New Sleeping Pad- Venture Products

[Jeremy Rardin]

Some walmarts and Academy Sports are carrying them. They are green and come in two sizes: 24 by 72 or 78 idk and 24 by 72 both are 1/2 in. thick. The smaller of the two cost me $10.

The reason I am bringing it up here is because this full size pad only weighs 8.6 oz! The only thing that comes close to this is GG 3/8 pad, which is 19.5 or so by 59 or so (sizes vary). They weigh 7.8 to 8.2 oz. for $27 plus shipping.

I will be testing its warmth and such, but for such an inexpensive and light pad I think that has great capabilities to be a nice pad. Durability is my only concern thus far but I will be writing up a full report when I get some use into it.

[M B]

Not sure if its the same one, I looked at one Academy had a year or more ago. Yeah, it was super light, abut 9 oz, but it also molded to pressure. What looked like a 1/2" pad, became a much thinner pad at pressure points, and takes a long time (many minutes) to rebound and reshape from that deformation when the pressure is taken away. In short, it looked like a horrible material to use for sleeping pad.

[Jeremy Rardin]

I think you are right. For the potential weight/money savings I am going to see how it holds up. I will be testing it primarily in 40 + temps. I suspect even with the type of foam it will be warm at those temps. I am interested to see how long it takes to bounce back after 8 hours or so of me sleeping on it.

[Steven McAllister]

It would probably end up being more comfortable than evazote and other UL foam pads.
It may not insulate very well because of the compression aspect, but combined with a 1/8" or 1/4" torso length evazote pad may be warm enough, comfortable and still be relatively light.

[michael levi]

For 9oz The Ridgerest seems like its going to be hard to beat. Its a unique mold thats pretty comfy plus it has reflective coating on one side to boost R-value.

[Jeremy Rardin]

No having even used it yet I can see negatives towards its durability. I ought to get a 3/8 pad and compare them. If the foam is this squishy it, then its performance ought to be similar to that of something thinner that was pressed harder. I do think this pad, not having been compressed, is more comfortable that a lot of foam pads. I think it is relatively low danger to use it in 40F plus temps, given that some get away with much less.

[Redacted k]

I got one of those in the fall, Not overly impressed with it. I cut off a small rectangle of it to use for cushioning sensitive gear + my behind when I sit on a log/rock.

It holds an indentation for a long time, longer in the cold. My daschund was able to leave an impression on it that lasted for 10 minutes at room temp.

The rest of the pad is now used for kneeling/laying on for handyman projects at home. When I want foam, I will go for my blue foam, ridgrest, or zrest.

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