Exped Downmay UL7, Therma-rest NeoAir Xtherm or BA Q-Core SL?

I am a side sleeper.
I use a quilt.

I recently had to buy a new pad after an, um, accident with my synmat UL 7. I bought a BA Q core SL. Then I returned said Big Agnes Q core SL (too narrow to really use with a quilt, body parts kept falling off all over the place).

Then I bought the downmat UL 7. I am currently in love. It is absolute heaven for me. I am sad I didn't buy this pad sooner…but glad we are together now. It is wide (I have the 20" wide, short version), cushy, warm….and the short version weighs pretty much the same as my now defunct synmat UL7.

I have both the Synmat and Downmat UL 7's and they are very comfy indeed, no more rolling off the pad due to the slightly larger side baffles.

I too am a recent quilt convert, I use one of the golite 3 season quilt. Its great although I find I get too warm often (I'm a hot sleeper my wife jokes I'm her heater) its no big deal as I can just open it easily in front or stick a foot out to cool off.

But back to teh mats it sound like i have 2 really solid votes for the Downmat UL7…

I have the BA Q Core SL. Slept on it last night, actually, on my first overnighter of the season. Mine is the wide/long version. It's the first pad I've ever owned where I could sleep on my side comfortably and not feel the ground under my hip bones.

5'5", 181 lbs

I suspect this is a taboo question. But since it matters to the conversation your height and weight are similar to mine?

Sorry that question was for Dena but would be important to include on most posts.

I am a side sleeper (6'1" 180lbs) and I find that the NeoAir works well for me (my hips don't touch the ground at all). I also sleep with a quilt.

I had a disk removed about 15 years ago and no other pad has ever prevented the ache from setting in overnight, after a long day of backpacking. As adverse as I am to any extra unnecessary weight (this back surgery is what brought me to the "backpacking light" philosophy), I simply won't go without my Exped DM UL7 anymore.

I switched from a Prolite Plus and I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO THE DARKSIDE! Even in the summer, when I don't need the extra insulation, I still take it along for the blissful night's sleep and awesome refreshed feeling in the morning that it always delivers. It really helps to motivate me to hop up, pack up, and go, when I don't have to deal with hip and back aches in the AM's.

To be fair, I haven't worked my way any further up the Thermarest Chain of Command than the Prolite Plus. However, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I have found my sleeping partner and she's soooo good to me.

I use the Exped Synmat UL7, and I couldn't be happier.

JJ,
That is one hell of an endorsement. I cant say I hear anything at all negative about the Exped so far on any of the sites.

Thank you All

I can think of a few "potential" problems with it. They all revolve around the valve and "schnozzle bag" system though.

Since you don't want to blow directly into the pad from your mouth (moisture in your breath will foul the down inside), you have to use their bag to fill it. While I wouldn't call it fragile, I could see the bag failing at some point. As long as it is not at a seam… no worries. Their included patch kit will handle punctures in either the pad or the bag methinks. Not sure about the "flat" valves yet. Until I hear others talking about valve failures, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Like you said, I haven't heard a single complaint from users yet and have not experienced a single problem with the pad myself and I have used it around 40-45 nights already.

Seems that we are trying to decide between the same pads! (I think my thread is just down the page).

The Q-Core felt WAY too narrow when I laid on it at REI this past weekend, and I'm only 5'7" 140 lbs. The Synmat UL felt nice and WIDE. I'm curious how much heavier the Exped Downmat is than the Synmat. Also, what's the weight of the pump bag–seems it would add on a bit of weight.

The XTherm only weighs 15.3 oz on my scale and has an R-value of 5.7. So I'm leaning towards it at the moment.

Like JJ, I too have a disc missing in my lower back and often have trouble sleeping on hotel room beds without pain. I have never had back pain during or after a night on my Exped, even after 16 consecutive night on it I felt fine. I couldn't endorse a product anymore than this piece of gear. But man oh man, its is pricey.

Derrcik

Is the Downmat more comfortable than the Synmat? Is this why people prefer it? Can you really feel the down, like lying on a down mattress topper at home? Does it make the air mattress less bouncy? The bounciness is my primary quibble with air matresses in general–the NeoAir seems to have the least amount of bounce due to its unique baffling system.

If you're finding air mattresses bouncy, you're almost certainly over-inflating them. I strongly prefer the Exped mats because the side baffles are slightly larger and they help keep me from rolling off. The NeoAir sides were more likely to collapse and having to consciously stay centred made that mat feel smaller to me.

Hmmm…I suppose I haven't slept through the night on either of these but you are right, the edges on the NeoAir will collapse more easily.

But with regard to the comfort of the down vs. synthetic iterations of the Exped, will there be a perceivable difference?

is chiefly a warmth and weight issue. You get a higher R-Value with the same weight in down. As the pad is sealed, the primary advantage of synthetic (maintains more of its insulation value when wet) is nullified. So you're left with a colder pad, or a heavier pad with synthetics.

I'd second this, the decision between the synmat and the downmat was a pretty simple one for me. The extra insulation for negligible weight gain sealed the deal.

As for how much the pump bag weighs: you're looking at right about 2 ounces. But keep in mind that it is a silnylon bag with taped seams and a roll-top. That makes it a pretty good pack liner for keeping sleeping bag and other items dry.

Well folks, I puled the trigger today and bought the downmat UL7 and now I am just waiting for it to get here. Luckily I will have a few solo trips before the wife is able to join me again (so she wont steal it before I have a chance to figure out if i like it or not). Every time I find a piece of equipment i really like it disappears form my pack. ;0)

I will re-post once it arrives and i have a chance to give it a thorough run through.

Thank you for all of the advice and concerns.

Thanks
CG

on your new best friend. I know it's a lot of money. But, I have no doubt you will feel it was well spent, once you wake up on a chilly morning, after a long day of packing in the backcountry.

I look at it like I look at the money I spend on a tent, sleeping bag, and/or a backpack. I'm not so sure that they shouldn't call it "the big four", instead of "the big three". A good sleeping pad makes such a difference for me.

Now if they can just find a way to create me a Sherpa-In-A-Can?

Now you can obssess over pillows. :)

"I'd second this, the decision between the synmat and the downmat was a pretty simple one for me. The extra insulation for negligible weight gain sealed the deal."

There is a concurrent thread where people have been arguing that the weight difference between the Syn and Down mats is enough that a relatively thin CCF pad (1/8 inch) combined with a Synmat is warm enough to sleep in pretty cold temps. Of course we're talking more like -10 than -25 or whatever the Downmat is rated to, but if you aren't concerned with colder than -10ish temps then a 100g CCF pad + Synmat is lighter, more versatile and "safer" than the Downmat option. "Safer" because if your pump fails you can still use your breath to inflate, and if your mat fails completely you still have some extra insulation.

I won't argue that having a CCF pad along is a nice insurance policy. But, I don't hang anything on the outside of my pack anymore. That was the dilemma that resulted in me buying my first thermarest, way back when.

I've got my kit for this year dialed in now and there just isn't room inside my pack for a CCF. I'm looking to go ten days in the Beartooths with my AC 60 (3+ season kit). I am trying out a different tent this season. Just bought a Nemo Meta 2P. Hoping that it can handle wind well enough to be my skeeter season solution in the Rockies.

Besides, just by carrying a little tube of the Exped Repair Goo and a Patch along, I am confident that a mattress problem is not going to cost me any sleep. Their repair glue works like a charm. Most of the time, you don't even need a patch. Just a dab on the pinhole and you're good to go. It's just finding that sucker that drives you crazy. By the way… make sure you keep that new Exped safely tucked inside you pack, except when it's in your tent/tarp/bivy. The materials are significantly thinner than the regular Down Mats and even they are a bit sensitive to sticks and such. It sucks looking for the leak, while everyone else is relaxing after a long day on the trail. I'm speaking from experience here. I aired mine up on bare ground (the schnozzle bag is a pain in the ass in the close quarters of a small tarp) and somehow created myself a very hard to find pin hole. Since then, no open ground contact and no leakage problems.

The Xtherm isn't that great for below zero use ….. here's way and a better way.

The Therm-a-Rest NeoAir Xtherm certainly is the warmest, lightest, most comfortable pad I own (of about a dozen in my family), and perhaps the toughest too, but I won't use it again for below zero F camping. Why? The R-value certainly is high enough… but its a different technology…. and thus cold.

The Xtherm is an air mattress, meaning air can easily flow from cold to warm areas as you roll, shift, or even breath. In very cold places, this is enough to chill you in a warm bag. With a foam pad, air doesn't move from warm to cold.

I've tested this a few times in the backyard when temps dropped to -10F. My bags were quite warm (usually didn't even need to close the inner bag) and below I had an EPS accordion (2" expanded polystyrene rigid foam board, R-10, 6' long, 2' wide). In between I've tested a variety of pads, mostly to make the rigid foam comfortable on these old bones. (If you search around, you'll see the R-10 foam is appropriate for -40F ish.) Air pads certainly make the board comfortable but they were cold, especially when laying my side — which is when it should be the warmest b/c the fluffy bags wrap downward. It was old because the cold air had a way to get in, along the channels of the Xtherm. Using a decade-old self-inflating Therm-a-Rest or even a cheap foam pad isn't as comfy but certainly is warmer.

In summary, Xtherm's are great above 10F-ish when you can use it alone. Below zero, go for non-air-mattress technology.

We don't have a lot of furniture. When we have guests they get to sleep on our Downmat UL 7s.