. Average is the best I can do for the Inertia. (I even had my foot stuck through it at one point. I really wanted to like the pad. After 5 nights of back aches, I gave up on it. The sixth and seventh night was on duff.)

Hey Jake,

I am very close to having an initial draft done on a review of the Static V, so keep an eye out over at my website in the next week or so.

To just briefly cover some hot-points:

I am thinking that the Static V is perhaps one of the best bang-for-the-bucks summer time sleeping pad that is out there, for anybody wanting a "wide" air inflated sleeping pad.

Its crazy tough material, way beyond NeoAir (original or xlite).

Takes me around 12 breaths to inflate it. Compare that to 28-30 for the XLite-Large.

Same height as the NeoAirs (2.5 inches) but not as warm due to a much lower R-value.

(I will compare the XLite *Large* as it is same size as the Static V)

Price MSRP:

Klymit Static V: $59.99
TaR NeoAir Xlite-Large $179.99

Weight:

Klymit Static V: 514 grams
TaR NeoAir Xlite-Large: 460 grams

What that means: You are paying an additional $120 bucks to shave off 54 grams (1.9 ounces). If you are a Heavy Hauler that should be all you really need to know. If you are an Ultralight Hiker, well, it could be worth the money if you are trying get below a certain weight mark.

I will talk more about comfort, noise, pack size, durability, and such in my review article. I am just waiting back from some details from Klymit to make sure my numbers are right about everything.

–Abela

[Jake D]

Nice John. I should have made it more clear that i've already ordered the Static V, just wanted to see what other people's experiences have been.

I do not have the disposable income to spend $180 on a sleeping pad. Even if I did, there are better ways to spend it. that is more than i paid for any part of my gear. Not going to happen.

I'd say i'm "light" at 16-18lb baseweight

I have liked my BA Air Core but it does have a few drawbacks that I think the Static V will address.

[Jake D]

Well, I received my pad today. Initial thoughts are that i love the small size and it definitely blows up faster than my Air Core (though more like 20 breaths than 10 for me).
I am a bit nervous about how soft it is when fully inflated, it doesn't seem to get to the same "pumped up" feeling the air core does. laying on my hardwood floor I can bounce just a bit and feel the floor but i'm hoping that even in shelters my hips will stay up and not get sore.

19oz on my scale in the stuff sack and with the repair kit.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

When Klymit starts adding insulation to their pads they're going to have some really interesting products.

Hey Jake, I got the article on the Static V published yesterday.

[Jake D]

Cool John, i'd say that 72" is the standard "regular" so that might be what they were going for?

do you have any comments on my initial "review" 2 posts up? mostly about how "hard" you can blow it up and feeling a bit thin?

[Tom Lyons]

I have not tried the Klymit Static V yet.
But I do own the Klymit Inertia X-Lite Recon, and I think it is a great product.
It fits me, and it is everything they say it is.

I plan to expand into more Klymit products, and my next venture will be the Klymit Ulaar hoody coming out soon. I posted a topic about it yesterday, but nobody seems interested enough to comment.
The Ulaar combines their Kinetic Vest along with the arms and a hood of a shell, for an inflatable-insulation shell that can be pumped up to handle cold weather too, all in one jacket.
I plan to get one, and at the projected $299 it sounds expensive. But what would a good down vest cost along with a light shell? Or maybe 2 down vests to cover the different conditions of cool and cold? Plus a shell too.
On top of that, you can wear the Ulaar unzipped and uniflated as a windbreaker in just cool weather, and then pump it up if it gets cold, and you don't take up any room in your pack with a vest or parka. Have one jacket for all purposes, and wear it so that your pack has more room. It might weigh more than just any one piece of your outerwear and insulation layers, but not more than all the pieces of your outerwear/insulation that it replaces.

Also, since I have the Inertia X-Lite, which is a 3/4 pad, I need some insulation under my legs/feet during cold nights. I can't use my pack under my legs, because I don't carry anything extra in my pack that just takes up space. I use everything in my pack. At night, my pack is empty, so I can't put that under my legs, as I hear some people recommend.
So with the Ulaar(or even with the Kinetic Vest) I can put the inflated insulation of the Ulaar under my legs at the insulation level that I select, and it serves as the lower portion of my sleeping pad, along with the Inertia X-Lite 3/4 pad that I use.
So, it's multi-purpose in several ways.
I'll use a GG Thinlight pad under it all as a base mat for non-slip, some extra r-value, and some protection for my sleeping gear from the ground.

I sense a lot of resistance to this Klymit stuff on this forum, but I'm embracing it and finding good uses for the technology.
I think their quality is very good, and I like their designs, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy any of their products.

i'd say that 72" is the standard "regular" so that might be what they were going for?

Seems to be the case but still just feels a bit odd buying a "wide" and not having it be a "long" too.

do you have any comments on my initial "review" 2 posts up? mostly about how "hard" you can blow it up and feeling a bit thin?

I have never found that I was not able to inflate it enough to my likings, but I do not like a plywood-stiff sleeping pad. This is the first pad that Klymit has made without their little hand-pumper feature, which I am actually grateful for as I *never* used it on my other Klymit pads and it was just added weight.

I have never found any hiking sleeping pad that I could not feel the ground if I shuffle around on it. Not the Original NeoAir, not the TaR All-Season, not a Exped Downmat, nothing. In the end these things are only 2 through 2.5 inches in height. At 200 pounds, I just do not see something that thin that will never have me hitting the ground when I first sit down on it, or if I roll around on it. But, once I get laying down on my side or back, I have not yet bottomed out in either my shoulders or my hips.

I posted a topic about it yesterday, but nobody seems interested enough to comment.

Well, Klymit sort of did themselves a dis-service when they pushed out their PR on it to the "gadget" world before they told those of us in the hiking community. A simple google search shows the only people talking about this are "gadget" blogs… I cannot find a single hiking related website talking about it.

I know a whole lot of hikers who promote Klymit gear and not a single one of them have heard anything about it. I sure had not and I try to stay very up-to-date with new gear announcements.

Where are all the guys who went to Summer OR talking about this product?? I have not seen a single one.

Seems like Klymit PR failed the hiking community a bit on this one.

All that ranting aside, yeah, it looks pretty freaking sweet.

I plan to get one, and at the projected $299 it sounds expensive. But what would a good down vest cost along with a light shell?

I have $400 bucks tied up in my ZPacks WPBCF rain jacket and the Black Rock Gear Vest (I will review it one of these days – sigh).

But, gotta remember that it will cost an extra $50 bucks or so for the Argon Starter Kit, which the Ulaar probably will not include (based on pricing of their existing gear).

I can put the inflated insulation of the Ulaar under my legs at the insulation level that I select, and it serves as the lower portion of my sleeping pad, along with the Inertia X-Lite 3/4 pad that I use.

Very good idea.

I sense a lot of resistance to this Klymit stuff

Really? I am seeing more and more of their gear showing in in gear lists of people I respect and check out what they are doing and into these days.

[Jake D]

Well that is good to know. I am very light at 120-125 so I got a bit nervous when I was hitting the ground moving around. I am testing it this weekend at a grass campground so we'll see how it does there.

My BA air core I can fill up harder than I like it and I can bounce on it without much hitting. I actually fill it up, lay down then let a few seconds of air out. If the Klymbit gets me to that spot without adjustment that will be great.

[Tom Lyons]

John,
I noticed another upcoming product being discussed, the "X Wave" pad.
It appears to be the basic design that you pioneered last year with your cut-off version of the Klymit Inertia XL pad.
I don't know if you've seen that yet. It appears that they liked your idea.

Hey Tom,

Yeah I saw that over on the Klymit blog. (ref) and it brought a smile to my face. Thanks for letting me know about it though!

I honestly am not sure I like those little flapper thingies down at the end of it. The lines I took on mine are a lot cleaner I feel (ref)

[david]

I had the chance to test out the Klymit inertia x-frame at REI; surprisingly it fits however since the holes are there for a down bag to loft I wonder how useful it would be with a quilt. I found the hand pump to be useless.

As for the static V, I would love a larger but not a longer pad, which is why when I had the chance i got a kooka bay mummy which is 24in wide but only 72in long ( and 3.5in thick so I really don't have to worry about slide sleeping and weight when I do).

I'm also interested in the other shorter klymit mainly for summer use since I'd like a torso pad but would like substantial weight savings over a neoair regular (I have an original at 13.6oz). The other choices I think are the peak elite AC 2/3 and a neoair S (original or xlite).

[Brett Peugh]

I have been using my Static V in many different situations from outside on packed dirt to sleeping on a relative's concrete basement floor. I am a side sleeper and it is still one of the best pads I have ever used. I don't find myself rolling off the edge that much when I toss and turn like with a Thermarest and it seems to do a pretty good job at support. It could be a bit wider but I am really not complaining too much.

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