Pad Help – Uncomfortable nights

Have you read our review of mats?
The Air Core was not a favorite.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/airmat_sotmr_part1_2011
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/airmat_sotmr_part2_2011

Cheers

Your gripes are common. You get a thicker mat for more comfort, but it also raises you higher off the ground. That makes it more likely you can fall off it or a dangling appendage flops to an uncomfortable opinion.

You can do one of two things: 1) get a different mat or 2) get a wider mat…. or both. Different mats fit different people. Vertical or horizontal or internal baffles… there is no one best. The question is what feel best to you. I have found mats with vertical baffles will often have a slightly larger outside baffle. This tends to roll you into the mat instead of allowing you to roll off the mat. Exped is a popular one. I am cheap, so I picked up an REI Stratus. For the stats it is one heck of a deal.

The other thing I have found is with a thinner mat it doesn't matter as much how wide it is. If you roll of it slightly you just roll back on. With a thicker mat if you roll off you dumped off the mat. I envy those guys who can sleep well on a thin little mat. I need comfort and I decided 20" was not wide enough. I am not giving up my 25" mat.

Get a wider mat. No question about it. I've said it before, but 20" is a ridiculous width for any sleeping pad that is supposed to accommodate comfortable sleep for an adult human being.

If manufacturers had started with 23" to 25" width pads from the beginning, we would all think that 20" pads were the silliest idea ever, the very essence of "stupid light." As it is, the 20" width size comes from historical manufacturing considerations (i.e. convenience for the pad companies), not from any empirical research into what size pad is actually adequate for comfortable human sleep.

If you don't want to have to purchase a Long sized pad just to get the extra width, you might try the Exped UL7 in the Medium-Wide size or the Klymit Static V (either insulated or uninsulated). Both are very comfortable and actually wide enough.

As a 6'2", 210 lb side sleeper I recently sucked it up and accepted the 4 oz penalty of moving from a size regular TR xLite to the size large. Made a universe of difference…I'll find that 4 oz somewhere else if I have to…never going back. I'm actually kinda mad at myself for stubbornly refusing to accept the extra weight for so many years.

Me 6'3". Tried the new air mattresses. Not wide enough at 25" to keep both my arms on the pad when on my back. Went back to a standard self inflator and now can sprawl around. Need to update this

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=22054

I had same problems. Hated rolling or sliding off air mats. Plus the noise!! And blowing them up?? But the worst issue I had besides a bad nights sleep was deflating them in the morning and packing them up..TERRIBLE.
My solution was Gossamer Gear nightlight torso. Since switching to this I have slept better every night, no more rolling off the big hi air pad, it makes no noise, and it packs up simple. I can also use it on rest stops without having to inflate/deflate. In winter I use a thermarest sol ridgerest pad..same idea.
I am 225-230 lbs and I am a side sleeper, back sleeper and sometimes I even lay on my stomach. .and yes I sleep more comfortable on these pads then any air mattress I have ever tried. (And I tried many different ones)

I agree with Derek, 20 inches seems too narrow even for smaller adults. Lucky i'm smallish, but i can barely swing it, 2 or 3 more inches would be more ideal.

Joe–whatever works for you, but in giving advice to others when you don't know the person very, very well, it's often a safer bet, to go with more generalized and/or majority type advice.

From reading posts on here for some years, i would say that you are in a definite minority of ground dwellers when it comes to preferring, and more over finding CCF more comfortable, as compared to other kinds of pads. A lot of us (including myself) started off with CCF, went to other kinds, and after trying CCF again, have a hard time going back.

When I had my Air Core i would blow it all the way up then either let it sit while I cooked dinner etc and let it naturally deflate a bit, or take out a second or so of air to soften it some. I do the same with my NeoAir except the material is a bit more flexible so i don't take out as much.

Reading his post..it seems he had the SAME problem I originally had. So why not try a CCF pad? It is not bad advice to give. Just because the MAJORITY, including yourself, did not find it to work..maybe someone else, (OP), will find it to resolve his problems. They are not as expensive to buy as a blow up pad, so it's not like I'm recommending he break the bank. I learned what works for me from 4 or 5 years of reading forums, books, magazines..buying all sorts of different gear and testing all sorts of different gear. Plenty of short over nighters..In my back yard including. I'm not just spewing bad advice here…it could work for him or anyone else.
Also if you read his original post, he said one night.."F" the pad and slept without it..and slept just FINE! HAAA..try the CCF pad..you may just love it while making life much easier.

yeah, ccf pad may work

if it does, it's about the lightest, cheapest, most reliable

I think opinions different than the majority are good too. Easy enough to try.

ccf is too uncomfortable for me, air mattress better

air mattresses need to be wider, because the edge is unusable, or some of the width gets "consumed" to provide thickness. 20 inch ccf is fine. 20 inch air mattress that's 1 inch thick is okay. 20 inch neo-air that gets 2 or 3 inches narrower when you blow it up may be too narrow.

ccf is good to have on hand if you ever camp on snow. ccf + air mattress will keep you warmer.

I'm 6'3 and huge. I have and like the synmat because the outside baffles are slightly larger and seem to corral my limbs onto the pad at night.

My go-to pad is a torso sized prolite. I put my hiking clothes in a wp bag, inside my sleeping bag, and under my feet. This way the insulation under my tootsies moves with them. I find having a thinner pad works fine for me when dealing with a 20" wide pad. I'm a side sleeper so YMMV.

I use closed cell foam June thru Sept… torso length. I don't notice it being cold. First two nights it seem hard and uncomfortable on my boney hips (side sleeper). But after the first two nights I am used to it and it seems fine.

CCF is lightest, cheapest, most versitle, and most dependable. I use it to sit on during the day without fear of puncture.

Billy

You're right Joe, worth trying at least. I didn't mean to say it was bad advice, just trying to point out that by law of averages, probably wouldn't apply, but again no harm in trying.

I sometimes unthinkingly assume that most have tried CCF first, but that's not necessarily true.

For 20 odd years I tried all manner
of inflatable and foam pads and always slept only OK, since moving
to Exped pads 3 years ago I sleep much better due to to the baffle orientation.

I'm in the same boat. As Derick suggested, I'm planning to try a Klymt Static V next spring. Cheaper than just sizing up in the NeoAir, especially since I don't heed the extra length.

[oops, double post]

A friend raved about the BA q core…and I was intrigued. I tried one out – slept on my living floor with it and it was simply awful – and I'm not sure why I didn't like it. I went back to my exped and honestly I can't imagine wanting a different pad anymore. It's a piece of gear I don't even think about and can't think of how to improve (for me anyway…)

Except a medium wide in the downmat….now THAT would be awesome…..

For decades I mostly used foam pads. Then, when I reached 60, I found them to be uncomfortable for the first couple of nights. Sleeping on the floor for a couple of nights before a trip at home on the pad helps.

Nowadays, for short trips I take an air mattress. For longer trips I take a foam pad and just deal with the first couple of nights — it isn't the end of the world. I use 20" NeoAir and don't fall off.

In winter I use a BA insulated air core, but have been thinking about experimenting with a Xtherm and a thin foam pad. However, I don't know if I want to buy another mat.

I am a side sleeper at home. When backpacking I start out on my back to watch the stars, since I rarely need a shelter, but always wake up on my side.

I appreciate all the help and have come to the conclusion that I will need a new pad as this one is simply not working. I researched a few that were mentioned here and elsewhere and while some look promising like the NeoAir & Exped I hesitate to dish out $170+ for a new mat that I may or may not like.

I previously was leaning to a CCF pad like Joe mentioned as I like the price, flexibility and no worry nature of it as well as the fact I can use it as a sit pad during the day. However the added pack bulk is a downfall compared to other inflatable pads. I do like the GG nightlight but need more than a torso length pad so that’s unfortunate, I may just try the TermARest Zlite.

Of the inflatable pads the Klymit Static looks promising, any firsthand experience from users? Also any other input or suggestions is always welcomed. Thanks!

Sean, I hate the big bouncy castle mats (Air Core, Neoair) and have never slept well on them. The Thermarest Prolite (XS, blown up as hard as I can manage) is my favorite. Worth a try, and very durable to boot.

"I hesitate to dish out $170+ for a new mat that I may or may not like."

Buy it from REI, and you'll have up to a year to make up your mind. FWIW, I'm another Synmat UL 7 fan. The baffle orientation makes a huge difference. I couldn't stand the NeoAir, and took it back to REI for a no questions asked, other than what I didn't like about it, refund. I also have kept my TR Prolite as a backup. It is an excellent pad. Another good option is the Montbell U.L.Comfort System Pad in a 90 cm length. It is a lot like the TR Prolite but weighs only 10 oz. Also very durable.

Another vote for the Exped UL 7 – best ever!

I'm another one who can't stand the inflatable chamber pads. Even the Therm-A-Rest partially foam filled ones are uncomfortable for the same reason; namely, they feel like just another air mattress. Tried sticking a predecessor of the ProLite into a cover with a sheet of open cell foam. That helped a lot, but the result was way heavy.

Finally tried a Nemo Zor. Peace at last and very light. Its foam has more of a 'gel' like feeling. It did develop a small slit which has to be patched. After reading Roger's article, I plan to buy an Exped Sim Hyperlite when they come out. The upcoming Therma-A-Rest EvoLite looks interesting also; but as this thread and Roger's article suggest, Exped pads seem like a good choice.

One of my Shelties liked the egg crate. It was open cell foam with two mats stacked inside a cover. Also big and heavy, but she had joint issues and needed the cushioning.

Just shows how everyone is different. I sleep great on regular xlite. My short xlite is harder, but I do fine on it too.

Its really all in what you get used to I think.

Not sure why everyone complains about elbows hanging off. Fold your hands across chest in the dead man position, and go to sleep. Put shoes under elbows if need. Would it be nicer if pad is wider? Of course. It doesn't have to be a deal breaker for me though.

I did watch a section hiker in a shelter on the AT keep coming off his xlite short though, tossing and turning, and it would pop out from under him. As I lay there quietly on mine, all I could think was that he was really uncoordinated.I think overweight people also can't turn in place very well.